The state Auditor’s Office issued two findings against Island County this month for errors in the way that it kept track of COVID relief fund grants in 2020. The state Auditor’s Office issued two findings against Island County this month for errors in the way that it kept track of COVID relief fund grants in 2020.
The problems didn’t result in any loss of funding and the county’s processes were fixed, the report states.
WhidbeyHealth was unable to obtain an $8-$10 million loan that officials were expecting to receive from a health care lending firm in order to bridge a funding gap. Officials at WhidbeyHealth have been seeking a short-term loan in order to make payroll and cover other costs until revenues from the property tax levy come in. Officials said they should receive half of the tax funds, about $8 million, by the end of April.
Island County Commissioners declined to co-sign a loan for the Whidbey Island Hospital District. The district needs short-term financing to meet payroll until new levy funds begin to arrive in May.
Fired WhidbeyHealth CEO Ron Telles’ salary worked out to about $207 an hour, far higher than the average of $130 an hour for CEOs of similarly-sized nonprofit hospitals.
Oak Harbor drivers may get two new roundabouts to circle during the next couple of years at the intersection of North Oak Harbor Street and Northeast Seventh Avenue at the intersection of Highway 20 and Fakkema Road.
The Hospital District board has chosen management services firm HealthTechS3 to help run WhidbeyHealth, at a cost of $350,000 per year. They also named an interim CEO, Michael Layfield, whose annual salary is expected to be $375,000.
Four candidates for appointment to an empty seat on the Oak Harbor city council (Ronnie Wright, Eric Marshall, John Chaszar, and Fe Mischo) will be interviewed Feb. 23.
The Public Hospital District’s board of commissioners fired WhidbeyHealth CEO Ron Telles amid staff turmoil and the hospital’s financial difficulties.
