Hospital directors ousted
Staff writer
Ryan Edmundson and Travis Parmley defeated incumbents Byron Lange and Jeff Soyez for seats on the St. Luke Hospital board Tuesday.
Edmundson received 49 votes; Parmley, 41; Soyez, 31; and Lange, 10. Gene Winkler received a single write-in vote.
A sizable crowd attended the meeting, which began with hospital CEO Alex Haines reading a letter from a man thanking staff for kindness they’d shown his father during his final days.
Board candidate presentations were next. Two seats, those of Lange and Soyez, were up for election. Both were allowed to speak about why they should remain on the board.
“Can I just sit down?” Byron Lange asked before beginning his speech.
Lange spoke about his banking experience and how he was exceptionally qualified for his work on the board reviewing financial reports.
Soyez spoke about the good job himself and the rest of the board had done in selecting Haines as CEO. He concluded his thanking staff members for their hard work. The remark drew an “amen” from the crowd.
The first challenger, Ryan Edmundson, serves as president of the St. Luke Hospital Foundation. Edmundson had a simple argument: “there is a lot of benefit” to someone serving on both boards at once.
“The fundraising arm can help the managerial arm,” he said.
Travis Parmley, the county’s former ambulance director, rose as the second challenger.
“I see the hospital as an integral part of the community, and it would be an honor to help it succeed,” Parmley said. “I really don’t have anything else.”
After candidate presentations, Haines was asked why there was not all-day voting, rather than voters being able to cast ballots only over the course of a few hours.
“It’s on our agenda at the board retreat [in July] to take a look at that,” Haines said. “I expect there may be some changes.”