Hospital Prognosis Dims

The defeat this week of Measure F troubles us on several levels.
That was the $45 million bond measure to upgrade key systems at the hospital, to acquire the nearby Carinalli property and to plan for constructing new facilities and refurbishing existing ones. But hey, who knew? We mean, who knew the election was Tuesday, who knew the importance of resolving the siting issue?
Apparently, not very many. Only 9,400 people voted, out of more than 20,000 registered. At just 47 percent, that’s an unusually low turnout for Sonoma Valley, which normally has voter turnout of almost 80 percent. It’s less than even the Measure E school parcel tax drew last November. On Tuesday itself, barely more than 2,000 voted.
Even so, of those who did vote, how many knew the rationale for the proposal? Yes, the board meetings had been carried live on SVTV27. Yes, we carried news of the board’s decision to take this first half-step and provided contextual information. And yes, we shared “Our View” with you.
But someone needed to carry the message to the voters. Certainly, that’s not our role. With nothing else on the ballot, we believe it takes a campaign to keep the issue in front of the voters, to remind them of its importance and to make the case for its passage. Maybe a few “Yes on F” signs, at least, along with some mass mailings and well-placed advertisements.
We’ve consistently chastised elected boards over their inclination to run “stealth” campaigns with no publicity. The school board tried it twice for a parcel tax – and failed both times. When the hospital supporters announced their intent to follow the same strategy, we noted that, “If the proposal is sound, the agency shouldn’t be afraid to give it maximum exposure in the marketplace of ideas. We voters are not unsophisticated.” Wise words, if we say so ourselves.
More importantly, though, we’re also worried about health care in the valley. The goal, to remind ourselves and others, is to maintain an emergency room that can be reached within minutes, not something approaching an hour, even under optimum travel conditions. And that requires a complement of diagnostic equipment and adjoining hospital facilities. Which we want, too.
Carl Gerlach, the-Coalition-consultant-who-became-the-hospital-boss, has said that a full hospital in a community our size will always require subsidy. If not through the construction of an up-to-date facility to house the operation, then through infusions of operating capital. It remains Gerlach’s plan that the hospital operations will reach break-even, and the data seem to show he’s ahead of his goals to achieve that. Once reached, that opens up new opportunities for borrowing against future revenue and for other funding mechanisms.
So the question we worry about is this: can Gerlach do that now, without the prospect of an expanded site and new facilities?
He was quoted in the Sun last week saying he’ll push ahead with the computer system conversion, that he’ll draw down available credit lines to improve infrastructure, and that if Measure F doesn’t pass, “I’m getting back into the ring. We’re all going to get back into the ring and we’re going to make the turnaround work.” Godspeed, Mr. Gerlach.