Former PUD manager looks to defend Trios Health board seat against local doctor

A retired Benton PUD manager is looking to defend his Kennewick Public Hospital District board seat against a local doctor.

Gary G. Long, who was appointed to the Pos. 2 seat last year, faces Dr. Raymond H. Sjerven in the Nov. 7 election.

The position is nonpartisan and the term is six years. Commissioners make $114 per day of meetings.

The Kennewick Public Hospital District does business as Trios Health. It includes Trios Southridge Hospital and the Trios Women’s and Children’s Hospital, plus a network of clinics and services.

Long, 72, spent 30 years with the PUD, including as assistant general manager and director of operations.

He’s an Army veteran and Rotarian; served on the Columbia Industries board; and has been an instructor in Columbia Basin College’s lineman apprenticeship program.

He was appointed to the Trios board in summer 2016, following the sudden death of longtime member Kathy Davidson.

Before joining the board, he was involved in Trios as a citizen member of its finance and planning committees.

He wants to “finish the work that we started,” he said.

The board has been plenty busy.

In August 2016, a majority of commissioners — including Long — voted to bring in a consulting firm to create an improvement plan for the financially struggling district.

Trios now is implementing the plan, taking steps such as restructuring the workforce and filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection.

The district also is exploring a partnership with RCCH HealthCare Partners and UW Medicine — a move aimed at helping it return to financial stability and long-term viability.

Long said Trios is excelling at patient care while it’s working through its challenges. And Long said his experience and expertise make him the right choice for the board.

“My background has prepared me for this,” Long said, noting he has years of experience helping run a public agency.

“My ties to the community are strong and I’m very motivated to see (Trios) be successful. I have the experience to guide this through to a solution,” he said.

Sjerven is a physician with 39 years on staff at Trios and managing a private practice in Kennewick.

He has served as Trios’ medical staff president and in other medical staff executive positions, the voter guide said. He also spent six years in the Army Reserves, and served on the Salvation Army advisory board and the board of Mid-Columbia Mental Health.

Sjerven declined to be interviewed for this story.

In the voter guide, he said that, “I believe that the duty of a hospital commissioner is to restore the financial health of the hospital and to keep the focus on meeting the unmet medical needs of the residents of the hospital district.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Former PUD manager looks to defend Trios Health board seat against local doctor."