Sarasota County Public Hospital Board, at-large Seat 1: Bill Woeltjen

Age: 69

Current occupation: Retired, but I do some consulting. 

Sarasota County residency: 15 years.

Why are you running for election?

This volunteer Hospital Board seat is an excellent way for me to use my extensive industry experience and knowledge to benefit of the citizens of Sarasota County.

Have you ever run for public office before? If so, for what office?

No.

What experience and/or special skills do you have that make you a better candidate than your opponents?

For over 30 years my career was focused on financial leadership for non-for-profit health care systems, and for 12 years I served as Chief Financial Officer of Sarasota Memorial Hospital. I hold bachelor's degrees in accounting and economics, and MBA, and have a CPA license on inactive status. 

What do you see as the top three or four priorities that the hospital board needs to address? And how should those priorities be addressed?

1) The board should support continued growth in service offerings and service locations through a strategic plan to identify areas of growth that will best serve the citizens of Sarasota County. 2) The board should support continued recruitment of high quality nurses, physicians and other clinical workers by working with management to ensure competitive compensation and benefits offerings. 3) The board should continue to emphasize the importance of healthy financial performance in order to support the continued mission of SMH. The board's strategic plan depends on having the financial resources to execute the plan. 

On a scale of A to F, with A being excellent, what grade would you give the performance of the current SMH executive team? Why, and what if anything should change in the way SMH leadership operates the SMH system?

I give the current SMH executive team an "A" performance grade. I assign this grade due to their excellent results on patient care quality, continued growth of services and locations, and excellent financial performance. 

A faction of Sarasota County citizens contends the hospital should be sold and privatized. What is you position on this and why? 

I am solidly against any effort to privatize Sarasota Memorial Hospital. We have a gem of a public hospital system in SMH and it should remain a public entity. 

Given that the hospital's revenue would be impacted by the proposed ballot on property taxes, do you have thoughts on how this potential cut should be managed? 

If the proposed ballot on property taxes were to be enacted resulting in loss of revenue to SMH, the budget should be reviewed for reductions in expenses in ways that avoid impacts to bedside patient care and avoid reductions in clinical services offered to patients.