A word from the OMHC Board

First and foremost, Happy New Year to everyone.

The year 2021 saw a lot of changes at OMHC, from personnel to a new computer system to figuring out how to spend the CARES funding. It is my belief that 2022 will be somewhat smoother, but you have to throw the word COVID into the mix as a wild card.

Personnel saw the hiring of a new CEO, John Serle, and at the same time Kim Dalrymple took over the CFO duties. Also, later this past fall, Jace Angelly was hired as the clinic director. At the same time, we lost several long-time employees to retirement. With this much change, there has been some heartburn in the community, and the board has heard it. The board does a lot of listening, but we can’t say everything we would like to because of the expected Code of Conduct that we work under. If you have issues, instead of posting them on social media, which gets amplified, go talk to John, Kim, Megan [Shepard] or Jace.

The new computer system has had its challenges. A big thank you needs to go to the staff for working through the issues. If you have heard or read about the VA hospital in Spokane and the issues they have experienced, it’s the same system that OMHC has, only with some specific differences.

The CARES funding has been a godsend for OMHC to the tune of about 3.8 million dollars. As with any government program, there are strings attached. When John came on board last spring there was no real plan on how to spend it. The board, along with John and Kim, prioritized a list of items this money could be spent on. OMHC only had a couple months to figure out how to use these dollars or lose the money and the subsequent benefit to the community. Of course, there was community feedback on how much money OMHC was spending and the finance statement was going down the rabbit hole. I have been on the board for four years and, if you remove the CARES funding completely off the balance sheet, OMHC is still as strong as ever.

Lastly, the board would ask for your continued support in February for the annual M&O levy. With inflation going up, the board decided to leave the levy amount the same at $671,800. The board takes seriously the fiduciary responsibility you, the taxpayers, have entrusted to us. Again, thank you to the staff and district taxpayers for what you do and give to OMHC.

“What divides us pales in comparison to what unites us.” Edward Kennedy.