Why pay attention to local politics
Local politics is the foundation of our democracy. It’s where we can enact change, voice concerns and truly be a part of the democratic process.
This is something that’s not as easily done at the state or federal level.
A lot of people feel involvement in local politics isn’t necessary unless it directly affects them. However, when it comes to localities, policies that are enacted inevitably will affect you at some point and time — that’s if you choose to remain in that community.
Hospital boards may not seem particularly important, maybe because you have never been to the hospital or perhaps because you have been to the hospital and have not had a problem. This hospital board election has been contentious but I still feel though it’s unclear to many why it has been contentious and what’s on the line.
The board is comprised of five people. Right now there’s one buisness person on the board. The rest are all physicians. The board enacts change with a majority vote. As of right now there happens to be a majority of one vocation and for that matter a majority of one vocation running as well. That vocation happens to be clinicians. That means there’s not a diversity of viewpoints but a majority of likeminded individuals.
The like-mindedness doesn’t lead to an in depth discussion of new thoughts and ideas or any kind of change. The board hires the CEO and guides the CEO in management of other staff at the hospital. Without multiple viewpoints from different vocations/members of the community, important decisions such as these aren’t truly decided and/or represented by the community.
This is a COMMUNITY hospital. In my district, not only am I the only woman running, but I’m the only non-clinician running. One of my opponents is a practicing medical doctor and the other is a physician’s assistant, which is still a clinician, but practicing under a licensed MD. I on the other hand can bring knowledge of insurance and billing, contracts, human resources, business management skills (having built a practice from the ground up), government mandates, but most importantly a knowledge of how patients need and want to be treated.
Running a medical practice for the last 15 years, I have been exposed to multiple patient issues whether it be insurance or patient care that need to be resolved immediately. These resolutions have included working with the hospital on multiple occasions about insurance issues, surgery scheduling or patient advocacy and many others. Urgency and knowledge is necessary in this industry where sometimes policy and mandates can change on a monthly basis.
When you vote for your local candidates, please keep in mind you want your community represented. You want ALL aspects of your community represented, male, female, different vocations, nationalities and so forth. We want a community to prosper but it can only do that with representation of various points of view so that change and the balance of power can be established.
Victoria Porter is a candidate to represent District 4 on the Sierra View District Board.