In a March 29th Sarasota Herald Tribune article entitled,
"SMH board candidates file to run as a slate"
‘Medical freedom’ trio includes Flynn’s sister
Earle Kimel states,
"The recent filings mean the campaign for at least one of the four seats up for election this year will feature a closed Republican primary on Aug. 20, with the winner facing a Democrat in November, while two of the seats may be decided via open primaries in which all voters participate." (Full article available SMH Board Candidates File to Run as a Slate)
According to Sarasota Memorial Hospital;
“Of nearly 5,000 U.S. hospitals evaluated every year, SMH has repeatedly been recognized in the “50 Best Hospitals” for at least one medical specialty and rated among the nation’s top 10% for other high performing specialties, conditions and procedures.” (August 1, 2023)
It is the responsibility of the Hospital Board to maintain or improve upon this level of excellence. Our panelists will cover all the issues at play in this year’s SMH Hospital Board elections including privatization of our public nonprofit hospital.
Our panel of experts include:
Sandra Stuart, Sarasota Memorial Hospital Foundation. Former Assist. Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs.
Sandi Stuart is a former senior partner at the public affairs/lobbying firm Clark Weinstock, which has represented Fortune 100 companies in the fields of healthcare and technology. Sandi currently serves on the board of Mote Marine Laboratory, is immediate-past chair of Florida House in Washington, D.C. She holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina. Sandi joined the Healthcare Foundation in 2020.
Kirk George Voelker, MD. Pulmonologist, Medical Director of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System’s Clinical Research Center
Dr. Kirk Voelker is a practicing Pulmonologist and the Medical Director of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System’s Clinical Research Center. He studied Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida with medical residencies at Orlando Regional Medical Center and UC/Irvine. He is an associate professor at Florida State University College of Medicine (Sarasota) and President of Citizens for Healthcare Excellence.
Alan Unell, PhD researches healthcare systems and policies and publishes the daily newsletter “Healthcare Advocacy”.
Mr. Unell has a doctorate from Northwestern University in Mathematics. He has taught Mathematics at Northwestern, Princeton, and Rider Universities. Over the last 30 years he has also taught Mathematics, Design of Experiments, Statistics, Six Sigma Techniques, and Software Design for a variety of aerospace firms including Hughes Aircraft, Raytheon and the Aerospace Corporation. Dr. Unell became interested in healthcare reform when his daughter was diagnosed with Lupus. He has researched healthcare systems and policies for the last 5 years and has lectured on healthcare reform for several years.