North Shore Health Board votes to void confidentiality agreement
The North Shore Health Hospital Board voted 4-1 to void a confidentiality agreement adopted last fall.
During the March 20 board meeting, board members spent an hour discussing the agreement, which was called into question during the previous meeting in February.
Board members Milan Schmidt and Sam Usem elaborated on their concerns regarding the document.
“If we’re gonna talk about this culture, we have to get the words we say right. And I think having a board afraid of being individually sued and personally liable is terrible,” Schmidt said. “It doesn’t seem to me that we need to further restrict our ability to communicate with the public.”
In addition to arguing the agreement eroded trust in North Shore Health and its board, Usem took issue with the timing of the confidentiality agreement’s implementation, which was shortly before Usem and Schmidt were elected last November.
“This board exists to oversee and support the administration, not to be controlled by it or the hospital board,” Usem said.
Board Chair Randy Wiitala and Board Treasurer Patty Winchell-Dahl argued in favor of keeping the agreement. However, they suggested amending it to address concerns regarding the broad scope of the language.
“A document of this nature is quite common throughout the healthcare industry,” Wiitala said during the board meeting. He stressed the need to protect patient information and North Shore Health as an organization.
“I look at this, and I don’t have a problem with it because I’m looking at how the world has changed,” Winchell-Dahl said. “People can say whatever they want. They can end up suing you for whatever reason. This, to me, is not only a protection to the hospital but for me as a board member.”
Most of the board agreed that the document’s language was confusing and expressed frustration at being unable to be fully transparent with the public due to state and federal laws. However, Wiitala wanted to keep the current agreement and establish a committee to amend it with the hospital’s legal counsel. Usem and Schmidt argued that it was better to strike the agreement completely and start from scratch.
Wiitala brought a motion forward for his plan but did not receive support to call for a vote.
Usem then brought forward a motion to void the current confidentiality agreement, have all board members sign a statement acknowledging their understanding of confidentiality, and create a committee that will recommend to the board what a new confidentiality agreement would look like. Schmidt seconded the motion, which passed.
More than twenty people attended the Thursday, March 20 board meeting, filling every available seat in the room to watch the meeting. Throughout the discussion, there were audible reactions from the audience for both sides of the debate. This culminated in a round of applause after the motion passed.
WTIP was able to record the meeting. That recording is available below.
Josh Hinke March 22, 2025
