Idaho Speaks

Candidate interview with Steve Matheson, running for Kootenai Hospital District Board of Trustees.

Show Notes

Candidate interview with Steve Matheson, running for Kootenai Hospital District Board of Trustees.

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I think the Board of Trustees is
a fiduciary for every

stakeholder in the community.
That obviously includes the

patients, the physicians, the
nurses, the administrative

staff, but everybody else that
lives here in the community so

they are supposed to be
overseeing the operations of the

hospital and making sure that
the hospital is going down the

direction that our community
wants. Welcome to

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Idaho speaks where issues take
shape. Welcome to Idaho speaks,

we are continuing our endeavor
to interview the candidates. And

with me in studio today. I'm
talking with Steve Matheson, he

is running for the coatney
Hospital District Board of

Trustees. Steve, thanks so much
for coming in studio today. My

pleasure. So let's let's just
kick this off with the all

important question without going
too much into qualifications

just yet. Tell the listeners of
Idaho speaks about you, your

your background, how long you've
lived in Idaho, etc.

Sure, you know, it's an
interesting story, how I came to

northern Idaho, I grew up in
Seattle. And when my wife and I

were newly married, we came over
here because we were poor, just

traveling around. And she had
had some friends that had moved

to northern Idaho, actually on
Hayden Lake, and she had babysat

for them. So we look them up.
And they took us out on Hayden

lake. And it was really
interesting. And I turned to her

and I said, you know, one day,
after we've made our money and

can pick a place to live, this
would be someplace I'd like to

return to. And it's interesting,
the lake that we were on, we

went to an old Marina, we
actually bought a house, a

stone's throw away from that
Marina, and I can look over

across the lake and see the
house where we visited. And it's

just kind of I smile, often
thinking about how the world

works sometimes. And then my
wife and I, we are actually

eighth grade sweethearts, we met
in seventh grade. You don't hear

much about that anymore. And we
got married. I've traveled

around the country for
businesses, investment banks and

commercial banks. And then about
14 years ago, I was financially

in a position to retire. And I
thought, Well, where do I want

to go. And we put the kids in
the van. And we drove across the

United States. And we took three
weeks. And I had about five

different locations that we
visited. And coralayne was at

the top of the list. So we wrap
things up over in Chicago,

that's where we were and moved
to coralayne. And I've been here

ever since.

Yeah, and my wife and I similar
story. We we've moved here on

purpose, because once it's kinda
like a slice of heaven. So

outstanding. What, let's talk a
little bit about the position

that you're running for. What is
the role of the kootenay?

hospital District Board of
Trustees? And how do they serve

the citizens of coatney? County?

I think that's actually the most
important question to ask any

candidate is, you know, why are
you running and this is why I'm

running. I think the Board of
Trustees is a fiduciary for

every stakeholder in the
community. That obviously

includes the patients, the
physicians, the nurses, the

administrative staff, but
everybody else that lives here

in the community. So they are
supposed to be overseeing the

operations of the hospital and
making sure that the hospital is

going down the direction that
our community wants it to go to.

And one of the things that I've
pointed to in a lot of my

literature, and the reason why
Ryan is I think that the board

has lost sight of that
responsibility, and they seem to

be making every decision with
the lens of Okay, what's best

for the hospital instead of
what's best for the community.

And as a result, they've made
some decisions over the last

couple of years that I disagree
with as we spoke earlier, I

think it's a wonderful
institution. I'm very proud of

it. I think each and every one
of the trustees president and

pass should be congratulate
congratulated, as well as the

management team over at kootenay
health. However, we seem to be

at a crossroads right now. And I
think that's the direction that

we choose to go forward from
this point on is extremely

important. And you may or may
not know, or the listeners may

not know my involvement. I have
run once before unsuccessfully.

I also got heavily involved in
the creation of the urban

renewal district around the
hospital, it's called the health

corridor for a number of
different reasons. And maybe we

have time to go into a lot of
those. But, again, the reason

why I'm running is a an hour,
the reason why the hospital

trustees is so important is they
have to be sure to be listening

to what the community wants, not
what the hospital wants, or what

the hospital needs.

So you mentioned that they
they've made some mistakes, can

you elaborate?

