Tension between the Valley Medical Center Board of Commissioners has been increasing at the past few meetings and it reached a boiling point Monday.
The acrimony centered on a swirl of conflict of interest questions surrounding the construction of a free standing emergency department in Covington and audio taping commission meetings.
Valley is a public hospital district serving south King County including Covington and a portion of Maple Valley and Black Diamond.
Hospital officials are planning to construct an emergency department in the downtown area of Covington. MultiCare is also planning to construct an emergency department and 58-bed hospital next to its Urgent Care facility in Covington.
There has been controversy among the commission members and staff since Commissioner Anthony Hemstad presented a motion for an options analysis at the March 1 meeting, which passed unanimously after discussion.
The Valley staff presented the analysis at the March 15 meeting and the board passed a resolution 3-1 — with an abstention — authorizing construction of the emergency department.
Three members voted yes supporting the resolution, board President Sue Bowman, commissioners Carolyn Parnell and Don Jacobson.
Hemstad voted no and Commissioner Aaron Heide abstained.
Heide asked for a statement from Mike Miller, former commissioner, regarding his activities in relation to the project.
Mike Glenn, senior vice president of business development for Valley, said at the March 15 meeting Miller had introduced him to people in the city, but no payments were made to him.
Heide beat Miller in the November general election for a seat on the commission.
Letter and e-mail
Early on during the Monday, April 5 board meeting, Bowman read a letter from Miller concerning the questions raised by Heide.
Miller wrote, “I am writing this letter to you because I am outraged, and at the same time amused, that an elected official could abstain from an official vote on Commission business ‘pending’ confirmation from a private citizen that the private citizen has no interest in a proposed project of your District.”
Miller went on to write, “To be absolutely clear, neither I, nor any of my family members, friends or business colleagues, to my knowledge, have any interest in the Covington project, either personal, financial, or in any other way, directly or indirectly.”
In the final paragraph of the three page letter Miller wrote, “Finally, it is ironic that a private citizen is being accused of some type of conflict of interest by an elected official, someone who actually has a legal obligation to avoid such conflicts, especially one who, in my opinion, has a very clear conflict of interest. It is Dr. Heide who is paid by a competitor; it is Dr. Heide whose financial security is provided by a competitor. This entity is not only a competitor to Valley Medical Center, but also a competitor who is threatened by the newly planned Covington facility.”
Heide is a neurologist and stroke director at Auburn Medical Center.
In an e-mail response to Miller’s letter sent to The Reporter Wednesday, Heide wrote, “I think it is completely reasonable to ascertain if any current or previous commissioners have benefitted financially by having served on the board. There is at least $25 million at stake with this particular investment in Covington and I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t attempt to find out where/how that money was potentially being spent. I find it disingenuous for his outrage regarding my legitimate concerns. As the State Auditor has pointed out, Valley’s previous board of which Miller was a member, was involved with some unusual payments to the CEO. It is only prudent as an elected official to make sure that nothing so questionable takes place when I am providing oversight.
“With regards to me being paid by a competitor of Valley, that potential conflict was vetted during the campaign and also during the board meetings. I am currently the stroke director at Auburn Medical Center. As a hospital commissioner I represent the interests of Valley Medical Center, I have every interest in Valley being the best it can as my friends, family and neighbors are treated there. My first daughter was born there and my second daughter will be born there soon. I was elected to oversee the taxpayer’s money and making the public hospital district’s business as transparent as possible, something that the electorate thought Mr. Miller was not achieving, otherwise he would still be commissioner….
“I, of course, will recuse myself from any vote or decision that would have any conflict of interest. I volunteer my time to keep transparency in government. My job and passion is to care for patients – wherever that may take me.”
Once Bowman finished reading Miller’s letter at the board meeting, she asked Heide if he wanted to change his March 15 vote abstaining on the Covington emergency department resolution.
Heide said to Bowman, “This was a very well orchestrated personal attack, but there were not accusations made (against Miller). You have an orchestrated plan, whoever is putting you up to this. This is a nice personal attack.”
Bowman asked again if he was going to change his vote.
Heide stated he had asked for a statement of fact from Miller.
After a flurry of verbal sparring between the members, Heide asked Bowman why copies of the letter were not provided to all board members. She stated she received the letter that day.
Heide then asked Bowman, “Why did you bring this up today?” The letter was not listed on the agenda.
Parnell said she was confused.
Bowman said, “I’m not confused. I thought as a courtesy to you, Dr. Heide, would you like to change your vote?”
Heide did not change his vote.
Round two
As the discussion came to a close, Parnell asked for the floor.
She then began asking Hemstad a series of questions, noting first he works at the World Trade Center. Hemstad is executive director at the World Trade Center Tacoma.
“Do you have a personal or professional relationship with anyone like MultiCare?” Parnell asked. “We are trying to clean up a conflict of interest question.”
