It’s crucial the path be changed

On an October day, 2010, I remember being told by an EARH employee, ‘If you care about your doctors and your hospital, you better get involved.’

I did, as did many of us.

Mr. Barglof arrived first as interim CEO in May 2010 and was signed to his contract as CEO Sept. 1 of the same year. The signals were beginning to sound. The meeting in January 2011 at which all contract negotiations with Doctors Sackmann and Eckley were severed resulted in a fracturing wail of the community from which rose Hometown Family Medicine and saw the arrival of C2C physicians.

We continued our involvement. A growing number of curious, concerned citizens in following the monthly EARH board meetings have built a strong group with the common interest of making EARH responsive to the needs of our community.

We have three contested positions to be decided. The campaigning began early, has been intense and will continue until the ballots are counted. Of course, many are decided in their loyalties, as am I. I’ve been convinced for a long time that we will need a team who can turn the tide on our present position. Especially in this final week before ballots arrive I’ve talked in person or called many people to talk about this election.

We have much at stake. Do you see Dr. Sackmann or Dr. Eckley for your medical care? Do you see the C2C staff presently found at EARH? Is your choice of medical care elsewhere? No matter which category you fit, more than likely you are a taxpayer. We have only so many of our taxpayer based dollars with which we support EARH, and we know that twice under the present administration we’ve had to borrow from the funded depreciation fund to have operating expenses. We have Life Care, a full service care facility, and EARH, a critical access hospital, and we have two dedicated doctors – now in private practice.

I am convinced that the team of Stacey Plummer, Jerry Snyder and Jeff Reynolds will work to redirect the board’s focus. Plummer voted to keep the negotiations open with Drs. Sackmann and Eckley. She is committed to finding a way to work together for our community. Snyder has long studied and attended board meetings and has the common sense to keep a sound fiscal focus. Reynolds knows his hospital finances as he does clinic billing for a living. He knows there are ways to get the strategic plan’s call for an EMR (Electronic Medical Records) system for much, much less than the $1.5 million the current CEO sees as needed.

On an October day, 2011, your ballot will be delivered. It’s now a year since I was told by an EARH employee, ‘If you care about your doctors and your hospital, you better get involved.’ It is crucial that the current path be changed.

Please cast your vote for Stacey Plummer, Jerry Snyder and Jeff Reynolds.

Harriet Lynch, Ritzville