Well, and I'm not even sure this
is a mistake, but there is a lot

of confusion going out there.
And I've listened to some of the

podcasts that the other three
candidates have talked about,

specifically the incumbents. And
they came up with a vision

statement for kootenay Health a
couple years ago, and might even

been more recently, I don't
remember it off the top of my

head, but it basically states
that they want to boldly lead

this community in establishing a
facility here, that is a premier

medical destination. Now, he got
that idea concept from the Mayo

Clinic in Rochester, which is a
world class world renowned

institution. I don't think
there's anybody that can say

that they're better than that. I
think the actual vision

statement should be we should be
a high quality. Maybe even we

can use the word premium, or
premiere as I think they use.

But it should be local. And we
should be trying to compete with

those hospitals across the
border over in Washington State.

And hopefully, we can compete
and beat them. So I'm all for a

high quality medical institution
that is a hospital that people

in the surrounding areas, the
Inland Northwest, Eastern

Washington, western Montana,
northern Idaho, will want to

come for their services. And
then obviously for our

community, Cook County, all the
facilities that we need,

including, you know, doctors and
trauma centers and things like

that, and we can talk more. The
idea of a destination Medical

Center, I think is is just a
little bit off face. And as I've

heard the incumbents speak
recently, I think they're

starting to acknowledge that
maybe they stubbed their toe

just a little bit, and probably
need to correct that

communication, and focus on
becoming the best quality

regional medical facility that
we possibly can here in Coeur

d'Alene, Idaho.

Now for the listeners and and I
shared this with the other two

interviews as well. In fact,
just this last week, I had an

experience at coatney Hospital.
Prior to this, it was through my

wife but me myself I I had a
stroke last week. So I was

firsthand, experiencing the care
that kidney hospital gives and

and I think it's excellent care.
But I think what happens is, as

listeners as voters, we lose
track of the fact that the

things that are being voted on
right now are decisions that are

going to impact the near future.
The things that are a little

ways out the things that are
going to be a radical difference

from where we are at this moment
in time. Can you talk a little

bit about maybe a few of the
decisions that they've made that

you think jeopardize the
potential success of being a

great Regional Medical Center?

Well, let me address it first by
talking about the health

corridor and the creation of the
urban renewal district. I know

there's gonna be many listeners
out there that said, well,

Steve, you're the one that was
fighting against that. And

that's not actually true. The
issue that I had was I don't

think that they had sufficient
arguments for the creation of

the urban renewal district for
the hospital at that time.

Because they were talking about
destination medical centers, and

I think as we just spoke, it's a
little bit off base. So I think

the use of urban renewal
districts is actually a good

idea. And the hospital's use of
it is probably near the top of

the justifications for it. So I
would agree with that, to give

you some comparisons Rochester
and in the Mayo Clinic created

an urban renewal district, and
they created one that is going

to generate $3.5 billion of tax
revenue to help facilitate

expansion. In addition to that,
the hospital itself is going to

add another 1.5 billion, the
urban rural district that we

created here, is going to
generate about $46 million. So

if we're going to go down a path
of creating a huge or attempt to

compete with institutions like
that, I think that we're going

to be building infrastructure
around the hospital that is not

going to be supported by the
patients that I think they're

targeting. They need to again,
focus on just becoming a

Regional Medical Center, and
focusing on those people that

live in this community.

So let's talk about your
qualifications. What are the

your qualifications for the
position you're currently

running for?

Well, I'm bringing in I think
this is important that if you

look at the consistency of the
existing board, I should say

that composition. We have three,
two medical physicians on the

board. Today, we have a retired
hospital administrator. We have

two nurses, I believe the
medical profession is more than

well represented. I think that
the composition, the board has

to diversify and have some
experiences skill sets. Beyond

that I bring to the table,
financial experience and

governance experience. I have
undergraduate degrees in

accounting and finance and
business administration. I was a

registered municipal advisor,
certified public accountant, I

manage the financial credit and
regulatory risk of a $40 billion

portfolio. I also had risk
oversight of a $2 billion fixed

income portfolio. I've met with
hundreds, if not 1000s of

companies the size of kootenay
Health with complex financial

statements and balance sheets. I
think that my experience at the

county Treasury, which where I
manage $100 million Treasury, I

collect and distribute $150
million of property taxes, and

distribute that to over 50
different individual taxing

districts, including urban
renewal agencies. And if the

hospital were ever to collect
property taxes, they would be

one too. So in a nutshell, what
I would like to do is bring that

financial expertise to the
complexity of kidney health,

which is now a $750 million
revenue company. In addition,

I'd like to bring the governance
expertise that I've obtained

well at the county treasurer's
department. And that's one of

the things I guess I can see the
most improvement. I've had issue

with the board over my last
election, the creation of the

urban renewal district, and even
this election, for example. The

board decided to require all
candidates to submit a

questionnaire I I pointed out to
them that that's an election

airy law. It's governed by the
state of Idaho legislature and

they can make requests of
candidates but they can't

require not a big deal. In fact,
I think it's an excellent idea

to go ahead and have candidates
explain why they're doing this.

