RAZZETO: Superb member of board

I am writing to endorse the re-election or Liese Razzeto to the Board of Trustees of Kootenai Health. When serving 30 years as CEO of Kootenai Medical Center and Kootenai Health I was not in a position to endorse candidates for the hospital board, but in retirement I believe it is my duty to express my opinion on an issue as important as the governance of Kootenai Health. Management guru Peter Drucker said hospitals are the most complex form of human organization we have ever attempted to manage. I have seen people with clinical and business backgrounds surprised by the steep learning curve they faced when they first came onto the hospital board and began to understand what it is like to manage and govern a large, complex, public hospital. In my former role I watched Liesa Razzeto grow into a very effective and excellent board member, while increasingly taking on a board leadership role.

In an era of large scale consolidation of hospital systems and struggling public hospitals, in Kootenai Health we have a very successful organization that is owned by the community and governed by a locally elected board. I trust people in this community will take their duty very seriously and not only vote in the May 21 election, but will also vote to re-elect Liesa Razzeto. She is committed to maintaining an independent hospital with a fiscally conservative approach that has resulted in no taxes being levied since 1995, and she will continue to provide proven leadership to the board of Kootenai Health.

JOE MORRIS

Coeur d’Alene