In an effort to improve transparency and community involvement, the hospital board at Whidbey General Hospital plans to videotape and post its meetings on its website.
The board also moved the public comment period toward the beginning of its agenda, so the public can comment without staying the entire meeting.
“(The board) talked previously about a need for greater transparency,” said Keith Mack, hospital marketing manager. “This is consistent with that.”
During the last election, hospital officials were criticized for not being transparent enough with the public and for the board’s 7 a.m. meeting time. Officials have made changes in an attempt to involve the public, including a recent series of town hall meetings and hosting a bed fair for the public to see what kinds of high-tech beds the hospital planned on purchasing.
Hospital Chief Executive Officer Geri Forbes has expressed an interest in more communication and openness with the public.
“These are little things that point to a larger trend,” Mack said.
The hospital used to spend thousands of dollars audio taping the meetings and archiving them, but they were rarely checked out, so that practice ended, he said. Technology has progressed enough that it’s relatively cheap for the hospital to videotape and post the recordings online. The hospital is using equipment it already owns and doing the work in house.
The board posts an agenda online in advance of its meetings but does not post supporting documents in advance, as many other public agencies do. Those documents are available by request after the meeting.
Mack isn’t sure when the first videotaped meeting will be posted online.
The videographer filmed a full meeting for the first time Monday, but the staff is still working out the kinks, such as whether the audio quality is sufficient.
Once that happens, the video will be posted on Whidbey General’s Facebook page and also in a prominent location on its website.
The recent series of town hall meetings went well, Mack said, and more are planned for later this year. The board meetings are not conducive to community conversations because of their format, and the town hall meetings give the public a chance to ask questions.
“People have the opportunity to say whatever is on their mind,” he said.
