UKC Medic One

Board of Commissioners

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Applicants Sought for Board of Commissioners, Position #3

Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 2 is seeking applicants for appointment to a vacant position on its publicly elected Board of Commissioners. The position has become vacant following the resignation of current commissioner Torey Griswold.

Interested persons should submit a letter of interest, including relevant background information, by April 17, 2015.  Interviews will be conducted the weeks of April 20, 27 and May 4, and the successful candidate will take office at the May 18 meeting of the Board of Commissioners.

The position will be placed on the ballot in the November 2015 general election. The elected commissioner will take office immediately following the election and will serve a full six-year term, through December 2021. 

Letters of interest should be sent electronically to fstorlie@kvhealthcare.org or by hard copy to the Board of Commissioners, Attn: Cathy Bambrick, Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 2, 603 S. Chestnut St., Ellensburg, WA 98926. For additional information, please contact Cathy Bambrick at (509) 962-7302. Applicants must be registered voters residing in Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 2. 

Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 2 is primarily funded by local property taxes. It operates Upper Kittitas County Medic One, the only advanced life support ambulance service in Upper Kittitas County.  The public hospital district also subsidizes a portion of the operations of KVH Urgent Care – Cle Elum to ensure access to after-hours care for Upper Kittitas County residents.

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KCPHD No. 2 to Host Study Session about Current and Potential Future Service Delivery Models

Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 2 (KCPHD #2) will host a study session to assess the current status of Upper Kittitas County emergency medical services and discuss potential future service delivery models.  The session will be held on October 14th from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Putnam Centennial Center in Cle Elum.

The primary service provided by KCPHD #2 is advanced life support ambulance service by Upper Kittitas County Medic One.

The study session will allow for an opportunity to follow up on an earlier agreement by the KCPHD #2 Board of Commissioners assigning operational management duties of Upper Kittitas County Medic One ambulance service to Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue (KVFR). This agreement, signed in March 2014 after turnover in Medic One management, was projected to last six months in an effort to give Upper Kittitas County Medic One time to explore its options before making a long term management decision.

In general, study sessions are primarily held as information gathering meetings for elected officials.  They are open to the public.  In this case, the session is being held for the benefit of the KCPHD #2 Board of Commissioners, emergency response stakeholder agencies and interested members of the public.  A period reserved for emergency response stakeholder agency comments is tentatively scheduled for 8:15 p.m. Written comments will be accepted from members of the public.

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Fred Benjamin Appointed to KCPHD2 Board of Commissioners

Fred Benjamin

On March 17, the Board of Commissioners for Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 2 appointed Fred Benjamin to fill a vacant commissioner position.

Commissioners for Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 2 are publicly elected to six-year terms; appointments occur when a position is vacated during an active term.  Mike Nevills held the vacated position from January 2006 until his death in December 2013.  

Fred is a lifelong resident of Kittitas County.  After graduating from Cle Elum High School in 1965 he completed a degree in Industrial Technology at Central Washington University.  He has recently retired from the Washington State Department of Transportation, where he ended his 34-year career as the Equipment Superintendent of the South Central Region.  In this position, he managed over 30 employees.

In addition to his career with the Washington State Department of Transportation, Fred acted as a volunteer with the Cle Elum Fire Department from 1975 through 2011.  During his years as a volunteer, he was active with both fire and emergency medical services response.  Though he retired from the fire department in 2011, he has maintained his emergency medical technician (EMT) certification so that he may provide training in first aid and CPR.

Fred is pleased to be able to devote more time to serving his community during his retirement.  He will serve until the November 2014 general election, at which time the position will be publicly elected. The successful candidate of this election will serve the remainder of the six-year term, which expires in 2017.  Fred will be eligible to run for the position during the November 2014 general election, if he so chooses.

Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 2 is primarily funded by local property taxes.  It operates the only advanced life support ambulance service in Upper Kittitas County, Medic One.  The public hospital district also subsidizes a portion of the operations of KVH Urgent Care – Cle Elum to ensure access to after-hours care for Upper Kittitas County residents.