Letters to the Editor

The Constitution: It’s all about the preamble

The preamble is the mission of our country. It tells what the government does, what it is trying to achieve. Its purpose: establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.

Why does it do what it does? In order to form a more perfect union.

For whom? We, the people of the United States

How? Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The articles and amendments provide the organizational framework for achieving the preamble.

A vision statement is how it would look if the mission, the preamble, was achieved.

A suggestion is: A sustainable, thriving, democratic society of people living in harmony with the environment and with each other.

Points to consider:

• People need to understand the difference between the preamble – the mission – and the articles and amendments (framework for achieving the preamble). The focus is achieving the preamble with a government to facilitate that.
• People need to also understand that the “blessings of liberty” are dependent upon “justice” (fairness, accountability), “domestic tranquility” (safety), “common defense” (foreign and domestic), and “general welfare” (environment, health, housing, education, food, infrastructure, jobs, economic system, etc.) being in place.
• An organization, including a government. is most efficient when achieving the mission and vision drive its work. Without that, an organization can become disoriented and weakened, wasting time, effort, and money or even its existence.
• Diverse ideas produce the best outcomes. We need the best thinking of both liberals and conservatives.
• Working toward achieving the preamble is what we are paying our government leaders to do. “Help us to understand how ____ (your position, proposal, behavior, policy, law) aligns with and advances toward achieving our preamble.” 
• Laws, including Constitutional laws, must be periodically reviewed to determine if they still align with and advance achieving the preamble. What may have done so in the past may not still do so in today’s world.
• When people abuse their freedom in ways that don’t align with the preamble via loopholes or gaps, it results in more laws or regulations for everyone, even those who were not abusing their freedom. 
• Our flag symbolizes the preamble and the hope that it represents. When we say the pledge of allegiance, it is a pledge to achieving that hope.

It is all about the preamble. When an issue is clearly defined and all the parties involved bring their best thinking to the table about how to align with and advance toward achieving the preamble, the best results can happen.

Bev Bachman

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TRANSPARENCY means “never having to say you’re sorry”

The upcoming election for the Park Hospital District board (PHD) is a very important one. We are electing the team that will work closely with UCHealth in transitioning from a locally owned and managed hospital to one of the largest and most respected healthcare organizations in the country. It is important that the most qualified people are in these positions. They will represent the health needs of the community during the transition process.

I make these comments as a private citizen.

At the heart of every decision made by Estes Park Health (EPH) employees, management, and Board is a singular mission: to provide high-quality, sustainable healthcare for the Estes Valley, both now and for future generations.

To accomplish this mission, the PHD board needs new members with not only healthcare experience but more importantly, business and management experience and the ability to work closely as a team with the current PHD board members as well as with the incoming UCHealth management organization.

About the Candidates

I would also like to comment on the PHD board candidates.  There are some highly qualified candidates but some continue to run on a platform of inaccurate narratives by making statements about the current operations and financial conditions of EPH that are not true. They have demonstrated a total lack of understanding of what is going on in the healthcare industry today and what impacts a small rural hospital like ours. There is a lack of understanding of the new PHD board responsibilities which will not include operations, finances, medical staff but will include input into, as an example, Community Needs Assessment. I believe there are some ulterior motives and hidden agendas by some candidates for wanting to be on the PHD board and I caution against electing angry candidates. I do not believe they have all done their homework. I encourage you to read closely all of the candidates’ comments.

I would like to address some of the criticism and inaccurate narratives directed towards the hospital by some PHD Board candidates.

Toxic Work Environment – Toxic Work Environment – Most employees question and do not agree with this description of their workplace. Some feel this description is sometimes externally generated by past employees or from those just not happy with the changes required by the accrediting bodies and the impacts on their jobs.

Employee Turnover – EPH turnover rate has been lower than the national average.

Discontinued Services – Although very unpopular, decisions were made based on costs and needs versus other services. The decisions to discontinue services such as, long term care, home care and in home hospice were decisions, although difficult ones, that would have had major ramifications on the future financial viability of EPH.

High Labor Costs – Not unlike the rest of the healthcare industry, coming off the COVID years the hospital was challenged by availability of labor and the high costs of “travelers.”

Quality and Safety – EPH continues to receive some of the highest ratings of Critical Access Hospitals in the State of Colorado.

Financial Viability – Area of significant improvement over the past few years. Three years ago, EPH faced a negative EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) of over $3 million. Year-end 2024 EBITDA was greater than $5 million – The most current report from the Auditors (2023) stated that EPH was in solid financial condition and better than most hospitals the size of EPH. I believe the same for 2024.

Senior Management – There is ongoing criticism by a small group of community members and a suggestion that some leaders need to be replaced. This group obviously does not understand the current healthcare environment and the tough decisions which were required these past few years to make sure the hospital kept its doors open. Under these stressful conditions, employees sometimes feel they were not treated kindly buton the other side, these same employees were not able to adjust to new rules and regulations required to maintain compliance and participation with Medicare and Medicaid regulations as directed by the DNV which is EPH’s accrediting body.

Transparency – With the exception of negotiations with UCHealth, all activities regarding operations and finances are available to the public on the EPH website. Specifics regarding negotiations were covered by a Non-Disclosure Agreement which if violated would place the affiliation in jeopardy. Most if not all the terms were made public in the October 2024 Board meeting and were posted on the EPH website.

I hear from many community members that they are optimistic about the future partnership with UCHealth. It will ensure that sustainable high quality healthcare will remain accessible in the Estes Valley.

Background on the Possible UCHealth Partnership

As many of you know, I have served on the PHD board for the past three years and chose not to run for reelection. I believe I have made contributions to the process based on my skillset and I am comfortable handing this off to other qualified members.

The responsibilities of the existing and incoming board members will be significantly different. The PHD board will continue as a special taxing district, helping to generate tax revenues that will support the UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center (new name of EPH) operations and improvements as well as oversight of the retained assets such as the real estate.  The PHD board will also serve a very important role in the transition from EPH to UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center which includes communications from the community of ongoing healthcare needs and opportunities.  The PHD board will continue to oversee the tax district, but oversight of the hospital operations will transfer to the new UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center board.

Again, we need PHD board members with not only healthcare experience but more importantly business and management experience and the ability to work closely as a team with the current three PHD board members as well as the incoming UCHealth management organization.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the above

Drew Webb
480-250-7335
Dhwebb10@gmail.com