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As a public hospital district, EvergreenHealth is governed by a publicly-elected board of commissioners. This is different from private hospitals, which are led by internally-appointed boards of directors. EvergreenHealth’s publically-elected board has ultimate responsibility and accountability for the hospital district and the quality of its medical care on behalf of the district's residents. The board approves all major financial decisions along with many other responsibilities as provided by law.
How does the community benefit from a public hospital district model, rather than a for-profit hospital model?
Because the sole mission of a public hospital district is to serve its community, it’s able to respond to the community’s own unique demands and challenges to provide the best possible care for patients and families.
Public hospital districts also empower its community to address any health care access insufficiencies.
How are public hospital districts funded?
The majority of financial support for public hospital districts come from public (Medicare and Medicaid) and private (commercial) insurance—the same as private hospitals. Typically, only two to three percent of total funding comes from property tax revenue, paid by district homeowners.
From the 2018 EvergreenHealth annual report, the graphic below demonstrates the financial composition of EvergreenHealth, noting that .2 percent of revenue is from taxpayer support.
On occasion, we’ve come to the community to ask for your support to help with that growth. Thanks to that support, we were able to open a hospice center and hospice homecare program in 1991 as well as an expanded emergency department and an eight story inpatient tower in 2007.
With Proposition 1, also known as EverHealthy, we are seeking your help to support new projects we feel are vital to the ongoing health of the community.
What is EverHealthy?
EvergreenHealth’s 10-year facility improvement plan was created in 2015. The successful first phase—made possible in part by community support—was completed in 2017 on time and on budget. It created:
This second phase, known as EverHealthy, will address the need for a new critical care unit, an updated family maternity center, technology upgrades and seismic updates to the original hospital buildings on the EvergreenHealth Kirkland campus.
This will ensure that EvergreenHealth can continue to meet the health care needs of the community for generations to come.
How was the EverHealthy plan created?
EvergreenHealth and its publicly-elected board of commissioners utilized strategic insight, trend analytics and third-party projection data to help us understand and anticipate the growing needs of our community.
The impetus for this plan includes:
What specific projects within the EverHealthy plan will Proposition 1 support?
Who will benefit from EverHealthy?
All of us. We will address safety, service and quality needs and strengthen, literally and figuratively, areas that serve patients during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
Additionally, improvements will be made to clinical areas of Kirkland campus including the maternity center, critical care unit, and the oldest parts of the hospital – all to the benefit of our patients and families in these areas, as well as the staff and providers who care for them now and years into the future.
Proposition 1 (EverHealthy) will be on the August 6 primary election ballot. It’s a mail-in ballot, and your vote must be postmarked by August 6, 2019.
You can return your ballot by mail (no postage needed) or at a ballot drop-box location.
Accessible voting centers are available for voters who need assistance completing their ballot.
For more voting information, visit the King County elections website at
https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/elections/how-to-vote/ballots/returning-my-ballot.aspx
What if I'm Not Registered to Vote?
To get registered, contact the Washington Secretary of State by visiting www.sos.wa.gov/elections.
The deadline to register is July 29, 2019.
What will happen if the bond to fund EverHealthy does not pass?
We will reassess the projects, collectively and individually, to prioritize or eliminate them if necessary; and seek alternate ways to fund them – though the bond initiative is viewed as imperative at this point in order to advance these complex projects.