Voters will make a big decision Tuesday when they select two people to represent them on Whidbey General Hospital’s board for the next four years.
For the undecideds out there, we recommend casting ballots in favor of Rob Born and Erika Carnahan.
Neither are perfect candidates, true, and in some ways they are less qualified than the incumbents, Georgia Gardner and Nancy Fey. But neither this newspaper, nor its counterparts on Central and North Whidbey, can in good conscience endorse any of the current commissioners. The board’s closed-door practices and at times gross ignorance of state sunshine laws, its appalling and misguided allegiance to hospital administrators rather than the public, and its ongoing and tiresome combative attitude toward the island’s newspapers — taxpayers’ primary conduit for finding out what’s happening in the organization they help fund — are all reasons that scream for new blood.
This race has focused on Born, a firebrand and longtime critic of the hospital. That many have recoiled from this self-appointed white knight and his vitriolic war with the hospital is understandable, but that he’s become such a spotlight is unfortunate because it’s distracted from larger issues, most of which revolve around transparency.
Whether hospital leaders like it or not, Whidbey General is a public hospital. That means the public has certain rights, and board members are empowered to represent their interests, not staff’s. Yet, time and time again, the board has shown its disregard, even contempt, for requests for information, and made clear where its allegiances lie.
The board’s decision to hold regular business meetings at 7 a.m. is preposterous, and its stated reasons are outrageous. Both Gardner and Fey have said at recent candidate forums that public attendance was sparse when meetings were held at night and that morning meetings are more convenient for staff. Setting a meeting time that forces people to get up early to attend but also leave before it concludes so they aren’t late for work at 8 a.m. is hardly a solution. The justification that it’s easier for hospital staff is insult to injury. Hospital workers are paid public servants — it’s their job to show up.
Equally disturbing was the board’s lack of oversight earlier this year of hospital officials who worked so hard to shield one of their own in a misdemeanor case involving the hospital’s chief nursing officer. Before a verdict had been issued, hospital leaders decided her innocence, funded her legal bills and put up roadblocks to law enforcement and county prosecutors. In fact, the administration went to great and creative lengths to prevent the prosecutor and the public from seeing a report related to the case. Where were the commissioners? It’s their job to oversee and, when necessary, rein in those under their control.
When a new CEO was hired this year, board President Anne Tarrant initially declined to release the official’s salary saying it would be inappropriate. Similarly, board members have declined to answer questions from the media, referring inquires to the president.
This summer, the hospital was dinged by state regulators for the fourth time for not submitting certain financial documents. Gardner, a certified public accountant, wrote it off, saying it was redundant.
“Frankly if I was running the accounting department, it would be the last thing I would do,” said Gardner, to The Record in June.
Requests for interviews with top hospital officials are increasingly difficult to secure, reporters struggle with the timely release of basic information such as board packets — the list goes on and on.
Born and Carnahan may not provide miracle cures, and Born is sure to ruffle feathers and cause strife on a rubber-stamping board that excels at patting itself on the back. And Carnahan sounds very similar to the current board members when it comes to issues of communication.
Nevertheless, they both deserve a chance. And perhaps the rest of the board will see their success at the polls as a message from the voters.
