By: Tahoe Forest Health District Board Chair Alyce Wong, RN & Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Evans
Last month many of us attended the Truckee Town Council meetings regarding the adoption of the Town of Truckee’s proposed General Plan Update – a process that will guide zoning and planning decisions in our community for years to come. If you were there or heard about it, you’ll remember packed council chambers where many in the community asked the Town to include Tahoe Forest Hospital District’s patient needs in this critical blueprint for the future.
The Town Council continued their decision to the meeting occurring tomorrow, May 9th. At the time, the Town Council said they needed time and resources to get more information and feedback from the community on the issue.
Subsequently, the Tahoe Forest Hospital District conducted an independent Community Survey to hear directly from the community on their local healthcare needs and Tahoe Forest Hospital’s capacity to meet the community’s increasing demand for accessible, quality healthcare locally.
By a 3 to 1 margin, community respondents agreed Tahoe Forest Hospital should be included in the Town’s General Plan Update. Doing so is critical to allow for teamwork and strong collaboration between our local Hospital District and the Town of Truckee. Our residents and patients deserve no less.
Tahoe Forest Hospital was once included in the Town’s General Plan but for unclear reasons was removed without public input or consultation with the Hospital District.
While the Town of Truckee makes plans for meeting the needs of its residents over the next several decades, it makes sense that the healthcare and medical needs of our community should be considered and included.
Respondents to the survey identified local issues including access to local healthcare, traffic congestion, lack of parking and difficulty making primary and family healthcare appointments. The Hospital District has indicated it is eager to continue to do its part to address these local issues.
As demand for local healthcare services grows, our local hospital must be positioned to meet them. In the last six years alone, our District has had an increase of 64,000 patient visits -- over a 50% increase – leading to an increased demand for healthcare services and longer wait times. The Town should include the Hospital in future planning to ensure our healthcare facilities are sufficient to meet our community’s needs in the future.
On behalf of Hospital District doctors, nurses, staff, patients and their families and caregivers, we ask that the Town of Truckee consider the current and future healthcare needs of our community, particularly its most vulnerable members. We are eager to roll up our sleeves as a willing partner with the town to maintain and enhance the excellent care we provide. We truly hope they keep the healthcare needs of our growing and aging community in mind when making their decision on Tuesday.
After a local vote in 1949 the Tahoe Forest Hospital was created after the region had been struggling for years without a hospital. The Tahoe Forest Hospital District provides services to six rural counties and over 50,000 community patients and is the largest employer in Truckee and Nevada County. Tahoe Forest Hospital District Board Chair Alyce Wong is a resident of Truckee and been a Registered Nurse for over 45 years – she’s served the community by ensuring local quality healthcare on the Board since 2016. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Evans is a transformative leader who has improved the culture of health organizations and physician leadership throughout his career, markedly improving patient care in multiple healthcare organizations including as CEO of Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital.
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