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One step forward, two steps backward

Editor, Index-Tribune:

 

This is in response to the Index-Tribune article regarding the resignation of the Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation board members.

If one were to look up the definition of the word “volunteer” in the dictionary it would state, “A person who voluntarily offers him or herself for a service willingly and without pay.” This is indeed what the foundation board has been doing for the last 30 years. 

As a former event planner and SVHF board member, I too know what it is like to make a small community hospital survive, and I can assert that coming up with fresh, innovative ideas, year after year, to raise much-needed capital for any venue is not any easy task.

The hospital foundation board was an intricate part of growth for our hospital. Yes, it is true that there were a number of events each year that did not net “big bucks” as they say, and perhaps, as Ms. Durrance was recently quoted as saying in the Press Democrat, “the hospital needs to make millions on events, not thousands.” I agree, and it’s a lofty ambition, but not probable in a small town scenario.

Since the demise of the foundation, it saddens me to read that there has been the creation of a development directors’ position that is fully paid by the hospital. I too supported Measure A, the parcel tax that would support our hospital and its renovation. However, the money being spent by the hospital to support the salary of a development director could go for much-needed hospital equipment. So, in its effort to take one step forward, I believe the management of our hospital has taken two steps back.

 Kathy Kennett, Volunteer
Sonoma