Print
Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 29 June 2017 29 June 2017

By Mary Alice Murphy

The June 29, 2017, special board meeting held by the Grant County Board of Commissioners had a short agenda, which took a little over an hour, including a recess in the middle for a meet-and-greet with the five finalists for the Gila Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees.

The first item for the commissioners to consider was a Memorandum of Understanding supporting community development of Fort Bayard among the county and the municipalities, including Santa Clara, which will be the lead on the development, Silver City, Bayard and Hurley, as well as Western New Mexico University.

Santa Clara's history is tied to Fort Bayard. When the village began, it was to support the fort. The current mayor, Richard Bauch, has long been interested in tying the village again to Fort Bayard. His vision of developing the fort as an economic driver for the village and the county and its agencies has been strong and determined. Santa Clara paid for a 2015 Fort Bayard Business Plan, which included working collaboratively with the state of New Mexico and the private sector.

The MOU went through a few iterations before it was approved by all the entities, with the last changes at the request of Grant County.

The memorandum asks for cooperation among the entities to preserve and develop Fort Bayard, with no financial obligation on the part of the individual agencies. The MOU also has a termination date of June 30, 2019, but any partner may withdraw from the agreement at any time.

Also on the agenda was an amendment to an agreement with the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District Non-Metro Area Agency on Aging for direct purchase of services for the seniors program.

County Manager Charlene Webb explained that the amendment, which the commissioners approved was the final one to get the transition of the Senior Services Program handed over to Hidalgo Medical Services on July 1. "HMS has received the contracts and we're working to get everything finalized."

The next item of business was the one most of those attending the meeting awaited.

The questions for the five finalists for the GRMC Board of Trustees—Tom Blanchard, Don Guber, Jeannie Miller, James Weisenburger and Edwin L. Wilmot—and their answers to those questions would help the commissioners make their decision on which applicant to name to fill the one community member vacancy. The physician vacancy was filled at the last commission meeting by the one applicant for the position—Dr. Victor Nwachuku.

"We've never done this before, because we usually only have one or two applicants, so we're perplexed on how to do this," Commission Chairman Brett Kasten said. "I'm right now preparing little slips of paper with the applicants' names. I will give them to Assistant Clerk Connie Holguin to draw them randomly for the order of their presentations."

Kasten said each finalist was sent a packet with three questions for each to answer. They ask the candidates to tell the commission about themselves, why they want to be a board member, and what special skills each brings to the table.

Guber's name was pulled first.

"It is an honor for me to apply," Guber said. "I have spent 40 years here, and, with my wife, have had a couple of businesses. We both worked at Gila Regional, where I was director of the cardiopulmonary department and also worked in risk management. I began at Hillcrest Hospital, which had 180 employees and retired from Gila Regional 2006, when the hospital had about 750 employees. That experience brings me a unique perspective, with 30 years at this hospital. I'm very familiar with the hospital, which is a little rural hospital, where 70 percent of the patients are on Medicare and Medicaid. The government sets the reimbursement rates, so it's tough for a small hospital to make a go of it. Like any business, the hospital has to make a profit, so it can grow and get new equipment to offer more services to the community."

Blanchard said several of his clients encouraged him to apply for the board. "I've been in the health insurance business since 1976. I have a deep knowledge of health insurance and how hospitals get paid and how doctors get paid. I already know D.C. is a mess. We need to turn over health insurance to the states. The Affordable Care Act or Obamacare restricted the insured to HMOs (health management organizations), with no option for PPOs (preferred provider organizations), so clients were limited in their options and could not go to the doctors of their choice. They were stuck with New Mexico Health Connections, but the doctors and the hospitals can't agree on who takes what insurance. I can offer a great knowledge of health insurance."

Wilmot said he is a recent retiree to the community, but when he and his wife built a house six years ago, they made a commitment to the community.

"I emphasize that my career for the last 20 years was at high level government," Wilmot said. "I understand governance versus management. The board needs a worldview to guide the CEO and the hospital leaders. I bring corporate knowledge, too. Why is this position right for me? I want to participate in the community. I have tried to pick a niche during my life. I got on the Los Alamos Medical Center board when it was about to lose its accreditation and I had found my niche. I have fabulous completion skills. I have a breadth of experience, with my ability to deal with complexity, simplify it and explain it. I offer a performance guarantee. If I don't perform the way you want me to, I will remove myself from the board."

Commissioner Harry Browne asked about Wilmot's ideas of transparency.

"You have to find the opportunity to bring the public into the discussion on contracts," Wilmot said. "You talk about what you can talk about. I will get legal advice on what I am allowed to say. Be conscious that stakeholder involvement is crucial."

The next to last applicant to speak was James Weisenburger. "I've been involved in health care most of my life. I think the board needs a representative that knows nursing." He said he has worked in rehab as a Licensed Practical Nurse and then became a Registered Nurse. According to his experience list, he worked at Gila Regional Medical Center from 1987-2003.

"I served as Operating Room director for a time," Weisenburger said. "I left and went to Fort Bayard Medical Center, where I served as staff RN, a unit manager and a house supervisor until 2007, when I left for the New Mexico State Veterans' Home in Truth or Consequences."

