The Kennewick Public Hospital District Board of Commissioners now includes a Kadlec doctor among its members. 

Dr. Shannon Phipps, division chief of ambulatory medicine at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, will fill the seat of Dr. Sheila Dunlop, who resigned on Dec. 30 for health reasons. Phipps indicated that she plans to seek reelection to the seat this year when it is before the hospital district’s voters. 

“I’m not about Kadlec vs. Trios vs. Lourdes,” Phipps said in a release from the hospital district. “To me, this is about trying to help assure that we have the resources to meet patient needs. This is about collaboration. This is a great opportunity to help the underserved.” 

Phipps was one of two candidates nominated for the position on the seven-member board. The other was Grace Davidson, the elections systems supervisor for Benton County. 

The Kennewick Public Hospital District was created by legislators in the late 1940s to build Kennewick General Hospital, which opened in 1951 – a time when Kadlec only provided care to government workers. 

KGH outgrew its downtown Kennewick facility and opened Trios at Southridge Hospital in 2014. A combination of factors led to Trios Health’s bankruptcy in 2017 and its eventual buyout by LifePoint. 

Both Trios and Lourdes Health in Pasco are owned and operated by Lifepoint, while Kadlec is part of the Providence network of hospitals.