Gifford Board
Kept Informed

A letter to the editor in last week’s Herald suggested that Gifford Medical Center’s Board of Trustees may not be fully aware of recent changes involving the hospital’s Birthing Center.

As hospital board members, we have been very involved in understanding the issues surrounding recent Birthing Center changes. At both our board meetings and relevant committee meetings, we have made sure we understand the complexity of the decisions being made by the leadership at the Medical Center and the reasons behind them.

These have been difficult discussions and decisions for us as board members. Health care is not just a business. It is a critical element in the health of the community. It affects people’s lives, their families, and our employees who deliver the care.

We believe that Gifford’s Birthing Center will continue to be one of its "Centers of Excellence", providing women and families with safe, gentle, low intervention birthing options, as well as other childbirth choices, within the safety net that is available in a hospital setting.

We take very seriously our commitment as volunteer board members to ensure that our community hospital remains a high-quality, patient centered facility, not just for expectant families, but for all of us.

Gifford Board of Trustees

Judith Irving: Chair

Randy Garner: Vice-Chair

David Ainsworth

Lincoln Clark

Jack Cowdrey

Rebecca Foulk, MD

Barbara Harvey

Karen Gillespie Korrow

James Kennedy

Bruce MacDonald

Richard Mallary

August Meyer

Chris Soares, MD

Jeffrey Steinkamp

Susan Sytsma

Bob Wright