“Medical freedom” candidates lose in Sarasota Hospital Board primary

All four candidates, who ran on a “medical freedom” platform and criticized Sarasota Memorial Hospital, lost to Republican opponents in Tuesday's primary election for seats on the county's public hospital board.

Preliminary results show that incumbents Sarah Lodge and Sharon Wetzler DePeters and newcomers Kevin Cooper and Pam Beitlich overwhelmingly defeated their respective opponents Tanya Parus, Tamzin Rosenwasser, Stephen Guffanti and Mary Flynn O'Neill in the closed primary, each receiving more than 60 percent of the vote.

This eliminates the possibility that the nine-member board that sets policy for the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System has a majority of members who support a “medical freedom” platform that largely focuses on criticism of the hospital’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The health system is a major medical provider that operates hospitals, outpatient clinics and First Physicians Grous'ssssp, and it is the county's largest employer. It is one of four public hospital systems in Florida and one of only two whose board members are elected by the public.

Why the race for the next three places attracted national attention

Sarasota hospital board elections used to not attract much attention or voter turnout, but that has changed since three “healthcare freedom” candidates were elected in 2022. Board meetings and candidate forums have drawn large crowds in recent years, some of which have been featured in national news.

Much of the tension revolved around debates about how Sarasota Memorial handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics, including board members on the Medical Freedom List, accused the hospital of mandating certain treatments and vaccinations during the pandemic and blamed the decision to follow federal COVID protocols for the deaths of some patients.

Sarasota Memorial denied that in a report released last year that found the hospital had performed better than most others in Florida and across the country during the pandemic. The report included an internal review analyzed by an independent quality control organization with which the hospital had a contract. Some critics were unconvinced, but calls for further investigations have been unsuccessful.

Most recently, the board rejected a proposal in May that the hospital officially adopt Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo's recommendation against mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Even the member who originally proposed the idea, Victor Rohe, agreed to shelve it.

The three members of the Medical Freedom Panel did not vote together on the votes, and one of them, Patricia Maraia, even wrote an editorial that was published in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune This summer, he accused the current candidates of appearing “more interested in advancing an organized political agenda than in showing genuine public interest in our community hospital.”

Stephanie Colombini

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WUSF

Talks about privatization were a topic

Rohe was among the candidates' supporters who advocated for “medical freedom,” while a political organization called Citizens for Healthcare Excellence Action Fund provided major support to their four opponents.

Both candidates accused the other of wanting to privatize the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, but each individually emphasized that they wanted to keep the hospital in public hands.

During a July 23 hospital board meeting, Rohe requested a change to the bylaws that would have required a unanimous board vote to privatize the hospital, arguing that the public needed to “understand” who on the current board supported privatization.

The board's attorney, Carol Ann Kalish, said the last-minute proposal did not give her enough time to consider whether the board could legally do that without providing more public information. No other member supported Rohe's motion. Instead, the board voted unanimously to keep the hospital public in an informal test vote.

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System also released its own “fact check” this month, denying allegations that it was seeking to privatize the hospital. The post also included statements about the hospital's COVID-19 vaccination policy and its stance on gender reassignment surgery on minors, which is prohibited under state law. Candidates who support “medical freedom” countered that the hospital was “influencing” the election.

I'm looking forward to November

In the November election, the four Republican candidates will now face off against four Democrats. Here's who will be on the ballot:

Sharon Wetzler DePeters (REP) and Alan Sprintz (DEM) for At Large Seat 1. DePeters is an incumbent board member.

Kevin Cooper (REP) and Dale Anderson (DEM) for At Large Seat 2. Anderson replaces the late John Lutz, who passed away on July 24.

Pam Beitlich (REP) and George Davis (DEM) for At Large Seat 3.

Sarah Lodge (REP) and Vicki Lynn Nighswander (DEM) for Central District Seat 1. Lodge is the incumbent chair of the board.

The district electoral officer’s website also lists several candidates who cannot be registered in person at the constituency.