League of Women Voters of Laramie Voter Guide 2004
Albany County Hospital District Board of Trustees
The term of office is four years and the positions are nonpartisan.
There is no stipend or mileage allowance. No travel to outside events
is required; however, if board members elect to travel to educational
seminars or meetings, they are reimbursed for travel expense. Three
seats are up for election this year out of a total of six board
positions. All Albany County residents vote for all board candidates.
Biographical Information:
Jonlee S. Anderle:
I was born and raised in Kansas and lived in Colorado for several years
before moving to Laramie in 1993. I am a Sergeant with the Laramie
Police Department and a member of the Wyoming Peace Officer Association
and the Masonic Lodge. I have served on the IMH Community Relations
committee since 2002 and was recently appointed to serve on the IMH
Board of Trustees.
Daniel L. Baccari:
I am a native of Wyoming and have lived in Laramie for the past 35
years. My wife, Rhonda, and I have three grown children. I hold a B.S.
degree in Business Administration and a MBA (emphasis in accounting). I
retired from the University of Wyoming in 2003 after 34 years of
service, the last 15 of which I served as the Vice President of
Administration and Finance.
Julie A. Bandemer:
I have lived in Laramie for 15 years. I was born in Iowa. I am married
to Travis Bandemer we have three children, Megan 19 years old, Jordan
17 years old and Austin who is 7 years old. I have worked for the
University of Wyoming for 6 years. I work as an assistant to
University of Wyoming President Dubois. I am currently pursuing a
bachelor's degree in criminal justice from UW.
Shelbie Bershinsky: I've lived here since 1992. My husband was raised
here. I graduated from UW with a BS in 1993 and a BSN in 1997. I worked
at IMH from 1995-2002 in Extended Care, then as a L&D/Nursery
nurse. I am currently the Clinical Education Coordinator for High
Country Home Health. I have 3 children, Jeremiah, Hunter (deceased) and
Madeline. Patient care is my passion and I'm lucky to be a part of the
lives of many residents.
C. L. Burton:
I have lived and worked in Albany County 49 of the last 52 years. In
1961 I graduated from University High School and earned a B.S. in
business from the University of Wyoming in 1965. I worked for Rocky
Mountain Forest Products Corp and have served on the First Interstate
and First National Bank board of directors. I am currently a director
of Handel Information Technology and a partner in Medicine Creek Ranch
L.L.C.
Frank Cylvick:
I was born and educated in New York City. I worked in the field of
military electronics for twelve years before establishing my own
company. The company grew from two employees to over 140 employees. In
1996 my wife and I moved to Laramie. We bought a building in Laramie to
house the business and we built a home in Centennial.
E. G. "Gerry" Meyer:
Betty and I have lived in Laramie over 40 years. We have three grown
sons, graduates of UW. I have been with the University as Professor of
Chemistry and Dean of Arts and Sciences, and later as Vice President
for Research. "Off campus" I have served on local and national boards
including the Chamber of Commerce, the Airport, the Wyoming Territorial
Park, and the American Institute of Chemists. I also served on the City
Council.
Larry Charles Munn:
I have lived in Albany County, Wyoming for more than 23 years and am a
Professor of Soil Science in the Department of Renewable Resources,
College of Agriculture at UW. I was raised in Ohio, served with the
1st. Infantry Division (Army) in Vietnam 1968-69 and then attended
college, eventually earning a Ph.D. from Montana State University. I
live in the Harmony area with my wife, Mary Lynne, and an assortment of
horses, dogs, sheep and chickens.
Ronald D. Nelson:
I am married to Cheech Nelson and have been for 37 years. We have two
married sons. I have been a health care administrator for 30 years and
have been the Administrator of Laramie Care Center for the past nine
years. As administrator, I am responsible for the care of about 80
residents and employ about one hundred employees. I am currently a
member of the Ivinson Memorial Hospital Ethics Committee and a member
of Rotary.
Jason M. Tangeman:
I was born in Laramie and have made Laramie my home for the past 18
years. My wife Laura and I have two children, Jordan and David. Laura
and I are both University of Wyoming graduates. In 1997 I graduated
from the University of Wyoming, College of Law and have been practicing
law in Laramie since 1998. I am currently a partner in the firm of
Anthony, Nicholas, Tangeman & Yates, LLC.
Dwight Whitney:
I have over 22 years experience in healthcare management, general
business management, managed care, healthcare contracting, provider
network development, strategic planning and business development. I
have worked for a healthcare system with 28 hospitals in 14 Western
states. I have dealt with both rural and urban hospital facilities. I
have been a hospital productivity consultant. I have also worked for
two HMO's, a PPO and a Fortune 500 medical device company.