But it's approaching and
arrogance that I've seen at the

board that I think what needs to
be tapped down with. In addition

to that. The four weeks leading
up to the actual filing deadline

for the trustee race, Cooney
health decided to publish a full

a full page color ad in the
coralayne Press, touting all the

accomplishments of the trustees
and the incumbent ones that were

running. I don't think that's a
wise use of hospital resources

and the timing of that I felt
was extremely suspect. In

addition, when I researched the
Ron last time as a hospital

trustee, I interviewed many of
these board members trustee

members. And they kept on
emphasizing the collegiality of

the board. We all get along. And
I think that's great. But I also

think that there needs to be
some respectful and debate on

the issues and the decisions
they're making. And I just

didn't see that happening
couldn't occur. I've met with

john das, who is the chairman of
Cooney health, he's a

outstanding CEO. We're very
lucky to have him here. However,

in my assessment, I didn't see
the dynamics on the existing

board with enough personality to
challenge john nez, and his

management team. So we have made
decisions at the hospital, like

a destination Medical Center,
that I think should be

scrutinized just a little bit
more, before we go down that

path.

So let me see if I can
synthesize what you just shared

with the listeners, the the
current board of trustees set

forth an election change, a
requirement for running for the

office, that A has never been
done before. And B is not legal

based on what American election
law is stipulated. They put

forth a requirement that you
complete this questionnaire in

order to run is that correct?

In the questionnaire itself. And
when we submitted our petitions

for candidate C, it was very
clearly articulated that you

were required to complete this
questionnaire. Now, being the

type of person I am, I took the
opportunity to point out that

flaw in my response in the
questionnaire, and I had fun

doing that. But yes, the
hospital has since reversed that

position. No longer is it a
requirement. But candidates are

now invited to submit their
questionnaire, which is exactly

where we should have been. It's
a minor issue, I don't want to

spend a lot of time, it might
have even been just some lower

level person making a decision.
I don't think it was. But it

just demonstrates kind of the
attitude that I think the board

has been presenting, for
example, another situation. For

you to actually speak at the
board, you have to contact them

seven days in advance. To speak
about the topics that they want

to know we're going to have on
the agenda. Well, the agenda

isn't posted until three days
prior to the meeting. So it

makes it challenging at best to
determine when you want to

approach the board on any agenda
item. Because you have to wait

until they've had the meeting,
voted on the issue. And then the

next month, come back and
address them given the way

they've designed up or they are
governing governing themselves.

That just doesn't seem right to
me.

Now, one thing that I noticed as
I was preparing for these

interviews, I do a lot of
research, visit the websites and

I read everything that I can
read. I didn't find any meeting

minutes for past board meetings.
Is that

was it by just not looking in
the right place? Or? Or did I

miss him? No, I and I was
experienced that frustration as

well. You have to contact a
generic email, submit your

questions, and then you'll get a
response. And if it's actually a

public records request for
minutes, or agenda item for

anything else, you're put down
kind of a certain path. And I

know the election. I mean, I
know the public records law and

the Open Meetings laws very
well. And I'd hope because I am

the person that has to manage
that for the county Treasury. It

doesn't work the way it should
be most public institutions

actually publish all that stuff
online. So anyone interested can

actually access it?

Well, and that's kind of why I
asked the question. I mean, I've

served as a city councilor, I've
been in office, and I've gone

through the public meetings, law
training courses. And the fact

that the information isn't
readily available for the public

to see kind of makes me a little
bit suspicious right out of the

gate. And then you you share
with us the fact that you have

to submit your question in
writing seven days before the

meeting, which is coincidentally
four days before they even

publish the agenda. Right?
Doesn't seem to be like they're

putting the citizens of kidney
county in the playing field.

