Candidates for public hospital boards don't often draw a lot of interest, but a movement to infuse what some call "medical freedom" into the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is causing a stir in the Republican primary.
A candidate forum held on Thursday evening by the League of Women Voters of Sarasota County drew a full house.
More than 100 people gathered at the Jacaranda Library in Venice, with some spilling into a satellite room while dozens more streamed online, to watch six of the eight candidates competing in the Republican primary share their platforms. Two more candidates running declined the invitation.
The candidates discussed issues like the health system's plans to expand services in the southern part of the Sarasota County and its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board has gotten more attention since members affiliated with the "medical freedom" movement were elected in 2022. Some have accused the hospital of mandating certain treatments and vaccines during the pandemic, and blamed decisions to follow federal COVID protocols for the loss of some patient lives.
Sarasota Memorial disputed that in a report published last year, which found the hospital performed better than most in Florida and nationwide during the pandemic. The report involved an internal review, which was analyzed by an independent quality control organization that the hospital contracted with. Some critics were not persuaded, but calls for further investigation failed.
Debates over pandemic response continue
More of those arguments played out during Thursday’s forum.
“You can make a statistic say whatever you want it to say, so that’s one thing I have a problem with,” said Tanya Parus, who describes herself as a grassroots advocate who is running for the hospital board’s Central District 1 seat on the “medical freedom” slate. “I have it in my heart to continue to make sure that we do get some closure for the people who did lose their loved ones.”
Incumbent Sarah Lodge, a financial advisor who is going up against Parus to keep her seat on the board, defended the hospital’s pandemic response.
“We feel the pain of the community and the people that were lost. Nobody wanted to lose them,” she said. “I think if you look at the report you’ll understand that we did 30% better than other hospitals in other areas to save the lives of those out there, which is excellent.”
Candidates were given 90 seconds to respond to questions and were not allowed rebuttals. The public was able to submit questions ahead of time, but were not allowed to speak or audibly react during the forum.
However, the moderator had to quiet some members of the crowd a few times, such as when Mary Flynn O’Neill, who is running for At-Large Seat 3, was asked about how she would apply lessons learned from COVID to her role on the board if elected.
“I would keep government out of our face. I would keep government out of our lives,” she said, earning applause and words of approval from some audience members. O’Neill is executive director of America’s Future, a nonprofit organization chaired by her brother Michael Flynn, a former Trump administration national security advisor.
Some other speakers countered "keeping government out" is easier said than done when running a public hospital that relies on government funding to keep its doors open.
“First of all, your Medicare, so many things are controlled or paid for by the government; secondly, health care, just like an airline, is highly regulated and you want it to be so we’re not just making things up as we go along. … It’s there to protect us,” said Pam Beitlich, who is also running for At-Large Seat 3 after working in nursing and leadership positions at Sarasota Memorial Hospital for more than 40 years.
What does "medical freedom" mean to candidates?
Though candidates occasionally discussed other topics, like the health system’s plans to build a new hospital in North Port and recruiting and retaining more top quality physicians, the conversation often steered back to COVID and “medical freedom.” At one point, speakers were asked to define what that term means to them.
Parus and O’Neill talked about “medical freedom” involving the availability of alternative treatments at the hospital, such as ivermectin to treat COVID-19, which the FDA has not approved and studies have shown offers little benefit to combat the disease and may even cause harm.
Parus also spoke out against health mandates, accusing Sarasota Memorial of mandating staff to get COVID-19 vaccines early in the pandemic, which board members and former staff say did not happen.
Kevin Cooper, a veteran and local volunteer running for At-Large Seat 2, and other candidates argued Sarasota Memorial already offers patients “medical freedom.”
“Medical freedom cuts both ways, right? Doctors should have the right to legally exercise their medical license the way they see fit to recommend treatment plans, and patients should have the right to accept those plans or reject them and seek a second opinion, and I think that exists today,” he said.
Privatization seems off the table
Despite differences in opinions, there were some issues all candidates agreed on. During a “lightning round” where candidates simply held up yes or no signs to questions, everyone held up green “yes” signs when asked if they wanted to keep Sarasota Memorial a public hospital rather than privatize it.
And when asked about past reports of threats of violence against board members and Sarasota Memorial staff amid the COVID controversy, all agreed the issue should be taken very seriously.
“It’s a travesty to have board members threatened," said incumbent Sharon Wetzler DePeters, an advanced registered nurse practitioner and retired Air Force Major who is running for re-election for At-Large Seat 1. "we’re here for you. We’re taking care of the health care in this community and we’re following our good quality and dignity and respect for you as our community.”
DePeters said she was once followed to her car by a person critical of her in the community.
Republican candidates Dr. Tamzin Rosenwasser, who is challenging DePeters’ seat, and Stephen Guffanti, who is running against Cooper for At-Large Seat 2 will also be on the primary ballot but declined the League of Women Voters’ invitation to attend the forum.
Four board seats are up for election. It's a closed primary, so only registered Republicans can vote on August 20.
The winners will face Democrats Alan Sprintz (At-Large Seat 1), John Lutz (At-Large Seat 2), George Davis (At-Large Seat 3) and Vicki Lynn Nighswander (Central District Seat 1), along with write-in candidates in the general election.
The League of Women Voters plans to host another hospital board candidates forum after the primary that includes everyone on the November ballot.
You can watch a recording of Thursday night's candidate forum on the League's YouTube page.
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