Question 1: Staff morale at the hospital has been poor in the past.
What would you use as indicators that it is improving under the new
management?
Jonlee S. Anderle: When I ran for the board in 2002, improving staff
morale was one of my objectives. At that time, I proposed the
implementation of upward evaluations where subordinates are permitted
to evaluate their superior as part of their superior's annual
evaluation. I would also like to see a hospital-wide employee survey to
measure morale under the new management. I would like to see the staff
salaries brought in line with other hospitals in the Front Range. This
would allow IMH to attract quality people and retain the quality people
already working in the facility.
Daniel L. Baccari: I would evaluate current staff morale using the
following measures. I would ask what methods has the new hospital
administration employed to communicate with and receive feedback from
the hospital staff? An assessment of administration's efforts will
indicate the potential for communications to improve, as well as
morale. I would also request the Board be provided a periodic summary
of exit interviews completed by terminating employees. This should
indicate why employees are leaving, and if morale is still poor or
improving. If such interviews were not used, then I would request
personnel start using them.
Julie Bandemer: I haven't seen any indicators in IMH employee's
behavior that would
suggest improvement under new management to date. The new management is
still so
very new. However, employee retention, heightened participation in
community
endeavors - United Way campaign, employee attendance at IMH trustee
board
meetings lessened and no volatile outbursts, departments working
together as a
team to improve systems and resolve hospital-wide issues would all be
strong
indicators of satisfaction with the new management system. It will take
time.
Shelbie Bershinsky: Employees have become increasingly unhappy over the
past few years, concerns voiced but no one listens. Some employees are
scared to speak up. This is unacceptable and does affect patients. The
board, as well as the new management needs to LISTEN. Employees are a
valuable resource. It is too soon to judge improvement since the new
management just started, but I hope the employees can take advantage of
outside input and feel like they can speak up. Indicators of
improvement would be lower turnover and increased employee input. I
want to see employee satisfaction surveys on a regular basis.
C. L. Burton: I believe a constructive and healthy staff morale is a
direct function of respect and trust of the administration and this is
a two way street which must be earned not given by both parties. I
would look for joint goal setting by both the staff and the
administration in the attainment of excellent health care, working
conditions and fiscal responsibility of the hospital. This being said,
we should see a reduction in employee turnover and absenteeism and
positive suggestions for constant improvement no matter how small.
Frank Cylvick: Staff moral is obvious. When you see smiling faces, when
co-workers are cordial to each other, when there is a positive attitude
about work, when employees do more than they are required, when
complaints are few, and when there is reduced job turnover, staff moral
would be considered improving.
E. G. "Gerry" Meyer: Good staff morale is critical to the successful
operation of any organization, and it depends on communication and
respect.As dean I formally reviewed each department every three years
and had an on-going monitoring system to detect any problems when they
arose. The formal review consisted of a questionnaire to each
department member followed by a personal interview. The on-going
monitoring consisted of being sensitive to remarks and actions. The
current hospital management needs to follow some such plan and report
the results at each board meeting. The board needs to evaluate
management semiannually.
Larry Charles Munn: Only effective, fair and professional
administration will ultimately improve morale at Ivinson. The Board
needs to open and maintain communication with all categories of
employees at the hospital to insure that confidence in hospital
leadership and administrative practice is restored. All employees
should come to feel that their good work for the hospital is recognized
and appreciated, and that decisions which affect their working
environment and careers are made professionally, to meet present and
future health care needs of the community.
Ronald D. Nelson: Good staff are of the utmost importance to any health
care facility. It is the responsibility of the CEO to hire good
managers, train them well, and provide good supervision. Likewise, it
is the responsibility of the managers to do the same for the employees
that work for them. It is very important that the board hire a leader
who also believes that all employees are of great importance to the
organization. The board should also set in place a policy that employee
opinion surveys be conducted on a routing basis.
Jason M. Tangeman: The ability to attract and retain quality health
care providers and administrators appears to be one of the most
important indicators that hospital moral is improving. In this regard,
an open and professional working atmosphere where employees trust both
the administration and the hospital board is essential.
Dwight Whitney: An unannounced visit to any department in an
organization is one way to gauge morale. Observe if people are laughing
while working, smiling, exchanging banter in the workplace. Are they
working through problems as a team? Is there an upbeat atmosphere or is
it oppressive? These things are clear to visitor in a very short time.
I think board members should visit unannounced on occasion and talk to
employees. As for a formal measure, there is always the employee
survey. Take a baseline measure and then follow up in the future.
