Give hospital CEO a chance

Proponents of the SEIU nursing union at Kalispell Regional Medical Center appear to be unwilling to give CEO Dr. Craig Lambrecht a chance to correct mistakes made in the fallout from the recent federal settlement. He has been here two months.

Perhaps they desire a really quick shuffle and a change that almost certainly would spell the end of KRMC’s independence, forcing our hospital into the arms of the big chains headquartered out of state. Maybe SEIU, headquartered in Washington, D.C., likes it better that way.

Labor law stipulates that elections can be repeated in 12 months. Perhaps a fairer approach for both our nurses and our community might be to give the new administrative team a year to achieve the collaborative staffing and employment goals they have been planning as the financial picture continues to brighten.

If, at the end of 12 months, the time your kid spends between sixth and seventh grades, we have the fairer, internally healthier and vibrant medical center we all want, our continuing independence will be a huge victory for the people of the Flathead and Western Montana going generations into the future.

And if not, time’s up. Vote in SEIU and the big-money owners from the coasts. But kiss local mores, aspirations and eye-popping hometown patient care goodbye.

Dr. Andy Palchak, Kalispell