Public Hospital District 1 commissioners voted 3-2 yesterday to authorize Commission President Paul Joos to “initiate litigation, if necessary,” to assess the legality of the alliance’s governance. The strategic alliance was formed in June 2011, but Mr. Joos and two other commissioners claimed the elected hospital district commission turned VMC over to an unelected board of trustees when it finalized the deal.
The alliance’s board of trustees has 13 members: five hospital district commissioners and eight members appointed by Paul Ramsey, MD, CEO of UW Medicine.
The resolution the board adopted asks that the alliance’s board cover the hospital district’s legal costs and names two options:
• Ask a judge to rule that the commission did not have the power to turn over its legislative responsibilities to an unelected board.
• Obtain an injunction to prevent the board of trustees from exercising the elected commissioners’ responsibilities.
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Washington’s Valley Medical Center, UW Medicine Explore Alliance
Alliance Proposed for Washington’s Valley Medical Center and UW Medicine
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