Question 2: Describe the current role of the hospital board and
what you would like to see it become.
Jonlee S. Anderle: I believe the Board should set policy and goals for
the hospital and allow management to enforce policy and pursue the
goals without interference. The Board should serve as an oversight
entity to the management to ensure that the patients are receiving
top-notch care, the physicians are working well with IMH, and the staff
is treated justly. I would like to see IMH pursue a Critical Access
Hospital designation, which would dramatically increase Medicare
Reimbursement. I am encouraged by the management group that was
recently brought to IMH and hope to continue the rebuilding of staff
morale.
Daniel L. Baccari: The Board's primary role includes setting policy to
guide administration's management of the hospital's day-to-day affairs,
defining its future direction, monitoring the hospital's fiscal
condition and approving operating and capital budgets, and foremost,
hiring a CEO to administer hospital operations. The Board should not
get involved in hospital management, which is the responsibility of the
CEO and staff. It's the Board's responsibility to review the
performance of the CEO, and to take appropriate action if performance
does not adequately meet expectations. To the extent the current board
has deviated from this role, it should make adjustments accordingly.
Julie Bandemer: I am invested in the hospital as a member of this
community. I want
our hospital to be strong. I want the very best care available right
here at
home. I bring no hidden agendas. I bring value through a unique
perspective...I
am woman. Women make the healthcare decisions for the family. I am
young. I
have a daughter attending the university. My family members have
repeatedly used
the services at Ivinson. I have a solid understanding of financials and
would
read the reports with a very critical eye. I have a very compelling
desire to
give back to my community.
Shelbie Bershinsky: The Hospital Board should oversee the overall
running of the hospital. I have not seen these things happen in several
years. They allowed a CEO and financial officier who caused great havoc
in our community and with staff to stay on for over three years. Our
Cancer Center and the Foundation were in turmoil this past year due to
certain board members. They need to become proactive and involved. They
need to be honest with the community and open all board meetings
instead of hiding behind closed executive sessions. They need to
LISTEN.
C. L. Burton: The current and future role of the Hospital Board is to
provide the leadership and general direction in the attainment of
excellent health care and governance of the hospital's fiduciary
responsibilities and not micro management of the administration or
staff. It is the board's responsibility to be open minded and forward
looking to meet the challenge of continuing excellent health care at a
fair and equitable cost to the citizens of Albany County and
surrounding areas.
Frank Cylvick: I cannot comment on the current role of the hospital
board because I do not know the current role. In using my past
experiences of serving on other boards, I would review the current
board's organization mission and review that with the new
management/CEO, and see if the mission statement has to be amended. The
board and the CEO have to be on the same page in order to steer the
ship. If there is not clear direction at the beginning we will never
achieve our objective.
E. G. "Gerry" Meyer: The primary role of the Hospital Board, of any
board, is to determine policy and to see that it is effectively carried
out. Implicit in this is the need of the board to hire the right
managerial personnel and to carefully monitor their performance. Boards
are not in themselves management entities, but must make sure that
their surrogates, the managers, perform well and that the institution
performs well. Boards must also do long range planning, make certain
that they are very familiar with operations and finances , and
individually serve as advocates and as listeners to the community.
Larry Charles Munn: . The Board has most recently been engulfed in
crisis management. To move forward, the Board's first responsibility is
to insure that the hospital has effective leadership (through the CEO
and CFO). The Board also has a responsibility to provide continuing
oversight of the hospital's financial condition. Finally, the Board has
to keep informed about changes in health care that will affect the
ability of the hospital (and other community health care providers) to
meet the health care needs of the local and regional community in the
future.
Ronald D. Nelson: The role of the hospital board is to set general
policy, and short and long term goals. Board members need to understand
that the first rule of business is to stay in business, therefore, they
need to be able to review and understand the complex financial
statements every month. Board members need to understand the budgeting
process and the importance of adhering to the budget and recognize and
give direction to management when a department gets in trouble
financially. This is a community hospital and the board members need to
be accessible to the public and to the employees for their input.
Jason M. Tangeman: The role of the board is to establish the hospital's
long-term plans and goals as a quality health care provider in Laramie
and Albany County. This includes formulating fiscal policy and
establishing parameters for realistic growth and development. It is
also important the hospital board maintain a constructive working
partnership with the hospital foundation to achieve those plans and
goals.
Dwight Whitney: The current role of the board appears to governance and
oversight at a distance. I would like to see the board have a more
hands on approach to the management of the hospital. Eliminate some of
the expensive consultants and get directly involved in the
organizations management. If the board is incapable of this, then we
have the wrong board.