He said he left Gila Regional when he became concerned about its care, because of a couple of incidents involving friends that saw delays in treatment.

"My past experience in health care would be beneficial in helping the board make fiscal decisions," Weisenburger said."

Kasten asked him, with his experience in different medical facilities, if he saw things done differently.

"I worked at Fort Bayard as a house supervisor in the shut down block," Weisenburger replied. "It was where those with problems were kept to keep them safe. I went to Truth or Consequences to work with the veterans who were disabled or had dementia. I was responsible for taking care of them and scheduling their treatments."

Miller had her name picked last. She said she was born and raised in Safford, Arizona, has a degree from the University of Chicago in sociology, a degree in mathematics from the University of Arizona and an executive certificate from the Thunderbird School of International Management.

"I have served in Silver City on the Western Institute for Lifelong Learning board, being president for a term, and am a founding member and co-chair of the Southwest Festival of the Written Word," Miller said. "I also serve on the Friends of the Library Board and was a member of the hospital Auxiliary. I started out in health care in hospital health information systems at U of A medical school and hospital. I retired from the city of Phoenix. My husband and I wanted to return to a small town, and Silver City was our pick, because when we examined the hospital care, it made our decision. My husband had medical issues for many years. He passed away in 2015. I asked myself what I wanted to do.

"My first jobs were in health care, in electronic records," Miller continued. "I was on the ground floor at the U of A hospital doing data processing. I fell in love with hospital work. I also worked with the Indian Health Service and was hired to go to Alaska to perform governmental accounting and municipal government services applications—what we call IT (information technology) today. I ended up in municipal government in IT. We returned to Arizona in 1992, where I became involved with the city of Phoenix in enterprise email systems and IT application support. As Deputy City Clerk, I had rotations through all the city's systems."

She said she is very familiar with governing boards, and understands the line between governing boards and staff.

"The reason I want to be on the Board of Trustees," Miller said, "is because I want to go back to health care delivery. Hospitals, in my opinion, are living organisms, so when something happens in one place, it impacts what happens elsewhere in the hospital. Hospitals exist only for the wellbeing, care and safety of the patient. This board has the chance to be the best it can be. I'm a problem solver, and can analyze and synthesize solutions. I have project management experience. I understand restraints and confines by virtue of statutes. I believe in teamwork, collaboration and consensus building. I appreciate your consideration of my application to be a board member."

Browne asked how many board meetings the applicants had attended recently. Miller said she attended the most recent board meeting, as well as the budget meeting. Blanchard said none. Wilmot said he had attended about nine months of meetings. Weisenburger reported several attendances and Guber said: "I reported to the Board of Trustees."

After about a 20-minute recess for members of the audience, commissioners and candidates to chat among themselves, Kasten called the meeting back to order.

"I am elated with the slate of candidates," Kasten said. "I would like Board of Trustees Chairman Jeremiah Garcia to talk about the duties of being a trustee."

"This is an important day," Garcia said. "This is an awesome forum. I want quality trustees. It's an honor for all those who put their names in the hat. It's an honor that I will be a peer of one of them. I am a trustee. We encourage challenging discussions to make challenging decisions. We ask you to speak your mind. Being a trustee is one of the most challenging, rewarding and tough things I've ever done."

He said he had recently attended a symposium, where one of the things discussed was the five Ps of a trustee.

"What we expect is presence," Garcia said. "Try to make every committee meeting, every board meeting and the special meetings. Next is preparation. Each trustee needs to read the packet and do the homework. They need to understand the information. Participation is No. 3. We want you to give input. I don't expect anyone to be a puppet. Challenge the other trustees and educate yourself. Fourth is developing pacts, which is a new one for us. It addresses getting buy-in at the legislative sessions and with the state and federal agencies. The last is payments, with trustees having to understand policy."

He said he liked the way the process for this position had been done. "Health care impacts start in Washington to the state and to Gila Regional. We need to be the greatest hospital we can be. The bottom line is trustees must make decisions. We will accept you and do an orientation with you. We will give you time to grow. I warn you. You will spend many hours in meetings, meeting with recruited physicians and looking at contracts."

Kasten proposed taking nominations. Browne suggested each commissioner present his or her top two candidates, which Kasten agreed to.

"I hear people frequently emphasizing their long roots in the community," Browne said. "That's good, but my perspective is that there needs to be a breadth of experience with deep understanding of the community. My two top picks are Wilmot and Miller."

Commissioner Billy Billings said his number one pick was Guber, with Miller coming in second.

Commissioner Alicia Edwards said she agreed with Browne's comments. "I appreciate the candidates for their quality and I encourage you to apply next year. My choices are Miller and Wilmot."

Commissioner Gabriel Ramos said his two picks were Guber and Miller.

"I think one has popped out as the leader," Kasten said. "My two picks were Guber and Miller, and I also liked Weisenburger."

Ramos made a motion to choose Miller and she was approved as the Gila Regional Board of Trustees member beginning July 1.

Billings said the process was transparent, which he liked.

Kasten pointed out that two slots for board members would come up next June. He encouraged the remaining candidates to apply again.

Miller told the Beat after adjournment of the meeting that she thanked the commissioners for their vote of confidence. "I intend to show up and work."