North Shore Health Board grapples with agenda, governance during ‘challenging’ meeting

During the May 21 North Shore Health Board meeting, board members and administrators expressed frustrations with the agenda items and discussions in their nearly five hour meeting, ultimately leading to board member Milan Schmidt leaving before the meeting was formally adjourned.

The open meeting lasted from 9:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m and began with hour-long presentations on the Headwaters Network and the 2025 financial audit. After a break,  shortly before noon,  half of the agenda remained.

Early in the meeting, Schmidt noted that a discussion about board financial training, requested at the previous meeting, had been left off the agenda.

“I’ll take responsibility for that,” Board Chair Randy Wiitala told WTIP. “I guess from my perspective, I was thinking that we’re going to have the financial audit presented, and in addition to that, our CFO, Nicole, was going to also include some education, and so there you go. ”

During the meeting, board member Sam Usem said he had submitted questions for the training, as requested at the previous meeting, but was told they would not be formally addressed.

Questions surrounding governance — specifically what information is considered operational versus strategic — have been a recurring issue for the board.

“I think healthy boards function best when there is trust, accountability, and space for thoughtful disagreement without people taking it personally,” Usem told WTIP. “Public governance works better when questions are welcomed early, discussions happen openly, and board members feel empowered to contribute independently while still working toward a shared mission.”

Usem repeatedly questioned hospital administration during the meeting, with administrators saying some requested information was operational in nature or could not be provided.

“It’s not that we’re in the business of saying ‘no,'” Wiitala told WTIP. “To be an effective board, we have to rely on information that’s presented to us by administration or outside consultants, legal advice, etc.”

Wiitala acknowledged that governance can involve gray areas, but added that “most questions that come up about governance are not that difficult.”

After roughly three hours of discussion, the board moved into old business, including a discussion about scheduling future meetings to review strategic partnerships. During that conversation, Schmidt expressed frustration and asked to end the meeting.

“I get frustrated because I feel like there’s a lot of old business that falls off the agenda,” Schmidt said during the meeting. “I just think the old business needs to be more honest about what we have not completed.”

Schmidt and Wiitala voted to adjourn, while board members Patty Winchell-Dahl and Usem voted to continue.

Schmidt cited work on committees, agenda management, and relationship issues between the board and the administration as topics that weren’t being addressed before leaving the meeting.

Wiitala described the meeting as “challenging,” but added, “One thing I want to say is I appreciate the passion and the engagement around these issues.”

Both Usem and North Shore Health CEO Kimber Wraalstad addressed ongoing tensions between the board and administration during the meeting.

“You don’t control this board,” Usem told Wraalstad. “I know I sound like a broken record on this, but at some point we need to sit down, look at the rest of the year, and plan it out from a meeting perspective, not ad hoc.”

Lengthy meetings and scheduling conflicts have affected North Shore Health board meetings in the past. Board members have occasionally left meetings early because of scheduling obligations, and meeting times have previously been discussed as difficult for the public to attend.

Wiitala said there are currently no plans to change how meeting agendas are set.

“I think the fact that we had some of these issues addressed openly reflects the shared commitment to collaboration and to the long-term success of North Shore Health,” Wraalstad told WTIP. “I just think it’s so important that we continue to focus our energies on working collaboratively and working to move our organization forward, and I’m committed to doing that, and I believe the board members are as well.”

During the meeting, board members discussed bringing back consultant Matt Anderson to help facilitate discussions surrounding strategic partnerships and potential additional committees.

Anderson was contracted last year to help North Shore Health’s board become a “high-functioning board.” Wiitala said it was unclear what Anderson’s fee would be if he were hired again.

After the meeting concluded, board members continued discussing frustrations with one another and the board’s operations. At that point, Winchell-Dahl asked WTIP to leave the room so she could have a “personal discussion” with Usem.

“After the meeting concluded, there was an extended discussion involving members of board leadership and administration regarding some of my public comments and governance approach,” Usem told WTIP. “Because the conversation occurred immediately following a public meeting and involved governance-related matters, I think it understandably raises questions about process, transparency, and how institutions handle internal disagreement.”

“It was simply a conversation between some board members regarding their feelings and perceptions about interpersonal relationships,” Wiitala told WTIP.

Wiitala said the board did not return to closed session during this discussion.

“We all bring different expertise and experiences as board members,” Winchell-Dahl told WTIP. “That creates conflict sometimes, but also adds to broader solutions.”

WTIP reached out to all board members for comment on the meeting. Board members Schmidt and Frykman did not reply by the time this article was posted.

WTIP spoke to Board Chair Randy Wiitala about the meeting and how the board would move forward. The audio of that conversation is available below.

Josh Hinke June 1, 2026