HEALTH DISTRICT IN TRANSITION PART I

Editor's Note: This is the first in an occasional series about Columbia County Health System serving patients in the Dayton and Waitsburg areas. The series will focus on changes and developments since last year's management study and review.

D

AYTON - More than a year after

Columbia County Health System's board of commissioners called in a consultant to help the hospital district with its management issues, the controversy over staffing has largely blown over.

In some departments, such as the Booker Rest Home, morale and efficiency have improved, while overall personnel turnover rates within the system have dropped, according to district executives.

But there's still a fair bit of grumbling about management and personnel practices. And the way the public confidence crisis was managed by thencommission chair Blaine Bickelhaupt is still a point of contention among some in the community.

So, it should be no surprise that Bickelhaupt's seat, at-large position #2 on the board, is being challenged.

"I've never done this before," said Colleen Sproul, a longtime nurse who is one of two candidates running for Bickelhaupt's seat. "But they don't have anybody who's worked in the medical field. They're (board members) all flying by the seat of their pants."

The other candidate challenging the incumbent board member is. Garry Snyder, owner of Christy's Realty in Dayton.

"Somebody needs to replace Blaine," Snyder said. "I just don't think he's qualified to be on the board. I think I would do a better job than he does. I've managed large businesses all my life."

Blaine said he too has been successful in business and learned extensively from being on the hospital board for six years. He's now more experienced and ready to serve the institution another six years.

The Incumbent

A life-long resident of Dayton, Bickelhaupt farmed with his father and grandfather until the mid 1990s when he got into the real estate business.

As owner of the local Windermere Real Estate office, Bickelhaupt has been an active sponsor of community causes including youth sports and learning, Kiwanis and Lions Club, local veterans, All Wheels, Dayton Depot, Young Life, Liberty Theater and the youth playground.

In a statement, Bickelhaupt said "it has been a pleasure to serve the community as a commissioner for Columbia County Health System for the past six years.

"During this time, I have learned how complex health systems are and have been able to use my strengths and experience to compliment other board members in moving our health system forward," he said.

Among his qualifications as a candidate, Bickelhaupt counts his first term on the board, his chairmanship of the Finance Committee, business background, lifelong residency in Columbia County and his understanding of "the importance of a strong healthcare system in our community."

Bickelhaupt said his goals for a second term include the accumulation of an understanding how changes in healthcare in rural areas affect the community's own system; ensuring good healthcare is around for his kids and grandkids; promote positive changes at the institution and educate the community on "the great quality of care that we have," and promote positive technology and facility improvements.

From The Trenches

Sproul, 59, isn't a wellknown name in Dayton, but she said her many years in the medical profession should make her an intriguing choice to those who want the district's nursing staff to have more leverage with upper management.

Born and raised in Hoquiam, Sproul received a nursing degree from Grays Harbor Community College and moved to Tacoma in 1973.

There, she worked in St. Joseph's Hospital's special care and ER units before transferring to Puget Sound Hospital to work as a quad supervisor in the intensive care and the coronary units.

After a detour through Indiana, where her husband had a chance to work as an EMS instructor, she returned to Tacoma and worked for a decade at a private clinic for internal medicine.

She met Tom Sproul and married him in 1990, then moved to Dayton in 1993, concerned about the problems with gangs and violence in the Tacoma area.

"We thought it was beautiful here," said Colleen Sproul, who had no specific job prospect when the family relocated. "We knew this was where we had to be."

Before long, Tom Sproul began generating income through his construction business and in 1995 Sproul herself landed a job at Dr. Michael Luce's private practice .

Luce's practice merged with the public clinic in the late 1990s and Sproul worked there until she sustained a back injury and was laid off without notice in 2001.

That action left a bitter taste in her mouth and Sproul relates well to other members of the system's nursing staff - past or present - who says they've not been treated fairly by the institution.

Sproul feels strongly that the district would be better off if management solicited more input from employees in a way that doesn't make them feel like they might jeopardize their job or position. Likewise for members of the community.

"There isn't enough communication," Sproul said about relations between upper management and staff, and the administration and the public it serves.

"There should be representatives from nurses and patients whose input on major decisions is sought sooner so last-minute changes can be avoided."

In the hospital's defense, CEO Charlie Button said even though there are still improvements to be made, the system has "come a long ways" from where it was a year ago.

"We've really come together as a team," he said. "We can talk about tough issues now (from the trust built among staff)."

Sproul, who said she regularly talks to a handful of nurses on the inside, said the board would gain from her experience as a medical professional and help improve relations between management and personnel.

She said she cares deeply about the institution, which struggles for long-term sustainability like many other rural hospital districts and feels she could diversify the commission by giving an underrepresented stakeholders' group a voice.

"I don't want to see the hospital close, or lose more patients and employees," she said.

Fixing Finances

Snyder, who moved to Dayton in 1995, said he would bring his business expertise to the board so it can help the hospital resolve its cash crunch, something he said Bickelhaupt was unable to do on the Finance Committee.

Late last year, the district reported it was more than $800,000 behind in its accounts receivable as its billing staff struggled with the complexity of the new system brought in as part of the new technology initiative passed by voters in 2010.

Tapping into emergency funds to keep the hospital afloat got Snyder's attention, he said.

Like Sproul, he's also alarmed about reports he hears of poor morale and employees "walking on egg shells, afraid to say anything."

Even though progress has been made since the district outsourced its billing to a firm in the Midwest, even Button acknowledges "we're not totally out of the woods yet." Button said the funds used to help cover operations now will be replenished but have basically no restrictions other than a general rainy day purpose.

Snyder said he will rely on many years of running large successful businesses, such as the Seattle-area operation for Wendy's International, and his wife Karen's fouryear background as a state auditor to help get the health system's financial house in order.

"I'm concerned about the stability of the hospital," said Snyder, who also opened the Texaco station in town and Nifty Fifties before buying Christy's Realty in 2009. "It's the largest employer in Dayton and a lot of tax dollars go there.

Snyder has served on several local boards, including the school district and chamber.

He said he has the time to devote to hospital matters.

"It's a definite commitment," he said. "I'm going to try to make a difference."