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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 a
society, 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 experiences
to 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’re
seeking?: 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 and
what 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 the
hospital 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 contract
with Kaiser Permanente and earthquake fixes that will cost $10 million. If
elected, 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 a


source 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 of
the 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, so
we 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.

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