State Group Backs Nurses Group Says Health District Cuts Short-Sighted, Ineffective

Spokane’s most vulnerable residents will suffer if public health nursing is cut, the Washington State Nursing Association said Tuesday in endorsing a vote of “no confidence” in the Spokane Regional Health District’s leadership.

Childhood immunizations, AIDS testing and counseling, and nutrition programs for low-income children also are targeted for funding cuts by Dr. Kim Thorburn, said Judith A. Huntington, executive director of the association.

“These proposed changes, purported to save money, are really short-sighted, ineffective measures that only will lead to sicker people and more costly and complex care,” Huntington said.

“It’s a well-established fact that for every dollar spent on prevention, we save at least $3 to $10 in more costly treatments. Perhaps Dr. Thorburn should do the math.”

Thorburn is on vacation and could not be reached for comment Tuesday. In past interviews, she has said a financial crisis at the health district and a need for greater efficiency are forcing the cuts.

Health board member Helen Cragun says the nurses are right on target.

“I’ve done a lot of research,” Cragun said. “And in my long life I’ve been around a lot of people who were helped by public health nurses. They save lives. I’m behind them 100 percent.”

But Spokane Mayor John Talbott, chairman of the health board, and other board members say they back Thorburn.

“I view her as a professional, very capable of doing her job,” Talbott said Monday. “I know a strong part of the staff at the health district support her and the direction she’s going.”

Board member Carol Rudy shares that sentiment.

The board hired Thorburn and gives final approval to her budget decisions.

Meanwhile, Citizens for Responsible Public Health held a news conference on the steps of the health district building Tuesday to call for a vigorous, public discussion about the proposed sweeping elimination of programs.

Sixteen years of working in the juvenile court system has proven to Tim Gallagher that home visits by public health nurses are vital to reducing child abuse, neglect and associated health problems, he said.

“Today the program is in serious jeopardy and may be irretrievably lost,” said Gallagher, who spoke on behalf of the citizen’s group Tuesday. This is about saving crucial services for vulnerable people, not saving jobs, he added.

On the other side of the building, the wind tugged at a banner declaring “Public Health is a community’s wealth” and invited people to come and celebrate “Public Health Week.”

Other attorneys, doctors, and social workers and at least one church are endorsing the no-confidence vote.

“The church believes a community is enhanced when the poorest and the least are cared for,” said the Rev. William McIvor of the Millwood Presbyterian Church, which is backing the no-confidence measure. “The public health nurses help the poorest and the least.”

McIvor, whose congregation includes a public health nurse, was an observer at one of the meetings between Thorburn and the nurses. He sees “a real impasse in communication between the nurses and Dr. Thorburn,” he said.

“There’s palpable mistrust of Dr. Thorburn’s leadership.”

At issue The public health nurses cite three reasons for their “no confidence” vote on Dr. Kim Thorburn, director of the Spokane Regional Health District. A lack of timely and clear communication with the staff and the community. Her proposal to cut public health nursing, AIDS testing and other programs without consideration for the community’s public health needs. A lack of response to proposed funding alternatives and a failure to offer other solutions to keep nursing and other services despite clear community support for the programs.