Jessie J. Peters, FNP-BC
Age: 39
Years of residence in Bonner County: 4
How can the public contact you? [email protected]
Qualifications
• Education: Family Nurse Practitioner (with Master's Degree in Nursing), Bachelor's Degree in Nursing, Associate's Degree in Nursing
• Pertinent employment history that provides you with relevant experience for this office: Executive Leadership, rural nonprofit healthcare; Family Nurse Practitioner, rural clinics
• Nonprofit groups, service or professional organizations to which you belong: American Nurses Credentialling Center, American Nurses Association
• Other experiences or skills you'd like to mention that add to your qualifications for office:
- Leadership in rural healthcare needs assessments
- Strategic planning for rural healthcare environments
- Extensive experience in population health management and improving quality outcomes
- Executive leadership in the healthcare nonprofit sector
- Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Board of Directors (for rural hospital system)
Candidate Positions
1. This is a volunteer position – no pay! Here's a three-part question:
- Why are you running for a seat on the hospital district board?
I am running for a trustee position on the Pend Oreille Hospital District Board because I have a heart for rural healthcare. I care for my community. Understanding and impacting the health of my own community is important to me. I will be fiscally responsible with tax dollars and have experience with healthcare strategy. I plan to ensure that dollars are spent in a way that reflects a well-articulated plan, a plan that is based on the healthcare needs of our tax district.
- Have you ever attended a hospital district board meeting? No.
- And, if elected, how many hours per week will you devote to your service on the board? I am willing to volunteer on the Hospital District Board, should I be elected, and will serve in a capacity that is required/expected of this trustee position - fulfilling all requirements of the position.
2. The hospital district specifically supports Bonner General Health and its health services. How many times in 2019 and 2020 did you visit BGH as a patron to utilize its services? Decline to answer, as this is directly reflective of my personal health information.
Do you consider yourself well familiar with the services BGH provides? Yes.
3. Do you consider the Pend Oreille Hospital District to be well managed currently? Is its board of trustees taking it in the right direction?
I am unable to offer a well-formulated opinion on the direction and management of the current board of trustees. There are limited strategy, goals, and impact reporting available to the public (within bylaws, minutes, etc.).
4. Do you identify important issues, that you want to pursue or address as a member of the district board of trustees?
I plan to ensure that tax dollars are spent in a fiscally responsible way, following a well-articulated plan that is based on the healthcare needs of our tax district. This starts with understanding and assessing the healthcare needs of our tax district, and directing dollars reflectively.
5. The Pend Oreille Hospital District is a taxing district, the revenues from which are to be distributed to local health care facilities, and which the district earmarks for BGH. Would you seek changes to its funding or its expenditures?
Not necessarily. What is necessary is that all tax dollars are spent in a way that directly impacts and improves the health and wellbeing of the tax payers. The nuances and details of the current spending strategy needs to be well-articulated and follow a plan that is directly reflective of the taxing district's health needs. Additionally, there needs to be impact reporting readily available to taxpayers - i.e. "How do I know where my tax dollars are going, and how are the healthcare outcomes of our tax district improving because of this?"
6. Rural communities in particular face challenges to provide good health care to their residents. Those include low patient volume; older populations with more chronic conditions; difficulty recruiting qualified professionals; rising costs and others. These difficulties have led to hospital closures in many small towns. Do you have a personal vision for how the health providers in our small town can meet these challenges and ensure good health care here in Bonner County?
I absolutely do have vision as to how to meet these challenges. I have extensive experience in operating nonprofit healthcare clinics facing these exact obstacles. I also have experience leading at the board level of a hospital Accountable Care Organization (ACO.) In both of these roles I have demonstrated leadership in operational efficiencies, improving access to care in rural communities, and quality-based reimbursement models - saving money and improving health.
7. Finally: With multiple candidates for the two board positions up for election, why should voters give you their vote? What would you like voters to most consider in deciding how to cast their vote?
I very humbly recognize that every vote is a person. A person living out, every day, their own health journey. If I were to be voted into a Hospital District trustee position, I take the weight of this responsibility very seriously. I will be accountable to voters and I will advocate for their health and well-being with every area of influence this position brings.