REVEALED: EX-Trustee Admits Kootenai Health Has Been Attempting To Skirt Democracy for YEARS – NIC Next?
They’re Taking the Public out of Public Health
Over the past several weeks, the Idaho Tribune has been closely following the unfolding story of the impending financial collapse and anti-democratic takeover of our counties largest employer, Kootenai Health.
On September 3rd, we broke the story that Kootenai Health has racked up tens of millions of dollars in debt over the last few months, and is on the brink of insolvency. This all started when the elitist, pro-mask, pro-vaccine board of trustees instituted a vaccine mandate at Kootenai Health that led a significant portion of their staff to quit their jobs. This has directly led to the increase of “contract labor” spending, from $7 Million a year, to $6 Million every MONTH.
To make matters even worse, the hospital “upgraded” their medical records program to EPIC, a centralized, big tech, anti-privacy service, that the hospital purchased from Tacoma based hospital system MultiCare, which also runs a clinic that provides “gender affirming care” to children who are confused about their sexuality, leaving them mutilated for the rest of their lives.
This supposed “upgrade” cost Kootenai Health tens of millions of dollars to license, $7.2 million to train the doctors how to use the system, and according to Kootenai Health CFO Kimberly Webb, even more was lost due to decreased productivity and technical glitches:
The potential financial collapse, and projected default on the hospitals debt service, as upsetting as it is, is just one piece of a much larger story of corruption, backroom dealings, and anti-democratic hostility from the wealthy elites of Kootenai County towards YOU the everyday citizen.
The Agenda: Revealed
On Sunday, September 18th, the Coeur d’Alene Press published an editorial by Ex-Kootenai Health Trustee Ernest Fokes, who argued that Kootenai Health should make the switch to a 501(c)3 non-profit. Fokes writes:
“There are two institutions vital to our community: Kootenai Health and North Idaho College. Both are in jeopardy. This is due to the fact that both boards are vulnerable to takeover by persons of ill will...”
What Mr. Fokes is actually saying when you translate the liberal vernacular is “there is a possibility that Conservatives could reclaim the majority on both the Hospital and College boards of trustees, and this scares the daylights out of us.”
Their solution to the problem? No more elections!
Fokes continues:
“During my tenure on the Kootenai board, we explored every means we could imagine to allow that board to become an appointed one. We failed to find a solution. Now a potential solution has been uncovered.”
His reasoning is twofold. First of all, everyone else is doing it:
“Among hospital boards the overwhelming majority are appointed. This insures that persons of quality who hold the best interest of the institution at heart are placed on its board.”
Secondarily, elections and boards of trustees are just plain old-fashioned and out-dated:
“An elected hospital board, as opposed to an appointed board is an anachronism today.”
The whole point of an elected board of trustees is to make sure that the Will of the People is carried out faithfully, and that policies that reflect the values of the community are implemented. The institution is supposed to serve the people, but these liberal elitists have it backwards. They want trustees that will be institutional bootlickers, growing corporate and institutional power in ways that will never have a vote or referendum, that completely disregards the tax paying citizens, and compromises our morals and values.
These people wouldn’t mind seeing Kootenai Health sponsoring next year’s Child Drag Shows, like St. Lukes and St. Alphonsus hospitals in Boise. They wouldn’t mind it if “gender affirming clinics” set up in our back yard, like the one ran by MultiCare. They definitely want to make sure that you wear a mask and get your 5th Pfizer booster shot, which will make them a hefty profit through government grants and pharmaceutical kickbacks.
Instead of standing up for the rights of the people, the CDA Press has been covering up this heist and protecting the interests of these big corporations, because they know they can’t win through democracy.