Hospital board candidate cites his previous board experience

Winneshiek Medical Center Board of Trustees candidate Steve Hildebrand says he became a candidate because "there needed to be a change" with the hospital board.  Hildebrand says one person alone can't change everything, but they can go to meetings and ask important questions as a way of getting issues discussed.  "It's something I'm capable of doing," he says.

Hildebrand, who served on the NICC Board for 9 years, says his experience on that board would help him be a good member of the Winneshiek Medical Center board.  "I know what board members should do and shouldn't do," he tells decorahnews.com.

Hildebrand has experience in the military as well as in business and says that experience taught him the right way to do things.  For instance, he is critical of the hospital board for holding a meeting in Rochester with Mayo officials, then voting one week later in Decorah, saying that practice gave the wrong appearance to the public.

Hildebrand, who works for a Decorah insurance agency, says it is "not reasonable" for the current hospital board to not accept coverage from Gundersen Lutheran Health Plan.  "I don't understand why some insurance plans aren't accepted," he says.