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Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues
The questions were prepared by the Los Altos - Mountain View League of Women Voters and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Retrofitting,
New personnel,
Board functions
Click on a name for other candidate information.
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1. If elected to the District Board, how would you approach the problem of the earthquake retrofitting required by state law?
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Answer from Jon S. Hugdahl:
If retrofitting is needed to protect life or property then it must be done.
Answer from Mary Louise Lee:
I will bring to the job many years of experience in lobbying to bring federal, state and private monies into a public-private partnership to ensure that our community hospital meets earthquake safety standards. I will be active in attending meetings and in getting feedback from the community on additional ways to accomplish this our goal of making sure that we have a safe community hospital.
Answer from Edward W. Bough:
Building a new nursing tower ($140M) would cost no more than retrofitting the original structure and would allow the existing facility to remain operational, thereby minimally disrupting ongoing patient care. New construction would also more readily allow incorporation of state-of-the-art medical and information technology. Before any construction can even be contemplated, however, it is critical that the hospital's operating budget be profitable so that the District could successfully float a bond issue to pay for it. As reimbursement for all medical care progressively declines, keeping the hospital profitable while maintaining the quality of care may be the greater challenge.
Answer from Dominick A. Curatola:
It makes the most economic sense to rebuild the tower. This would enable us to integrate technology with facilities to meet our health needs in the 21st century rather than expending similar sums to retrofit a building designed in the 1950's. To obtain a favorable rating in the bond market for financing we will need 3 years of a strong bottom line in operations to demonstrate our long term ability to generate cash and service debt. This is also an exciting opportunity to partner with our local high tech industries
to truly build the Hospital of Silicon Valley.
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2. In view of our area's high cost of living, what do you think can be done to encourage young physicians and technical personnel to come to El Camino Hospital?
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Answer from Dominick A. Curatola:
ECH will have to be more proactive in providing support for its employees and medical staff in the form of housing opportunities on campus as well as the formation of an endowment designed to generate income to provide low interest loans that could support hospital staff and young
physicians who require large sums of startup capital to develop and maintain a new practice. The new tower also offers a highly visible reason to work here as such an investment demonstrates confidence in ECH's future on the
part of the community and the bond market.
Answer from Mary Louise Lee:
Other employers have established low interest loans and offered moving expenses to attract the best and brightest to Sillicon Valley. We should do this, too. I know that it is important to offer competitive wages and innovative benefits(such as child care facilities) and i will work to make sure our hospital leads the way in developing these programs. We should consider establishing a commitee to work with the city councils in our district to investigate further possibilities.
Answer from Jon S. Hugdahl:
Give to them the authority to provide the best and most thoughtful care. Pay must be competitive but often job satisfaction is more important.
Answer from Edward W. Bough:
I see this as an almost intractable problem in Silicon Valley. As was noted above, if the hospital does not remain profitable in the face of declining reimbursement, there will be no money forthcoming to build a new hospital by 2013 as mandated by the state. Given these budgetary constraints, it is almost impossible to generate funds for outright housing or salary supplementation. In addition, there are numerous laws restricting financial relationships between physicians and hospitals. On-site apartments at subsidized rents would probably only be attractive or helpful to new employees with little or no extended family. Providing facilities for new physicians to practice in with partially subsidized overhead is possible when they do not directly compete with existing physicians in the community who are obviously not being subsidized. And even with such arrangements, most new physicians cannot afford housing in our community.
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3. What should be the function of the district board in relation to the administration of El Camino Hospital?
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Answer from Mary Louise Lee:
District board members need to be well informed on all of the issues that come up in the day to day operations of the hospital in order to make good decisions and suggestions to ensure that El Camino remains a fine, top quality community hospital. As a board member I will make myself availble to staff to talk to me about any and all issues. I will make every attempt to help reach resolution on the issue(s). I will also make myself available to patients and members of the community to address any concerns that they may have.
Answer from Dominick A. Curatola:
The District Board is the publicly elected body which governs El Camino Hospital and thus sets policy and provides direction to the administration to ensure that medical
needs are serviced with efficiency, competence and compassion. It is the Board's responsibility to devise a strategic plan and then empower its administration to realize those goals. The Board and the administration
should be interdependent partners in this endeavor. The administration should not be hindered by micromanagement but should be supported by the guidance and oversight of a fully informed, functional and sophisticated Board which ultimately evaluates administration's effectiveness in
accomplishing its mission.
Answer from Jon S. Hugdahl:
Set policies and monitor adherance to the policies.
Answer from Edward W. Bough:
The district board is the direct employer of the hospital administration and is totally responsible for its quality and performance. Furthermore, the district board is resposible for setting or accepting the goals, strategies, and policies which the administration ultimately implements. The district board cannot, and should not, micromanage hospital operations, but it is responsible for the end result: the quality of patient care and service to the community.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League, but formatted for Web display.
Limit your answers to an average of 100 words per question, with the total not to exceed 300 words for 3 questions. Please count your words. We use the same word counting rules as the Registrar of Voters, e.g. Los Altos is one word.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily.
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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