Hemstad said, “I have no conflict of interest whatsoever. MultiCare is very active in many organizations. It is disappointing you are bringing this up. This is ridiculous.”
Parnell asked, “Is that a yes or a no?”
“They are a member of the World Trade Center,” Hemstad said.
Parnell then began questioning Hemstad about who he was sitting with at the Greater Maple Valley Community Center’s benefit breakfast fundraising event March 18.
Hemstad said he “happened to sit at a table with Hugh Kodama, administrator for Covington MultiCare and three elected officials. We were at a table of 10 people. It is disappointing if, God forbid, elected officials can’t be seen together(with community leader).”
Kodama was asked Tuesday about the fundraising breakfast. He stated he was at the same table as Hemstad, but did not sit next to him.
“I sat at a table as the invited guest of Maple Valley Mayor Noel Gerken,” Kodama said. “I didn’t know who else was going to be at the table. There were elected officials.”
Kodama said he did not discuss the MultiCare proposal to build an emergency department or Valley’s proposal.
“I did go up and say hello to him (Hemstad),” Kodama said.
Hemstad said on the phone Tuesday he was at the meeting as a guest of Gerken and representing Valley.
Staff members from Valley were also at the fundraising event, but sat at a different table.
Hemstad represents the portion of Maple Valley within the public hospital’s taxing district.
Parnell did not return a call for a comment concerning the meeting by the press deadline.
At the Monday meeting Parnell said, “We all want to make sure we are all here for the same reason and there are not conflicts of interest.”
Hemstad said, “It is a disappointment there are these disparagements of Dr. Heide and myself. It would be nice if we don’t give in to group think.”
Parnell said she didn’t know what that means.
“My purpose for being here is to serve my community,” Parnell said. “I never do anything against them. I don’t follow group think, (but) we do act as a team.”
Heide asked why Parnell was bringing up these issues “right after Sue read this letter.”
Parnell’s series of questions were not noted on the agenda.
Bowman tried to move the discussion away from the argument.
Heide said, “Here’s the 3-2 thing as soon as Carolyn is done we move on.”
Hemstad then asked Parnell how many times she had voted no in the past years.
She stated she had voted no on an issue.
“You think one time several years ago you voted no, against something?” Hemstad asked.
“Why should I sit up and say no for the heck of it,” Parnell said.
More questions
The meeting returned to the agenda for about the next hour until the commissioner comments section.
This time Parnell began questioning Hemstad about a service employee international union or SEIU meeting he attended March 5. The SEIU represents Valley employees.
Parnell said Hemstad had attended the SEIU meeting and an earlier one, but did not report back to the commission or to Valley Superintendent Rich Roodman about the meeting.
Hemstad said he brought up the earlier meeting at the retreat and Parnell said she wasn’t interested.
Parnell said if she is invited to a meeting, “I always talk to the people in charge (of the hospital). What I’m saying to you is if you are having a meeting you should be bringing it back.”
Hemstad said, “If I’m invited to the SEIU it is about how things are going with the commission.”
Parnell asked, “Did you bring that information back?”
Hemstad said, “No, but Rich is not our boss. He is the superintendent. It is our job to oversee the superintendent, not for the superintendent to over see us.”
Hemstad then noted on the meeting sign-in sheet, Parnell, Bowman and Jacobson signed in for a meeting March 26 concerning the Covington emergency center.
The three members said they could not remember the meeting.
Hemstad said, “It was last week and perhaps you don’t remember.”
A staff member noted the meeting was a week before the previous Friday and that may account for the members not being able to remember.
Bowman thought she did come back to the hospital.
Jacobson said, “I know there were not three of us in the room.”
Hemstad asked, “The three of you had a meeting the same day?”
Bowman said no and asked the staff to check the date.
The members are not paid a salary for sitting on the board, but are paid a per diem for meetings attended as representatives of the commission.
Taping
Audio taping the commission meetings was the first flash point April 5. The issue has been a point of contention for the last few meetings.
At the opening of the Monday meeting while Bowman was trying to get approval for the March 1 meeting minutes, Heide noted the minutes did not reflect a vote on tape recording meetings, which failed 2-3 with Hemstad and Heide voting yes. Bowman, Jacobson and Parnell voted no.
Once the minutes were amended, Heide made another motion to record the meetings.
Jacobson made a motion to table the issue, which passed 3-2 with Heide and Hemstad voting no.
Heide asked, “If there is not discussion or dissent, why do we have meetings?”
Most local government agencies do record meetings, but not all.
In the surrounding area, Maple Valley, Covington and the Black Diamond city councils and Tahoma School Board record audio at the council meetings.
Auburn and Kent record video and audio of the council meetings and post to their Web sites.
Renton broadcasts the council meetings on cable channel 21 and streams video live on its Web site.
King County Fire District 43 and Fire District 37 do not record video or audio at their commission meetings.
Larger government entities like Seattle and Tacoma city councils, the ports of Seattle and Tacoma all record video and audio at their meetings.
