Board of Commissioners

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.

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.

We are saddened to report that Mike Nevills, a member of the board of commissioners for Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 2, passed away in late December 2013.

Commissioners for Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 2 are publicly elected.  Mike had been elected to his second six-year term with the board of commissioners in November 2011.  He would have remained on the board through 2017.

Mike was active in long range planning between Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 1 (Lower Kittitas County) and Kittitas County Public Hospital District No. 2 (Upper Kittitas County).  He was a proponent of expanding hospital district facilities as the need for additional medical services arose, and was involved in successful contract negotiations for hospital district staff.

Within the next 90 days, the board of commissioners will seek interested individuals, interview candidates, and appoint a person to fill the vacant position.  The appointee will serve until the November 2014 general election.  The successful candidate of this election will take office immediately and serve the remainder of the term, which expires in 2017.

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.