Editor,
I’ve been an avid supporter of Whidbey General Hospital since before it was built.
I’m in awe of the foresight and commitment it took our local people to come up with the vision and make it a reality.
My dad worked on the first bond campaign. So I have a very strong commitment to its continued success.
As I visit with people around the island during this campaign season, I find there are a number of misconceptions about the Whidbey General Hospital health system and, as it impacts my candidacy as hospital commissioner, I’d like to offer a little information.
First, many people don’t understand that “Whidbey General Hospital” is really the hospital plus five primary care clinics and two surgery clinics, the EMTs and emergency department, physical therapy and rehabilitation, chronic care, home care and hospice.
All of the doctors, nurses and staff within these operations are “hospital” employees.
We also have independent doctors and clinics that are affiliated with the hospital. When we think of Whidbey General we need to understand, for all intents and purposes, we are health care on Whidbey Island.
It is my mission to provide the finest care possible. We have an extraordinarily strong and diverse board of hospital commissioners. We work well together, using each others’ expertise to set and accomplish goals for the community.
Health care is a moving target and has been for the past several years.
We are very aggressive about planning for change and, when it comes, we are ready.
We just finished a huge computer medical records conversion mandated under the Affordable Care Act.
In other hospital districts, they went out to the voters with tax levies to raise the money to pay for the conversion.
Other districts borrowed the money.
Whidbey General did neither.
We were ready, we had saved up the cash, and we accomplished it without asking taxpayers for more money and without debt.
Because Whidbey General carries very little debt, we are in an excellent financial position.
You may hear people say that Whidbey General “loses” money and that’s an error.
We’re a nonprofit, so our results of operations are characterized as “excess receipts over expenditures” or “excess expenditures over receipts.”
When we implemented the computer conversion, it took two years and we definitely had an excess of expenditures over receipts, but it definitely was not a “loss.”
It was an investment.
It is so much easier to say “profit” or “loss” but it doesn’t tell the story. When we have excess receipts, we’re putting it away against the time we have extra expenditures coming our way.
I monitor our financial reserves on a monthly basis and we are well-prepared for the future.
When I came on the Board four years ago, we had financial statements and data that were not useful for tracking progress and making decisions.
It may be that the CFO and the accounting department knew what it all meant, but we didn’t.
I have worked with the CFOs and with the Finance Committee to reform the presentation of information so that it is timely, accurate, and paints a picture non-accountants can understand.
The primary responsibility of the hospital board is financial and, as my fellow commissioners will tell you, my work improved their ability to monitor it.
I know what to look for, I know the questions to ask, and I have over 30 years professional experience in financial analysis.
The best part is that I’m able to explain it in layman’s terms to the board or to the public so that we all know exactly where we stand and where we’re going.
I’m here. I’m trained. I’m experienced. I’m making a difference.
Georgia Gardner
Coupeville
