Hospital continues JPA planning

Congratulations to new officers, thanks to the old, a plea for diversity and then, discussion and an informal agreement on a next step forward. So went the last meeting of the year for the Sonoma Valley Health Care District Strategic Planning Committee.
After the preliminary congratulations to the new Sonoma Valley Hospital District Board president Bill Boreum, and thanks to former board president Dick Kirk, committee member Gina Cuclis made a plea that the hospital board consider diversity when picking their bond measure oversight committee. “I just want to make sure it’s not just five retired men,” she said, laughing, but serious in her concern that the committee reflect the make-up of the whole community. Boerum said he felt sure there are many qualified women in the community, and “We’ll certainly lean in the direction” that she indicated. “Let’s just get some good applicants and we’ll pick the best,” he said.
The committee then got down to the business of how to pull together a health insurance plan. Committee chair Richard Fogg noted that because of an error, the discussion was listed as “information” and not “action” on the agenda, so they could not actually vote, but that they could get a sense of the feeling of the group. By the end of the discussion, they each expressed their general agreement that they should move forward, bring on a professional to help them do what the experts on the committee are simply over-committed to do, and continue to support the efforts of the JPA.
The only point of disagreement was Fogg’s concern that they were moving too fast, and that they should do a study on what went wrong with the Health Plan of the Redwoods, on which they could base their next steps. Dr. Kirk said, “I don’t think we need any more analysis.” Boreum, who strongly recommended they get professional help, agreed. Others agreed as well, and Fogg, hoping the action was not a matter of “Ready. Fire. Aim,” said he would support the plan, and hope it works.