Sonja Daley Livingston County Health Center Board Member

10/30/2024

Over a year ago I made a motion that reads as follows, verbatim from the minutes -

“If or Upon resignation from the board of board member #5, Dr Hulett, I ask the board to consider the resignation of board member #5 as an active member resignation - but maintain board member title of membership on the board as an honorary member of the board, showing respect for his service to the community. Therefore not removing board member name from the membership of his term, however changing it to honorary.”

As I have mentioned many times previously this motion was never a motion to remove a board member, the verbaige is quoted above, please read it and reread it. Verbatim - the motion states to make board member #5 an honorary member if HE ever chose to resign in the future. The board does not remove members - bylaws do. I have stressed and said this time and time again.

I voted yes to set into place a motion to make Trustee Hulett an honorary member when/or if the time allowed for HIM. Always HIS choice to or not to. I voted YES on this motion and another trustee voted YES as the records reflect. The other 2 board members voted NO. The motion did not pass to put into place the process of making our 5th board member an honorary member if/or when HE ever made the choice to resign in his chronic absence.

Last month board member #5 was removed according to the bylaws per the attendance policy and the interview process of appointing a new board member had started with the county commissioners.

I’m pleased to announce that as of today, October’s board meeting, the board has revisited this motion, the same motion that I originally made over a year ago and has voted unanimously to make Trustee Hulett an honorary board member for the remainder of what would have been his term through April 2025. I’m pleased that the other 2 Trustees have voted the same way I voted on my original motion and we had an unanimous vote today.

At the end of this term we will have a plaque placed in the Health Department recognizing and observing Trustee Hulett’s service and dedication to this community and the Health Department.

I supported this motion over a year ago and I heavily supported it again today. We will keep the public updated on when this recognition will occur. The board also anticipates the county commissioners will appoint a new board member for the month of November.

I am proud of the work of our board and I am proud to serve this community. I encourage the public to attend the board meetings. Speak out during the public comments, and reach out to your board members with concerns.

We are here for you, elected by you.

07/30/2024

There has been great discussion over the last year from the community and within the board regarding having an actively participating board of 5 members.

This is something as a board member that I have openly advocated for for a solid year now. You voted for 5 members, you should have 5 active members. You have not had that for more than a year.

I have publicly and thoroughly discussed the bylaws and the legal statutes of the state of Missouri and the application of these in regard to board vacancies at the public board meetings.

The way our bylaws are written and interpreted by our attorney is that the board is unable to consider a trustees position vacant unless he or she misses four consecutive meetings; without notification (to or from anyone).

We have had a board member not in attendance for over a year and we do not have a vacancy according to our bylaws. We have received a resignation letter from a 3rd party for a trustee, not from the trustee and not from a Power Of Attorney for the trustee. All of this is public information presented at the board meetings.

Previously over the last year the board has had lengthy discussions publicly at the board meetings with the attorney as to what removal of a trustee looks like with the same outcome- per the attorney the board is unable to remove a board member according to the bylaws. Recently the discussion has changed from we cannot to - no one would challenge the removal.

There may be some questions from the public as to why I will not just vote to accept a resignation letter, that is not written by the trustee, nor written by a Power Of Attorney. This is a legal and ethical issue. I want an active board of 5 members for our community that elected a board of 5 members. However - I will not violate my moral conscience and the legality of an issue just because there will probably not be a court challenge to the action.

If it is not legal, it is not legal. If it is not ethical, it is not ethical. I have stated over and over that I will follow the bylaws and I will not vote in support of something that wasn’t ok a year ago because someone else is ok with it today and there “may be no challenges in a court or law” to the vote.

What standards does that set for our board? What does that tell our community? That just because no one will question it now, it is ok to do, because we can? I believe we all learned from the Covid era lessons as such regarding this mindset.

I believe the community deserves a board of 5 active board members. I believe the community deserves transparency. And more importantly I believe the community deserves board members who are ethical and legal in the decisions they make for the board.

