Stewart Chen

8/8/2019 Stewart Chen

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The Island’s CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

Name: Stewart Chen

Age: 48

Occupation: Doctor of Chiropractic

Relevant experience: I have 22 years experience in the health care

industry and 10 years experience in numerous Board and Commission

experience.

Why are you running for this office?: I want to see a hospital that is

financially stable and still able to provide health care needs to all 70,000

residents living on this island. I believe that quality health care should be

equally accessible to all residents of any financial standing. We, as asociety, have made dramatic advances in medical science in the last 20

years, as people are living longer and healthier lives. I want Alameda

Hospital to be involved in helping this generation with their medical needs

and for future generations to come.

Why should we vote for you?: I’ve been a licensed chiropractic doctor for

the last 22 years. I run and manage my own private practice and am

familiar with all the facets of running a small health care facility. I also

have close to ten years of Board experiences. I have served on numerous

boards from City Boards and Commissions to County Commissions to non-

profit organizations. I will be able to bring a wealth of Board experiencesto the Health care District Board.

Here is a list of my past and present Board experiences:

- 2001, appointed to the Social Services Human Relations Board (SSHRB) by

former Alameda Mayor Ralph Apezzato

- 2005, re-appointed to the Social Services Human Relations Board by

current Alameda Mayor Beverly Johnson

- 2008, appointed to the Human Relations Commission by Alameda

County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker - Currently the Second Vice Chair of the Alameda County Human

Relations Commission

- Co-chaired the Alamedans Together against Hate (ATAH) Awareness

Committee

- Chaired the Friendship City Committee

- Co-founded Alameda’s Sister City Association

- Chaired the Sight Saver Program sponsored by the Lions Clubs



International

- Chaired the Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Awareness

Committee

- Active member of the Alameda Hospital Community Outreach

Committee

What do you feel are the roles and responsibilities of the office you’reseeking?: I have served on a number of government boards and

commissions and have interacted with members of management and

staff during this time. In my view, the management and staff are

composed of qualified, well-trained, and experienced professionals who

are employed to run an organization as efficiently as possible. They

oversee the day-to-day operations of the organization to ensure that the

organization is able to sustain itself to continue to provide the service for

which it was originally intended.

On the other hand, an elected board is someone who is responsible for

providing guidance to the management and staff to ensure that the

government entity stays on course with its original mission. Because of this

responsibility, elected board members need to have an unbiased and

objective point of view. They need to constantly be aware of the mission

of the government entity while staying in touch with the community that

they serve. The feedback and concerns that they receive should be

passed on to the management and staff to improve the effectiveness of

the organization.

What do you think is the most pressing issue you would face if elected andwhat would you do to address it?: Financial sustainability should be the

number one priority for the Health Care District Board. I intend to review

the salaries and bonuses of our management and administrative team

along with the labor union contracts with physicians and nurses.. I want to

keep an open and transparent Health Care District Board to the public. I

will advocate for more open meetings and less closed door sessions. I

promise to be a working Board member-visiting and spending time in

each department of the hospital, including the often-neglected

department, such as Service and Maintenance. I believe that the only

way to get to know a hospital is to be in the hospital. I feel that thehospital resources are currently underutilized and would like to see them

functioning at their maximum potential. My vision involves collaboration

instead of competition and an institution that is sensitive to the changing

needs of its community.

I believe there are a lot of opportunities for us to work with other medical

facilities and our neighboring communities. In addition to providing



premium, quality healthcare, I would like to explore the possibility of

providing preventive programs such as nutrition and exercise. I would like

to develop an institution with a human touch: one that is aware of the

needs of its population and cares about its well-being. In the end, it’s all

about people helping other people.

The hospital is facing two major challenges: The loss of its surgical contractwith Kaiser Permanente and earthquake fixes that will cost $10 million. Ifelected, how would you seek to handle those challenges?: Government

entities have often been criticized as being bloated and inefficient. I aim

to dispel this image from the entity under my responsibility by applying

similar rules and principles that have worked in the private sector. I will

ensure that we have a well-qualified management and staff that can

carry out the mission of the hospital efficiently and effectively. This should

help cut down on wastes and expenses. Regular performance and salary

reviews can also be implemented as a way of promoting efficiency.Other cost-cutting measures, like voluntary reduction in hours, will also be

considered, if necessary. However, I plan to focus more on carrying out

the mission of the hospital and I would like to see increased utilization of

our hospital services among all sectors of our community - maybe roll out

an aggressive outreach and marketing campaign to the underserved

segments of the population to let them know what services are available.

One segment of the population that is underutilizing our services is the

Asian community. I want to outreach to hear what kind of services that

they prefer and what can do to earn their trust and business.

What services do you think the hospital should provide to residents?: As asource of emergency medical services, Alameda Hospital provides a

much-needed service and gives its residents the peace of mind that

medical care is available when they need it. However, in addition to

curing the sick and making them healthy, I also believe that a hospital

should play a major role in helping people stay healthy. After all, an

ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

We need to be more proactive in the type of health services that we

offer. Extol the values of preventative medicine and encourage a healthy

and active lifestyle to improve one's quality of life. Change the image ofthe hospital from "a place where sick people stay" to "a place where

people stay healthy".

I would like to utilize the hospital's staff and resources to provide regular

educational forums on various health topics, such as diet and exercise.

Aside from holding lectures, we can invite a panel of experts for more in-



depth discussions on particular topics of interest to members of the

community. We can also offer classes on Yoga, Tai Chi, and nutrition.

We can also explore the possibility of working with businesses in the

community. I'm sure businesses are always interested in ways to keep their

employees healthy and reduce the number of injuries in the workplace, sowe can offer services like administering flu shots, health screenings, and

providing advice and assistance on OSHA compliance.

By taking a proactive role such as this, I believe that Alameda Hospital will

be seen as an important partner in the community's development instead

of an expensive service that is seldom used.

Stewart Chen

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