Ducey will not seek re-election to WREA Board of Directors
Dear Editor:
To the Membership of White River Electric Association, I will NOT be seeking re-election this coming year. I would like to personally thank you all, it has been extremely humbling to have so much support and for your votes of confidence in my tenure serving as one of your Directors on the Board of WREA. It has truly been my pleasure to serve you “The Member.”
Humbly thankful,
Bryce Ducey
Secretary, WREA Board of Directors
Coulter announces candidacy for hospital board
Dear Editor:
Thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself as a candidate for the Pioneers Medical Center Board of Directors.
I am Danette Coulter. I am a long-time Meekerite, small business owner, and retired employee of Pioneers Medical Center (PMC). I have been in the community for over 46 years and am married to Lanny Coulter. We own and operate Coulter Aviation along with our daughter, Brianne, who is also a Registered Dental Hygienist. Our son-in-law, Pav, just completed his Master’s Degree in Nursing and is teaching at CNCC. We are blessed with two precocious grandsons, Maksim and Aleksander. I earned my Private Pilot’s license over a year ago and followed that up with obtaining an FAA Ground Instructor certification. I am currently assisting local, aspiring aviators in their quest to become private pilots by preparing them for their knowledge tests and the oral portion of their private pilot checkrides.
I retired from my Revenue Cycle Director position at PMC a little over 2 years ago. I have been in healthcare for 25 years with 23 ½ years at PMC in the revenue cycle side of things so I am well versed in the day-to-day operations of this hospital. I obtained a Certified Specialist in Accounting and Finance (CSAF) designation from the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) as well as the designation of Certified Revenue Cycle Executive in both the Institutional and Professional (CRCE I/E) tracks through the American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management (AAHAM). Additionally, I was a member of HFMA and AAHAM from 2009-2023, serving as vice president and president of the Rocky Mountain AAHAM Chapter from 2011-2016. My certifications reflected both sides of healthcare finance. The CSAF focused on financial strategy and reporting including cost accounting, budgeting, analysis, compliance, regulations, and reimbursement models while the CRCE I/E focused on operational cash flow in both the hospital and clinic settings from the moment the patient accesses the healthcare system until the collection process is complete. Together they helped me understand how the day-to-day operations ultimately impact the hospital’s financial sustainability.
I am running for the Board of Directors at PMC because it is one of the most important organizations in our community. It provides essential healthcare for our families, supports local jobs, and is a huge economic driver in our county. As we face uncertain times and very real challenges in the rural healthcare market, I believe strong governance is key to ensuring that the hospital remains financially stable long into the future while continuing to provide quality care to our patients. The patients are the lifeblood of any healthcare organization and ensuring they have access to healthcare is vitally important for our community. I care about the long-term sustainability of the hospital. With that comes thoughtful, strategic planning, fiduciary responsibility, and support of our leadership, physicians, and staff, who, without them, PMC would not exist. I know our hospital has many hard working, dedicated employees who strive to provide excellent care to our patients and the board should support their work, not interfere with it.
Having worked in the revenue cycle for many years I understand the day-to-day operations but as a board member that role is different. It’s all about strategy, oversight, financial stewardship and ensuring our hospital is here for many years to come. As a board member my focus would be to support and protect the mission, vision, values, and future viability of PMC. I am a believer that if you are representing an organization by being on their board that you will act in their best interests and not your own. Board decisions must be made in the best interest of the hospital’s long-term health and my goal would be to carefully consider all the facts as well as any strategic and financial impact a decision might have on the future of the hospital. The responsibility of a board member is to be a steward of the community’s healthcare needs, even when a decision isn’t the easiest or most popular one.
Being on the Board of Directors presents the opportunity to address the pressures that occur in a small, independent rural healthcare system. Reimbursement issues, staffing problems (recruitment and retention), and rising healthcare costs are some of the challenges that the hospital faces. I am willing to unite with a board to address these challenges that require strong leadership, good governance, thoughtful decision making, and careful, long-term strategic planning so that Pioneers remains stable and positioned to serve the community well into the future.
We should not take our small hospital for granted. Pioneers has existed since 1950 because our community supports it and has a vested interest in it. We should be proud of the decisions made by previous boards to ensure we have access to healthcare and to recognize the value in that. The responsibility of the hospital board should be to continue that work. If elected to be on the Board of Directors at Pioneers Medical Center I will ensure that I am a good steward of our resources, exhibit ethical leadership and publicly support the hospital’s mission and vision. Equally important is providing support for leadership, physicians, and staff and listening to the community’s concerns regarding healthcare needs. It goes without saying that it is for the community’s benefit that we ensure the hospital survives.
I am confident my experience in both healthcare financial management and the revenue cycle will bring added value to the board. That combination has taught me that small operational decisions can have a big impact on reimbursement, cash flow, and the hospital’s operating margin. If elected, I have every intention of committing the time and effort to being a responsible, dependable, and conscientious board member.
Respectfully,
Danette Coulter
Meeker
Support for Mobley as RBC Sheriff
Dear Editor:
My wife and I are writing this letter in support of Travis Mobley for Rio Blanco County Sheriff. We have known Travis and his family for a long time. Travis possesses a strong moral and ethical character and his life shows it. He is a wonderful husband and a great family man. Travis started out several years ago as a jailer for the Sheriff’s Office and later moved up to Deputy and now serves as the Undersheriff for Sheriff Mazzola. My wife worked with Travis at the Sheriff’s Office for around twenty years and is well aware of the kind of person Travis is. Travis knows the county very well and the people in it. Just as he is concerned about the safety and well being of his family, he is also concerned about the safety and constitutional rights of the residents of Rio Blanco County. We know that Travis would serve well and with the utmost dignity. Our vote is for the person who would take this responsibility seriously and continue to make Rio Blanco County a safe place for all, and that would be Travis Mobley.
Mike & Patti Hoke
Meeker