I believe the process for selecting a board member for a vacant position, when/if that comes to fruition, will be a fair process by the County Commissioners. I believe they will interview all applicants and they will have a set time to allow those interested in applying to become a board member to submit applications. I believe we will have outstanding community members interview for the board position. I encourage you when the time is appropriate to apply for this position.

I am excited for this process. I look forward to when this process can occur and for an appointment and a board of 5 active members. I welcome it. It has to be done however in an appropriate, legal and ethical manner.

Please feel free to share this with the community. To ask me questions. Call, text, pm me. I am eager and open to discussions and understanding. Your frustrations with this process are valid.

08/31/2023

At our July Board Meeting for the Livingston County Health Center I was appointed chairperson of the Board Of Trustees by my fellow board members - Doug Doughty, Clayton Vadnais and Darlene Hughes.

What a great honor it is to lead our board members in our monthly meetings. Yesterday was my first board meeting as chairperson. I greatly appreciate that I am still learning and I always will be. As a healthcare provider for 20+ years I understand the importance of continuing to always be open to education, learning and feedback to benefit my community, my peers and myself.

There are a few important questions that I have been asked recently and I am grateful the attorney for the Livingston County Health Department was present yesterday to affirm my answers to a few of them.

1. Yes! Items for a board meeting have to be listed out on the agenda.
2. Yes! All discussions concerning absences of any board member has to occur in the open public session. It cannot be done in private.
3. No! A board member cannot kick off or remove another board member from the board.
4. Yes! We are in the process of revising the bylaws that are dated 2014.

I appreciate getting to know the staff, fellow board members, and members of the community better both professionally and personally. I am grateful to be living in a community filled with diversity, compassion, courage and an eagerness to move forward and grow. I am looking forward to participating and serving the public thru the Livingston County Health Center Board of Trustee’s.

08/11/2023

What do you think is an appropriate attendance rate for your Health Department Board Members ? How many absences do you think are appropriate? In a row? In a year? There are 12 scheduled meetings. 1 x month.

These are the people you have elected to do this job to represent you. This is your tax money funded health center. I want to know your thoughts please. As many of you know, I brought this up at our last health department board meeting and would like to amend the board policy to reflect attendance. I verbalized all this in the open session.

Right now there is no attendance policy for the amount of meetings a board member can miss in their 4 years of serving. There’s only a policy for four no notifications of missing in a row. Thats it. Nothing about attendance.

That means they could show up 0% of the time, 30% of the time or 50% of the time and it has no effect on their position.  A person could attend 0 meetings, not engage in the board meetings or with the department and stay an active member on the board for 4 years without participation.

I’m listening - tell me what you want the attendance policy to be for the people you’ve elected !

06/29/2023

I know many people have not been heard in the past or feel they won’t be heard now but I want to assure you I am listening. And I am working hard to make sure you are heard.

This survey is so important. We need as many people as possible to fill it out to guide what the needs of the community are and what needs you want to see addresses. This is what will help guide the actions of the health department and its services to the community.

Please take the time !

The 2023 Livingston County, Missouri Health Center Community Health Needs Assessment Survey.

06/27/2023

This is so so important ! Please take the time to fill this survey out. Your Health Department uses this Assessment as a guide to determine which services and areas need added, increased, or focused on for the upcoming years.

You don’t give your name or personal info. It’s confidential and anonymous.

Your zip code will help in identifying the needs in our communities/areas of the county.

Takes less than 10 minutes to complete.

Find the survey here:

https://corexmssnvs2sxm9g4sy.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2c4WE6sG5kHXDFk?fbclid=IwAR3t9nyYC0fbTu_STcqxY1QjhoGleMbdXKwczlgMoGLzt-YJ-hcK4AxAy-k_aem_Ae-dNgz83-foLEnq3KuF_tKIhXEgdhmsxxwJdwS5G_cqgX1LF-yWwoyM8cWFIcWcyz4&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

The 2023 Livingston County, Missouri Health Center Community Health Needs Assessment Survey.

