Strongly contested hospital district board race speeds on

The biggest local race this election is easily for the five seats on the Hot Springs County Hospital District Board of Directors. This board would be formed, should the initiative to form a hospital district pass in the general election on Nov. 8. As the district initiative, as well as the measure to create a one percent special purpose tax, have been hot topics this year, candidates were sure to address them at the candidate forum held at Thermopolis Middle School Oct. 6.

The public heard first from those seeking one of the two seats for a four-year term on the district board.

Josh Conrad

Josh Conrad, a current member of the appointed hospital board for about two years, expressed his support for both of the ballot initiatives with regard to the hospital.

"They are very vital for our community, going forward," Conrad said, also acknowledging the division in the community on the issues. He said it is important to remember the money raised by the initiatives would stay and be of benefit here. He is also open to listening to anyone's questions and concerns, and noted he believes the current board does well in that regard.

Conrad further added its important for the board to be as fiscally responsible as possible in building a new addition and maintaining it. He would like to see as many of the dollars used in the new construction stay local, if possible.

Bradyn Harvey

Bradyn Harvey said he is a Christian, a husband and father, and a resident of Hot Springs County, having been born and raised here, and he chooses to raise his children here. He chose to run for the hospital board because he loves this town and the county, and he wants future generations to "have a county left to them better than it was when it was left to us." He is in support of the one-cent tax, and agrees the hospital needs an upgrade, but he is against the formation of a district if it is not going to be fiscally responsible and held accountable for its actions. His main concern with the district's wasted money; as a member of the board, he would work to ensure the money is spent wisely, with the best interests of the county - and its healthcare - in mind.

Joseph Casciato

One of the more interesting events of the evening was Joseph Casciato's presentation - and apology - given his past opposition to the hospital initiatives. Casciato, Bible in hand, spoke of Abraham Lincoln, who was asked whose side of the Civil War he believed God was on. Lincoln said he didn't profess to know God's will, but was on God's side.

Casciato further noted he previously ran for county commissioner, and he was opposed to the hospital district and the tax. "Obviously, I was wrong," he said, "and God made a wise choice. He picked Phil [Scheel] to be a county commissioner, and that was a good thing."

Casciato said the defeat caused him to go back to his Bible, and said he couldn't find anything in God's word as to why he shouldn't pay the tax or for the district. God has blessed him, he said, so he can pay those. He would like to be on the hospital board, as he has experience working for a hospital and he understands Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance.

"I think I would be a good steward, and so I do ask for your vote . . . and I apologize for my opposition to something I was wrong on."

Dave Koerwitz

Dave Koerwitz said he believes medical care is important to the community. "Without a hospital, the community slowly fades away." His background includes a degree in accounting from the University of Wyoming, and over 40 years as a CPA. He has served on many boards at the local, state and national level, and understands how boards operate. On the hospital district board, he would work to pass the budget, oversee construction and make sure operations runs smoothly. With his experience and communication skills, he believes he would be an effective board member.

Koerwitz is a supporter of the district and the tax, and noted the district is necessary to help leverage construction costs with state grants, while the tax - paid by everyone, including tourists - would go away when the construction costs are paid for and the hospital is completed. He further noted the hospital is in need of an update, but the closing of the facility would have an impact on other businesses, as well as the churches, schools and the entire community.

Allan Braaten

Allan Braaten said he is running for the board "simply because the hospital needs to be here, and needs to be running well for this community to survive." There is no reason to not support a hospital, he said, and not having it means people will not come here to live. The hospital now operates as a critical care facility, and he acknowledged it is outdated. There is only one shower, he noted, and the emergency room and operating rooms need to be expanded. Such expansion needs to happen, he noted, to allow updated medical equipment to come in.

Jim Wilson

Jim Wilson said he is for a hospital facility. "As families look to move to Thermopolis, they will look at two things – quality of schools and quality of healthcare." Born and raised in Thermopolis, Wilson noted he has taken an active role in the community, including having been on the hospital board for 10 years, several years ago, and has been on state and national boards.

Wilson also pointed out he was in a serious accident this spring, and without ambulance service and the hospital, as well as the staff, he "might not have had the opportunity to be part of this important community decision." He added he believes his board and business experience would be of benefit to the board.

Bill Williams

Bill Williams has been on the hospital board for about 15 years, and his platform is simple: healthcare is vital to the community and to the survival of the community. The current facility is outdated, he noted, and in some areas "it's on life support," and there is no funding to simply replace them. Expenses continue to rise, he said, and the new facility is needed for patient care services.

The board has worked long hours trying to find alternatives, and nobody in the healthcare field has extra money to just throw into building a new facility, If the community wants a hospital and healthcare, he said, they need to be willing to stand up and support it themselves.

Dean Stone

Dean Stone said he is for the hospital, as he has a vested interest in it. Retiring after 52 years of work, his health caused him to make a decision as to where he was going to live, and he's always wanted to "live in a small community, in the mountains, with one stop light." The hospital issue hits home for him and his daughter. He's for the hospital initiatives, and pointed out people have a tendency to "curl up" when they hear the word tax, but it is necessary.

