No crystal balls, but there is a plan in place

As the Board of Directors of North Sonoma County Healthcare District and Chief Executive Officer we thank Healdsburg Tribune publisher, Rollie Atkinson, for his recent timely editorial (“Our hospital’s crystal ball,” Sept. 11, 2014). The editorial does a very good job of describing many of the obstacles facing small community hospitals in Sonoma County, such as our own Healdsburg District Hospital, as they struggle to adapt to these conditions and overcome their detrimental effect. Some hospitals will not make it: witness the recent closure of Palm Drive Hospital in Sebastapol. But we believe it can be done and we are committed to that outcome in our community.
We don’t have any crystal balls, but we do have a plan and we are executing it. As we write, our hospital is showing positive operating results for the first time in several years. Other measures to put the hospital on a solid financial footing for the future while maintaining and improving its well deserved reputation for very high quality locally provided healthcare services are being implemented. To do that we are leveraging our strengths: an executive team that knows how to lead and is not afraid to make changes in operations, whether or not popular, but vital to success; a committed and highly capable cadre of employees who do the heavy lifting every day; a superbly talented medical staff strongly devoted to our community; and most importantly, a community and the Healthcare Foundation Northern Sonoma County that has for years supported quality healthcare in our District.
Success will not come easily; however, we are making progress piece-by-piece, day-by-day, year-by-year, and according to a plan because we do not have a crystal ball.
Mr. Atkinson’s editorial has reminded us that just overcoming the obstacles is not enough. We need to do a better job of telling our story. Not just a one-sided exposition, but rather in the context of a conversation with the community we serve. We believe that is what Mr. Atkinson was suggesting, that we have a discussion about the challenges of healthcare. We also look forward to a robust conversation with all of you.
 
The Board of Directors, North Sonoma County Healthcare District
Bill Esselstein
Bill Hawn
Gary Anderson
Sue Campbell
EJ Neil
Chief Executive Officer, Healdsburg District Hospital Nancy Schmid