VOTE411 Voter Guide

In addition to medical knowledge, a commissioner needs to have a deep background in finance and business management. My business background includes over 30 years in executive roles to include managing a billion-dollar division of a large corporation, and 17 years as a Fire Commissioner, assuring compliance with many of the same public regulations as the Hospital District. For several years, I have been involved with the Snoqualmie Valley Health organization, including two years on the Finance Committee, so I’m very familiar with the financial goals, objectives, and challenges of the hospital. In addition to my business background, for 35 years I have been a volunteer Firefighter/EMT and have worked for the last 10 years in a hospital ER and cardiac unit, all of which I’m still actively involved in today. My work on the hospital Finance Committee, combined with my business and medical knowledge, provides me with the unique ability to guide the hospital into the future.

17 years as a Fire Commissioner, 35 years as a volunteer Firefighter/EMT and two years on the Finance Committee at Snoqualmie Valley Health.

My main goal, as a commissioner, will be to ensure our hospital district is evolving and changing to meet the needs of our growing community. We must increase the number of providers, specialty services, outpatient surgery services, rehabilitation services, diagnostic imaging services, and put clinics in the areas of population growth to provide better access to healthcare and meet this changing demographic. In my role on the Finance Committee, we are overseeing the budget for the construction of a new primary care clinic in North Bend. In addition, we just broke ground on a new 85,000 square foot Ambulatory Center, adjacent to the hospital, to be completed by the Fall of 2026. The new facility will provide additional primary and specialty care doctors, an outpatient surgical center, and address other service shortages in our area. As a commissioner, I will continue to ensure we stay focused on increasing medical services to our community.

Early in 2020, I teamed up with a private company and put together a plan to have Washington State Department of Health (DOH) fund systematic COVID testing and later, vaccinations, into nursing homes and adult family homes to stop the needless loss of lives. I also hosted public vaccination events at the Fire Departments and other locations throughout King County. I have now turned my attention to another healthcare crisis, fentanyl overdoses. Washington State has one of the highest death rates per capita in the country. To address this, I developed an opioid education and naloxone (Narcan) training class and delivered this training to our school administrators and students, businesses, and to the public throughout the area. I have also received a grant from the DOH to supply all attendees with free Narcan and to become a Narcan distribution center for the public. You must recognize a pandemic/crisis, put together an action plan and execute. This is what I do and will continue to do.

Candidate has not yet responded.

Candidate has not yet responded.

Candidate has not yet responded.

Candidate has not yet responded.

1)My wife Dariel and I have lived in the Snoqualmie Valley for more than 50 years. We raised our children here and used the Hospital for medical services such as stitches for major cuts, surgeries for broken bones, emergency services for major illnesses, support services for physical therapy, and medical clinics. The Hospital has been a vital resource for our family. 2)My wife Dariel has been a hospital commissioner for 12 years and recently resigned because of health issues. During that time the hospital has struggled to remain viable. I sat on the sidelines and been involved in the discussion of these issues. 3)I have engaged in conversations with other Valley residents about the Hospital only to discover they travel to Bellevue and Issaquah for their medical services. 4)As a public employee, I have extensive experience managing large public agencies and large public works projects. I have worked with other governmental agencies to secure million grants for public projects

I have 51- years experience as a public agency traffic and transportation planning engineer and manager. In these roles I managed a staff of up to 40 technical and professional personnel, designed and constructed major transportation facility improvements, sought and acquired millions of dollars in transportation project grants from local, state and federal transportation programs. In addition, I engaged local communities in the discussion of local issues working to identify positive solutions to benefit the community. I was a member of the Snoqualmie Valley Comprehensive Transportation Planning Process which formulated current development plans for the Snoqualmie Valley which established Snoqualmie Ridge and preserved the rural character of the Preston community. I was a member of the Preston Community Club which was a leader in the planning, design, funding and construction of the Preston Ballfields Project which preempted future commercial development in the Preston I90 corridor.

The most important issue for the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital District is securing a long-term funding source to maintain the viability of the hospital. This has become even more important as Medicaid Funds have decreased. The long-term funding source can take the form of various proposals. First, the hospital can maintain an aggressive grant submittal process. This will take Board commitment to fund staffing and resources to identify and prepare proposed grant funding submittals. In addition, I believe one of the ways to address this concerns is to increase hospital services for the Valley residents. As stated before, my conversations with Valley residents suggest many residents do not seek medical services from the local facility but rather head west to Issaquah and Bellevue. By attracting Valley residents to use the hospital, hospital revenues would increase and the hospital would gain local support for the facility which would attract support for future tax increases.

The key element required to prepare for future pandemic/epidemic events is to have a plan outlining how the district will respond to potential event scenarios. Each scenario should consider the range of individuals impacted by the event considering groups of low/moderate/high, what types of medical service will be required, staffing necessary to address the impact, additional hospital resources required, and identify if the Hospital is able to meet the requirements of each scenario. The plan should be shared with the community for their input and support. For those scenarios unable to be addressed by the hospital, the hospital should engage in discussions with other area hospitals to determine how resources could be shared. If additional resources are necessary, they should be identified and grants sought to fund the needs. The plan should be shared with residents of the hospital district for their consideration.