Stone added he has a varied and diversified background, including work in the insurance industry over 18 years – during which he was a claims manager and OSHA inspector – and he holds a degree in risk management, which involves looking at ways to reduce costs and provide quality services.

The election will also decide who will fill three two-year terms on the district board.

Dan Herd

Dan Herdt, running for one of the two-year positions, was recently appointed to the current hospital board to fill and expired term. "It's been definitely been a learning experience," he said. Having only been a voting member for only three meetings, he claimed no powerful insight to the board, but from his experience working for an oil company for over 30 years in various management positions – as well as owning his own business – he's learned the hospital business is extremely complicated and regulated.

He also noted the management at the hospital, and the current board, are cognizant of the costs facing the hospital and do their utmost to make the bill aspalatable as possible and the hospital as efficient as possible.

Healthcare is a big need in the community, Herdt said, and his vision of the hospital is using it as something of an economical driver. "With the up and down cyclical nature of the oil industry, anything we can have that helps us ride out those storms is good."

Harvey Seidel

Harvey Seidel has lived in Hot Springs County for over 22 years, and is concerned about having a member on the district board - should the voters choose to form the district - that will be supportive as well as objective. He has served on the South Thermopolis Water and Sewer District, as well as the Hot Springs Lodging and Tax Board, and is experienced in building budgets, and being accountable and transparent.

Seidel also expressed concern about unity in the community. There are two groups, when it comes to the hospital, who seem to want the same thing, he said, but different views on how to obtain it. "We must be conservative, and my goal would be to investigate alternative ways to accomplish what is best for our hospital and our community." Examining conservative avenues for spending the money brought in by the board initiatives is something the board, whoever is appointed, must take into consideration, he said.

Joshua Brown

Joshua Brown has been a resident of Thermopolis since he came on vacation and decided this was where he wanted his children to be from. About five years ago, he joined the fire department, and said the community has welcomed him with open arms and done a wonderful job of taking care of him. In turn, he wants to do his part in taking care of the community, and serving on the board would go to that.

"I think there are many issues facing all medical industries that are outside their control," Brown said. "We owe it to the industry to do our part, to give them the tools they're going to need to help mitigate and manage those." While the simple question of whether he is for the district is easy to answer – yes – Brown said the more complex questions include what people's expectations are of him as a board representative and what the long-term goal is. Brown said his long-term goal is to have Thermopolis be a viable option for his children and their children, and without a hospital that isn't possible.

Breez Daniels

Breez Daniels said she supports the tax and the formation of the district. Following the failed attempt to form a district in 2013, she applied for an opening on the hospital board and was appointed by the county commissioners. "Over the past three years, I've learned a lot about healthcare in rural Wyoming," she said.

Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital will never be a big profit center, Daniels said, as rural healthcare is expensive and complicated and, as Hot Springs County residents, we are geographically isolated. "There is no magic bullet. We can support the tax initiative, or we can become a community that does not have a critical access hospital."

Daniels pointed out the board listened following the 2013 election, and the planned remodel and renovation was scaled back and the hospital was kept at its current site. Partnerships were also pursued with for-profit and private healthcare systems, but the bottom line is the people can pay for the hospital and maintain local control, or sell out and see the hospital closed while people travel outside the county for healthcare. Voting yes on the two initiatives is voting for local control and stability of healthcare in Hot Springs County.

Jean Skelton

Jean Skelton chose to run for the hospital board based on her strong belief in giving back to the community. "At the end of the day," she said, "we all have to be friends," as we all live in the same community. Often times the best decisions come from when compromise is made among differing opinion, Skelton said, and she encouraged people to relish the fact that there are those differences.

Skelton had all four of her children at the hospital, and said there is a definite need for an updated facility. In her experience outside the county, Skelton noted she audited the Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital and some larger healthcare firms.

"We want to get the best facility we can, with the money we can afford."

Tom Olsen

Though Tom Olsen was not present during the forum, moderator Cindy Glasson read a letter from him. In the letter, Olsen stated he has lived in Hot Springs County the past 20 years, and he and his wife have raised four children in Thermopolis. Additionally, he is an educator of 29 years, the past 20 of which were in Thermopolis.

Olsen stated it is of utmost importance the citizens vote for the hospital initiatives. With a family that has benefitted from the hospital, he has a vested interest in the facility and in making it one of the best. While he's heard talk and concern about higher taxes due to the initiatives, he has heard the voice of reason asking, "What is more important: the saving of lives, or the saving of a few pennies?" He further noted he believes in the importance of the creation of the hospital district and that the people remain the owners of the hospital. If improving the hospital can help save one life, Olsen stated, it's an easy choice to make.

Candidates Benge Brown, Paul Galovich and Heath Overfield did not attend the forum.