05/30/2023

Last month I was swore in to serve on the board. I’ve been busy reading and reading and researching and learning since then gathering all the information I can from the Health Dept. to ensure I have all the up to date information to serve our community.

Today is our May board meeting at noon at the Health Department.

What does the health department do for you? What do you need them to do?

I’d like to hear from you
Sorry for the video quality - sound is good though!

04/04/2023

Todays the day !!
Go VOTE !!

04/03/2023

Working in healthcare, with the public, our youth, and as a volunteer on many levels is a true community relationship. True Relationships are typically not built on a single conversation, they are built over time. My time spent serving others has created a wonderful relationship with our community that I care deeply about. There is great pride and great responsibility in giving meaningfully to something that I care deeply about; our community and its members.

The intensity and accelerating pace and changes in healthcare and in our community after the devastating impacts of Covid are real, leading to a fundamentally different reality than before. Changes such as economic conditions, technology, labor, supply chains, demands, and rights and responsibilities are reshaping our community in powerful ways. Perhaps more importantly these changes are transforming the roles of board members and how they represent you, their communities, and each other.

I look forward to representing you and our community April 4th ! Thank you for all of your support. Vote April 4th for Sonja Doherty Daley for Livingston County Health Center Board.

03/28/2023

Many people in Livingston county and Chillicothe, are unaware that their Livingston County Health Center has elected board members. It is not a paid position. It is a volunteer position and at times uncontested. This year there are 2 openings and I’m running for one of those spots.

A Board of Trustee must be efficient, allow a respectful conflict of ideas, have good outcomes, preserve community assets, and work efficiently in using the community's time and resources wisely. With every board member that joins and leaves the board, the dynamics change. One thing that stays consistent is that when a Board of Trustee speaks, it speaks with one voice------
the VOICE of the community they SERVE.

The Health Center Board's responsibilities include assessing the needs of the community, providing policy guidance, and exercising general oversight of the health department. Boards are called upon to give advice. Boards of Trustees also function as policy makers in addition to overseeing management and finances.

We know that the pandemic, the government's response, health departments, schools and business’ actions all had major impacts in our community, on our youth, and on many of our community members. The pandemic reflects the importance of public health policy creation, as well as policy analysis, and policy destruction.

03/18/2023

My husband Jason Daley and I have been married 26 years, we were married right here in Chillicothe, Missouri at St. Columban Catholic Church. We are both graduates Chillicothe R 2 Schools. My parents Dan and Marie Doherty moved to Chillicothe when I was in grade school. My husband has been a native all his life. With the exception of obtaining our college degrees, we have lived in Livingston County the majority of our lives. We have raised and continue to raise our children here, ranging in ages from 25-7.

1 Peter 4:10 says “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” I am dedicated to continuing my commitment to Livingston county and serving its community and members in a multifaceted way. My diverse nursing and teaching experience, and my commitment to represent the health interests of Livingston County, will allow me to effectively serve our community as your board member.

I have been active in the community in a multifaceted way. From hosting blood drives for the American Red Cross and Community Blood Center to volunteering at Birthright, with 4H, the local schools public and private and with the church. I strive to ensure that I am committed to bettering the people of our community and our future. I have coached for the Grand River Area Family YMCA. I am a leader for St Columban’s youth group and we are a licensed foster home for the children of our community and surrounding areas.

I have been a Registered Nurse for over 20 years with a wonderful background of experiences throughout healthcare. I have focused on acute care, community health, and education for the majority of that time. I have been so fortunate to have worked with the newest members of the healthcare system in their instruction through teaching the Registered Nursing program at FSCC.

I have been employed by Grand River Technical School for 14 years teaching the Health Science Technology Program. In addition, for the last 10 years I have also been the Paramedic Clinical Coordinator for GRTS’s Paramedic Program. I have worked for the Department of Health and Human Services as a State Examiner and for the last 10 years and counting I work for DHHS as a State Instructor. Public health, the health of others, and our future in healthcare have been my career focus my entire adult life.

I look forward to serving our county.