Meet the Sarasota County
Hospital Board Candidates
The Problem
Recently, being a member of the hospital board has been more of an honorary role. The administration called the shots, and the board got to sit back, add to their resume, and enjoy the bonus networking functions and social engagements.
But COVID changed all that. Things got real during COVID. There were decisions to be made that never had to be made before.
Decisions like these:
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The FDA allows a novel, poorly tested, contaminated product with many red flags to stay on the market and be injected into people, including babies and children. What should our response be?
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The federal government threatens to cut off the hospital’s Medicare payments if the hospital does not do what they mandate. But what they are demanding violates the Medicare statute. How do we oppose this and keep our funding?
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Many doctors nationwide successfully treated COVID with FDA-approved drugs used off-label. They did so despite pressure not to use those drugs and in the face of threats against their licenses, even though off-label treatment options are common in medical practice and completely legal.
To what extent did bureaucrats in the federal government, who do not practice medicine, coerce the hospital? To what extent did undermining early treatment lead to deaths?
If federal bureaucrats coerced hospital policy, shouldn’t we be standing up for our patients, instead of handing over our autonomy and our responsibility to our patients to complete strangers?
These are specific questions that have come before the hospital in just the past few years. The hospital board is more important than ever before, and must not cave under these circumstances. Board members are the interface between the public and the hospital administration. More importantly, hospital board members are responsible for setting hospital policy.
Both doctors absolutely support keeping Sarasota Memorial Hospital public with a publicly-elected board.
Who do we want to represent us? Who do we want to help answer these questions? Shouldn’t we have medical doctors on the hospital board? Because right now, there aren’t any.
The Solution
Fortunately, there is a very easy answer to the question of who to vote for:
We want to vote for those who are highly informed.
We want to vote for those who are very ethical and compassionate. Those who have dedicated their lives to helping people.
We want to vote for those who will give us expanded treatment options based on careful research, and not make demands that it’s their way or the highway.
We want to vote for those who will answer our important questions, and not ignore us.
The answer is luckily very clear.
Ideally, we want medical doctors loyal to their oaths, who’ve shown they will stand by their patients through thick and thin.
Who are so dedicated, knowledgeable, and able to critically examine the medical evidence, that when life throws the hospital a curve ball, you will feel at ease knowing they are the ones in charge making those decisions.
In this race for hospital board, there are two candidates who are the clear choice when it comes to medical doctors loyal to their oaths: Stephen Guffanti, MD, and Tamzin Rosenwasser, MD.