Valley Medical Center's ethics policy could limit criticism

Weeks before newly elected members would take office, the board of commissioners at Renton's Valley Medical Center passed an ethics policy that limits criticism among members and restricts how they communicate with the public.

Members say the rules, which also require the five commissioners to meet strict attendance and participation guidelines, merely "formalized" the decades-old standards of the public hospital district's top officials.

But one incoming commissioner, who takes his seat Monday, called the new policy a muzzle on freedom of speech:

"This document focuses only on what is good for the institution," said Anthony Hemstad, who is also city manager of Maple Valley.

Formal ethics policies regularly spell out rules of decorum or attendance for elected officials, but they can't bar open government, said Kristin Alexander, spokeswoman for the state's Attorney General's Office.

"As long as there is no conflict with open-records acts and open-meetings acts, certainly [governing bodies] can have rules on how they converse," Alexander said.

Statewide, more than 50 hospital districts receive public funding, with elected boards to govern them. Valley, the boundaries of which start just south of Bellevue and stretch into Southeast King County, formed in 1945 to meet the health-care needs of what was then a largely rural area.

Until three weeks ago, said Commissioner Don Jacobson, Valley's board did not operate with an official ethics policy.

"Most organizations have a code of ethics they operate under; it was time to make [ours] official," said Jacobson, a commissioner since 1993.

Commissioners unanimously approved the policy, drafted by a business lawyer hired by Valley, during the final meeting of departing commissioners Gary Kohlwes and Carole Anderson Dec. 17.

Both Kohlwes and Anderson lost their seats in November during an election shake-up that's expected to dramatically change the dynamic of the board.

Sue Bowman, a retired hospital administrator, soundly defeated Kohlwes, retired superintendent of the Renton School District. Hemstad, a vocal critic of Valley, beat Anderson by less than 1 percent of the vote, in the only recount in the state last year.

The code of ethics comes at a time when Valley is under increasing scrutiny.

CEO's contract

On Dec. 3, the departing board voted to extend hospital Chief Executive Officer Rich Roodman's contract for five years, a move that bars Hemstad or Bowman from having a say in the matter.

The decision came just two months after the state's Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) slapped Valley with the largest out-of-court settlement in the agency's history, $294,000 in fines and reimbursements, to be paid personally by Roodman and another administrator.

PDC finding

In October, the PDC found Valley had misspent nearly $500,000 in public money when it paid for research and direct mailings to influence ballot measures in 2005 and 2006.

Last fall, the State Auditor's Office began a performance audit of Valley, "largely in response to public issues," said state Auditor Brian Sonntag, referring to the recent PDC investigation.

With so much attention on Valley's leadership, the ethics policy has raised additional questions.

Some say the new rules could hinder debate and dissent among elected officials.

Although this type of last-minute policymaking is not uncommon, the measures passed by Valley seem to target incoming members, said Cindy Simmons, a University of Washington lecturer in the Department of Communication who teaches journalism students about the First Amendment.

Simmons said Valley's board appeared to be using "bully" tactics to intimidate new members.

These types of policies can "freeze out" reform candidates and serve to intimidate elected officials, Simmons said.

"Even if the intention isn't to enforce [these rules]," Simmons said, "it can have the desired effect."

Various rules

But others who study hospital districts say these types of agencies follow a different set of rules from city or state governments. David Olson, professor emeritus with the UW's Department of Political Science, studies "quasi-governmental" agencies and American politics.

Olson said hospital and port districts, for example, are a hybrid of public and private agencies that must follow a different set of guidelines to be successful. In the case of Valley, Olson said the board should follow strict ethics guidelines to compete with private hospitals.

Even so, some say it is the charge of all public officials to be open and transparent, regardless of private interests.

Rules such as Valley's could stymie that, said Rodger McCollum, CEO and superintendent of the neighboring Snoqualmie Valley Hospital District, which does not have an ethics policy.

"You can't tie the hand of any commissioner. These are elected officials representing the people they are serving," he said.

Karen Johnson: 253-234-8605 or karenjohnson@seattletimes.com