North Shore Health board members encourage public turnout to future meetings
The two newest North Shore Health board members are encouraging the public to attend future hospital board meetings to learn more about the inner workings of the hospital, its board, and its administration.
Both Sam Usem and Milan Schmidt declined to speak about hospital goals in the coming year due to a confidentiality agreement they signed in January, but they advised WTIP that they could talk more openly during their upcoming board meeting.
“That does not mean, however, that we can’t speak freely within our open meetings by Open Meeting Law,” Schmidt told WTIP. “And there are items which are of significant importance, which will be discussed at future board meetings.”
Last November, District 2 and District 4 voters elected Usem and Schmidt to the board as new members one year after more than 50 community members expressed concerns about the termination of Dr. Bruce Dahlman’s contract, and the board explored legal action regarding defamatory statements made against the hospital.
The new members and new Board Chair, Randy Wiitala, represent a shake-up for the Board of Directors at North Shore Health. Schmidt and Usem are encouraging community engagement, something they ran on in the 2024 election.
“I think there’s been a lot of desire for improving collaboration within the community,” Schmidt said. “I think–I don’t want to get into any old controversies, and there’s only so much I can say with regard to any kind of past events, but I do think that my message of working collaboratively and openly was something that I’ve been hearing.”
Board meetings are often held on Thursdays at 9:30 AM and can last multiple hours, with no option for virtual attendance by the public. For people working regular business hours on Thursdays, the timing poses difficulties for attendance. Even more challenging is that public comments are usually scheduled partway through the meeting. Usem said that this wasn’t always the case. “I think that it’s just an interesting thing to note that public comment used to be at the top of it [the meeting]. And also before, public comments used to just be back and forth.”
“Well, even if there’s not back and forth with the public, there is back and forth within the board,” Schmidt said. “And so once we enter into discussion of a topic, you can at least, as a community member, hear both sides of the argument.”
The next North Shore Health board meeting is March 20th at 9:30 AM.
“And I encourage the public to involve themselves as well,” Schmidt said. “If you have significant questions about how the hospital is working, come and listen, and you’ll hear a much less tangential sort of response as we get into the business of doing business within the open meeting.”
WTIP’s Josh Hinke spoke with Sam Usem and Milan Schmidt about their election and early experience as board members. The audio of that interview is below.
Josh Hinke March 13, 2025
