💉 Checking the Pulse 06/24/26

A closer look: Earlier this week, I reported a story on potential legislation that could impact hospitals’ ability to contract with certain corporate groups. The story mentions that, as expected, the state hospital association opposed the legislation. When I reached out to the hospitals in CDN’s two-county coverage area, PeaceHealth and Skagit Regional Health both explicitly told me they oppose the legislation. Island Health in Anacortes, however, didn’t go as far.

When asked specifically if Island Health agrees or disagrees with the Washington State Hospital Association’s opposition to the legislation, a spokesperson for the hospital told me that as a WSHA member, Island Health appreciates “their advocacy and support on multiple initiatives.” That, however, doesn’t answer the question.

When compared to multi-state health systems like PeaceHealth, Island Health is a small operation that likely doesn’t have whole government affairs teams and personnel dedicated to staying on top of every potentially impactful bill. However, they still haven’t said whether they agree with the hospital association's position or not. As you know, member-based organizations often have disagreeing members, so the seeming existence of one isn’t profound by any means. It is, however, interesting to see where our individual hospitals align themselves with this type of legislation — the so-called “corporate practice of medicine” laws — that is being heralded by many nationwide as the modern hook of hope to hang the abundance of anti-private equity hats on.

Now, here is a roundup of health-related news from Whatcom and Skagit counties.

Whatcom County has had two co-health officers for more than a year. Now, there is just one, after Dr. Meghan Lelonek announced her departure from the region recently to county council members. Her last day was June 12. Dr. Amy Harley remains a health officer. The county health department told me it's currently considering whether to fill Dr. Lelonek's role. In the meantime, her responsibilities have been distributed among other staff, the county said.

The City of Bellingham is weighing how much to continue funding the Homeless Outreach Team housed at the Opportunity Council.

PeaceHealth recently merged its employee health and infection prevention teams. The new team is called “caregiver health.” For a brief period in recent weeks, members of the previous teams seemed to be without a job, as they were surprised to learn they needed to reapply for their positions. (Most of them were hired back, I’m told.)

Also, in other PeaceHealth shakeups, the health system has traditionally divided its nine hospitals into three “networks.” The “Northwest network" includes its hospitals in Bellingham, Sedro-Woolley, Friday Harbor, and Ketchikan, Alaska; its “Columbia network” includes its Longview, Cowlitz County, and Vancouver, Clark County, hospitals; and its Oregon network includes its three hospitals in the state. Now, apparently, the health system's Ketchikan hospital is being reassigned to the Columbia network. Why? I’m not sure, and neither are many hospital employees, including a few who work at the Ketchikan hospital.

Skagit Regional Health has a new Chief Medical Officer. As of this month, Dr. Jenny Benson is the two-hospital system’s chief medical officer, a position that was previously held by Dr. Connie Davis. Dr. Benson was previously the hospital’s chief physician officer.

The American Prospect: After reading the corporate practice of medicine story mentioned above, you may find this 2024 story interesting, as it explains a bit of the lobbying backlash Oregon lawmakers received when trying to pass their version of the legislation from some of the nation’s largest corporations.

Oregon Public Broadcasting: Oregon’s state public hospital is suing the public radio newsroom over a public records dispute related to the hospital’s firing of an executive.

InvestigateWest: Speaking of that hospital: In the last Checking the Pulse, I linked to an investigation examining its troubled and overcrowded NICU. After the outlet’s publication, Oregon Health & Science University’s president held a press conference and discussed the matter. (Yes, the leader of a hospital — albeit an academic health center and state institution — held a press conference.)

ProPublica (audio) — An investigative health reporter was diagnosed with cancer, so he looked into why a medication he was taking cost nearly $1,000 per pill.

The New Yorker — Before you watch tomorrow's U.S. World Cup match, this story by the magazine’s sports writer has it all: connecting the Fourteenth Amendment, today’s Supreme Court and the early success of the team’s run so far.