Published: Thursday, July 15, 2010
Hospital district will have money to spend on health programs
Stevens Hospital's affiliation with Swedish will give the hospital district up to $6 million a year for health programs.
EDMONDS — It's an opportunity few public hospital board members get — spending up to $6 million a year for community health and wellness programs.
The five elected board members of Stevens Hospital will begin taking on that role later this year if the pending affiliation with Seattle's Swedish Health Services is approved by the state.
Board members will oversee how millions of dollars will be spent in south Snohomish County. Much of that income coming from $7.2 million in annual hospital lease payments from Swedish, although initially only part of that money will be spent.
“I think our community has been given an awesome opportunity to do something that very few communities have,” said board member Deana Knutsen. “We have the opportunity to be the forerunners in bringing in new and more innovative ways to help improve health care and wellness in the community.”
The hospital board will transition to leading an organization that is more like a foundation than its current role overseeing the hospital, Knutsen said.
Board members have only begun to consider what types of services could be funded. They could include programs such as formation of a hospice service, new mental health services, visiting nurse services for mothers and children or financial assistance for seniors' medication costs.
“These are very different responsibilities than what we've been doing,” Knutsen said. “We want to make sure it's done in a thoughtful way.”
The model for what the hospital district could become is based in part on the experience of a public hospital district in Larimer County, Colo., which leased out its hospital and then began providing community health services.
It provides a number of health services, including dental care, mental health services and wellness programs such as cholesterol and blood pressure checks.
The public will get a chance to suggest ways that the hospital district's money can be spent, have access to its documents and will be able to attend its meetings Knutsen said.
“We're going into uncharted territory. It will take some work to bring it to fruition,” she said. “We'll have … an opportunity to think about what we'll do to enhance the health of people in south Snohomish County.”
If approved by the state Department of Health, Seattle's Swedish Health Services would begin managing Stevens Hospital in Edmonds, potentially as soon as Sept. 1.
Under the pending agreement, the hospital district, the legal entity to which property taxes are paid, will collect an estimated $10 million a year in income.
That money primarily will come from the $600,000 monthly payments from Swedish to lease the hospital, a total of $7.2 million a year. The rest will come from a continuing levy on district property owners, rent payments on other properties and other revenue.
Initially, only part of that annual income will be spent each year — perhaps $4 million to $6 million — because the new organization will want to spend its money prudently, said Fred Langer, hospital board president.
Although some may question whether the hospital district's maintenance and operations levy needs to continue, Langer said that the hospital district still has some maintenance responsibilities for the hospital, as well as overhead costs for running the hospital district.
“In order for there to be a justification for public control, there has to be public investment,” Langer said.
One of the first steps in creating the new role for the hospital district will be hiring a superintendent to run its day-to-day operations, Langer said. That employee could start by year's end.
If the Stevens-Swedish deal is approved, it will mean that 42 of the state's 58 public hospital districts actually operate hospitals, said Jeff Mero, executive director of the Association of Washington Public Hospital District.
Hospital districts across the state are involved in a number of nonhospital services, including running fitness centers, providing local school district nutrition services, developing independent housing for seniors and the disabled, running smoking cessation classes and offering prenatal services, he said.
“In terms of an existing organization the size of Stevens, operated by a public hospital district, turning its assets to a nonprofit organization, nothing of this magnitude has happened in the state,” he said.
“It puts those local public hospital district commissioners in a really unique spot. … This is a first-of-its-kind sort of transition.”
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
The five elected board members of Stevens Hospital will begin taking on that role later this year if the pending affiliation with Seattle's Swedish Health Services is approved by the state.
Board members will oversee how millions of dollars will be spent in south Snohomish County. Much of that income coming from $7.2 million in annual hospital lease payments from Swedish, although initially only part of that money will be spent.
“I think our community has been given an awesome opportunity to do something that very few communities have,” said board member Deana Knutsen. “We have the opportunity to be the forerunners in bringing in new and more innovative ways to help improve health care and wellness in the community.”
The hospital board will transition to leading an organization that is more like a foundation than its current role overseeing the hospital, Knutsen said.
Board members have only begun to consider what types of services could be funded. They could include programs such as formation of a hospice service, new mental health services, visiting nurse services for mothers and children or financial assistance for seniors' medication costs.
“These are very different responsibilities than what we've been doing,” Knutsen said. “We want to make sure it's done in a thoughtful way.”
The model for what the hospital district could become is based in part on the experience of a public hospital district in Larimer County, Colo., which leased out its hospital and then began providing community health services.
It provides a number of health services, including dental care, mental health services and wellness programs such as cholesterol and blood pressure checks.
The public will get a chance to suggest ways that the hospital district's money can be spent, have access to its documents and will be able to attend its meetings Knutsen said.
“We're going into uncharted territory. It will take some work to bring it to fruition,” she said. “We'll have … an opportunity to think about what we'll do to enhance the health of people in south Snohomish County.”
If approved by the state Department of Health, Seattle's Swedish Health Services would begin managing Stevens Hospital in Edmonds, potentially as soon as Sept. 1.
Under the pending agreement, the hospital district, the legal entity to which property taxes are paid, will collect an estimated $10 million a year in income.
That money primarily will come from the $600,000 monthly payments from Swedish to lease the hospital, a total of $7.2 million a year. The rest will come from a continuing levy on district property owners, rent payments on other properties and other revenue.
Initially, only part of that annual income will be spent each year — perhaps $4 million to $6 million — because the new organization will want to spend its money prudently, said Fred Langer, hospital board president.
Although some may question whether the hospital district's maintenance and operations levy needs to continue, Langer said that the hospital district still has some maintenance responsibilities for the hospital, as well as overhead costs for running the hospital district.
“In order for there to be a justification for public control, there has to be public investment,” Langer said.
One of the first steps in creating the new role for the hospital district will be hiring a superintendent to run its day-to-day operations, Langer said. That employee could start by year's end.
If the Stevens-Swedish deal is approved, it will mean that 42 of the state's 58 public hospital districts actually operate hospitals, said Jeff Mero, executive director of the Association of Washington Public Hospital District.
Hospital districts across the state are involved in a number of nonhospital services, including running fitness centers, providing local school district nutrition services, developing independent housing for seniors and the disabled, running smoking cessation classes and offering prenatal services, he said.
“In terms of an existing organization the size of Stevens, operated by a public hospital district, turning its assets to a nonprofit organization, nothing of this magnitude has happened in the state,” he said.
“It puts those local public hospital district commissioners in a really unique spot. … This is a first-of-its-kind sort of transition.”
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
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