I agree. And then another thing
that again, given my background

in finance and accounting
Alright, try to track down what

is called the Kaffir,
consolidated financial

statements of the institution
itself, it is extremely

difficult to find, typically,
because they knew who I am,

they'll get back to me. But it
takes two weeks, the financial

statements should be on their
website. So anybody can look at

what's going on, not only in
their income statement, their

balance sheet, how much leverage
they have the borrowings,

they've taken out their
investment portfolio, any

issues. I mean, the list goes on
and on and on. And for a

citizen, make a request, and it
takes two weeks, and they know

who I am. I can't even imagine
what a normal citizen would have

to go through to get financial
information on the hospital.

So let's dive into the last
question here. If elected, what

would be your top two or three
goals for your six year term?

Well, the transparency that
we've already talked about, but

primarily it's this vision
statement, I think needs to be

revised. I think we're going
down the wrong path. We need to

be calm, a quality regional
medical facility that can

compete with the hospitals
across the border. That would be

the primary goal of mine going
forward.

You know, looking at the region,
North Idaho, kootenay. County.

There's a maximum size right
there. There's this isn't going

to be a population of 700,000
likes Spokane, right? I hope

not. So we're looking at this is
going to be its own version of

whatever kootenay County is
going to allow to grow once with

the whole prairie is Brill built
out, what do you estimate the

total population, reasonable
population might be?

Well, the last numbers that I
saw kootenai County, just the

geographic boundaries of the
county itself, was about

162,000. I think most of the
projections over the next 20

years doesn't quite approach
gobbling it, but it's going to

be close.

So we're talking somewhere
around 400,000 max population,

what sort of medical facility is
required to support a population

of 400,000? And I asked that
question, having come from

Silicon Valley, California,
having come from Portland,

Oregon, where we're dealing not
with hundreds of 1000s. But

millions of people, what sort of
medical facility Do we need to

have here to support the long
term vision in growth,

I still believe it can be a
community owned hospital, we

don't need to sell to a bigger
conglomerate. I think we can

manage it prudently. Like we
have over the last since 1955,

or 56, we are going to have to
make some difficult decisions.

For example, right now, the
trauma center probably needs to

be elevated to a trauma to
center and that's a designation

nationally by the I think that
group is called the American

College of Surgeons or something
like that. So that trauma to

center probably needs to happen
soon, maybe the next decade.

That's an expense that will have
to be incurred probably by

either taxpayers, or by patients
through you know, the fees and

expenses they incur. There's
another thing that's going to

happen as we grow to that size,
there's going to be an indigent

care provided by the hospital
that is going to become

burdensome. How we pay for that
burden of indigent care,

especially with the things going
on in the state legislature, and

how the counties are being
exited from that responsibility

needs to be addressed. So that's
going to be a significant issue,

how our community wants to pay
for that indigent care as we

become a 400,000. metropolitan
area, because it will happen and

it has to be addressed.

Well, Steve, I appreciate you
coming on. Is there any any

final thoughts you wish to share
with the listeners?

Yeah, I would. I'd like to share
a little bit about what has

happened in this particular
race. I was hoping to run and

stand on my own two feet, my own
credentials and what I brought

to the table, and unfortunately,
what has happened is that this

has become more about the
individuals and the

organizations supporting the
candidates, then the candidates

themselves and it's interesting,
I had an opportunity to visit

with some of the other
Candidates, primarily the two

incumbents, and Dr. McFarland.
And I don't know if this is true

or not. But I got the sense from
Dr. MacFarlane when he was

speaking that he wanted to also
stand on his own two feet, stand

on his background, his
reputation, education. And it's

an excellent background and
reputation. But because I

believe the coralayne Press got
involved and create an issue

that wasn't really an issue he
chose or hat felt he needed to

choose to join a slate. And as a
result, now what we're doing is

we're losing sight of the
qualifications of the

candidates, and the civic
discourse that should be taking

place about what each candidate
wants to do. And instead we're

bickering about who is endorsing
whom, and what organization is

doing what. And I think we're
all diminished. As a result of

it. I'm really disappointed in
your involvement or the role

that the coralayne Press played
in this.

Well, thank you so much, Steve.
Steve Matheson running for

kootenay Hospital District Board
of Trustees. Really appreciate

you coming on the show today.

My pleasure. Sign up your sons
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