44.0°

I have been reading in the Clarion the continuing diatribe by Mssrs. Norm Olson and Ray Southwell of how the Central Peninsula Hospital is being mismanaged, and of the Kenai Peninsula Borough's advisory Hospital Service Area Board's (SAB) recommended audit of the hospital's operations. It seems that Mssrs. Olson, Southwell, and the pre-election SAB membership (ie, the SAB now has four new members) are involved in some kind of crusade, targeting both the hospital and its CEO, Ryan Smith and his staff. The purposes of this crusade are not clear, except to attempt to cause trouble in any way possible for the hospital, its staff and Mr. Smith.

I began visiting the Kenai Peninsula in 1986, and became a resident of Soldotna in early 1997. During the subsequent 12-plus years, I got to know a lot about the hospital, its services, its Board of Directors, and met many of the hospital's staff and physicians. Since 2002, the hospital physical plant, its services, and the number of hospital employees have undergone incredible growth. Growth and expansion of services brought with them both change and tensions. Some of the hospital-related issues of the last year or so (the shooting, the union push to organize many employees, unsubstantiated allegations by a very small number of current and ex-employees and the SAB) have been well publicized. I would like to point out that most of the growth in needed and improved services for the service area community, such as Serenity House, Heritage Place, the hospital expansion, and the recruiting of specialists and primary care physicians, has been during the tenure of and through the leadership of Ryan Smith. I know Mr. Smith personally, have been a patient in CPH, and find him to be a superlative administrator, a community leader, a nice guy, and a dedicated family man. Mr. Smith's daily regimen would exhaust most executives but he discharges his duties with knowledge, competence, dedication and a friendly smile for almost everyone.

Regarding the personal attacks on Mr. Smith and his staff, and allegations of mismanagement by Mssrs. Olson and Southwell, and the SAB-recommended audit of the hospital, I would suggest that the residents of Soldotna, Kenai, Nikiski, Sterling, Ninilchik, Cooper Landing (even Homer and Seward), who value their hospital(s) as vital community assets, speak to their respective KPB Assembly representative(s) to demand factual, detailed basis for these seemingly unfounded allegations. (Hearsay doesn't count!) I would hope Kenai Peninsula community leaders, prominent physicians, and others would responsibly speak out to stop this apparent senseless, overt persecution. I sincerely believe that if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. Which are you?

Richard Hahn

Sequim, Washington