Providence CEO sends letter to mayor supporting a controversial Assembly law mandating community masking for all

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In a letter addressed to the Anchorage Assembly, the CEO of Providence Medical Center says the organization supports the ordinance from Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel, which would mandate community masking for all in Anchorage over the age of 2.

The ordinance, AO 2021-91, has caused a furious community response since it was introduced in a secretive special meeting of the Anchorage Assembly on Sept. 20. This week, the Assembly is working through public comments, and will again hear public comment at the “continued” meeting that begins at 6 pm Thursday at the Loussac Library.

“Providence is also one of the top 10 commercial property taxpayers in the Municipality of Anchorage,” Preston Simmons wrote. “We are deeply committed to improving the physical and economic health of our state.

“Alaskans can continue to expect high-quality care, but you should know that the state’s health care safety net is strained. We are being tested like never before. Even before the pandemic, patients were coming to the hospital with more serious illnesses, requiring higher acuity care. These cases require skilled medical teams, including skilled nurses. Alaska’s hospitals are consistently operating near or at capacity and available staffed beds are at a premium,” he wrote.

“I believe the question was asked during the Assembly meeting and echoed by some in the room, if Alaska’s hospitals and Providence are lying about the toll and impacts of COVID- 19. The clear and unequivocable [sic] answer is no,” the letter said.

“Health care staffing shortages have only been exasperated [sic] by COVID-19 and are not tied to vaccine requirements. The lack of available travel nurses and the increased stress and demands placed on caregivers has resulted in real shortages across the nation. The mental and physical toll on health care workers will have lasting impacts. To be blunt, they are tired. They are burned out,” the letter said.

Simmons went on to describe Providence Alaska’s vaccine policy for its burned out workforce, saying, “If we reflect to a little more than a year ago, Alaska’s health care workers celebrated the arrival of the first COVID-19 vaccines by taking selfies and lining up to receive the first doses.”

As of Sept. 29, 84% of Providence Alaska caregivers are either vaccinated or have an approved medical or religious exemption, Providence said.

“The good news is that public health measures that are based on science save lives. Masking is effective. Social distancing is effective. Washing our hands is effective. Vaccines are effective. Alaskans need to wear masks indoors and as CEO of Providence Alaska, I reiterate our support for any measures that result in the increased use of masks, including AO No. 2021-91. Mitigation measures — including indoor masking requirements — provide a layer of protection for our communities, families, and workforce.

Read the entire letter:

108 COMMENTS

    • I have to say I went to ER at Providence on Sept 29 was given a rapid test (positive) and monoclonal antibodies which I believe is an early therapy and seems to be working well for me. I am unvaccinated and over 65. The staff was professional non-judgmental regarding vax status. I felt blessed to have their service since my primary care physician will no longer treat me as being unvaccinated does not meet their ‘standard of care’. I understand that it’s their choice as a private practice. Thank you Providence ER !

  1. And the hits just keep on coming LOL. Never in my wildest dreams when I posted 2 months ago that the storm was coming did I think it would turn into a hurricane. I really thought everybody would put on their mask and get a couple of shots and knock this thing out and get on with their lives. Now the push back has cost people their jobs, their livelihood and in some cases their lives for what? Freedom? Freedom isn’t free y’all should know that. It’s just how much does it cost and how much are you willing to pay but make no mistake freedom is not free.

    • Maybe, just maybe we see the patterns of corruption happening. A crisis is created, a public reaction happens, government provides a solution. However these solutions always involve the erosion of freedoms. After the crisis has passed, the freedoms are never returned. Generations continue to pass, society has since been conditioned live with less and less freedom.

      We see these patterns and we are DONE with our freedoms being eroded. We are putting a stop to this cycle of fear and response NOW.

    • Greg, there is no evidence that mask mandates are effective in preventing disease transmission, and a great deal of evidence that they are NOT effective at the same. Further, the shots are not “vaccines”, as they provide no immunity against the Wuhan Virus (unlike every other, honest-to-God vaccine of the past century or more), and no NOTHING to inhibit its spread. Beyond those facts, this disease is overall a very mild one, statistically speaking, and no different than any number of bad flu epidemics that we have experienced in the past century as well (it is in NO way comparable to the Spanish Flu, having a mortality rate of less than 10% of that pandemic disease).
      .
      Taking all that into account, why do you Covidian cultists focus on this one mild disease to the exclusion of all others, and demand coercive public measures that were not only never taken for similar epidemics in the past, but that were never even suggested under similar circumstances? Why? Your position is irrational and paranoid, and that is why you continue to suffer such justified abuse here.

    • You’re correct… Freedom is not free, sometimes it cost lives to get and maintain those freedoms. I put my life on the line for over 20 years, to maintain the freedoms that our fore-fathers bought for us with their blood. I’m willing to give my life for those freedoms still today… are you? …or are you willing to trade those freedoms slowly away for the illusion of safety?

    • You just keep pushing this point that somehow you were the only one who knew what was coming. Do you ever ask yourself maybe we all knew what was coming down the pipe too? Maybe that’s why we push back as much as we can and try our best not to give in to the fear mongering tactics that is being presented daily by the local main stream media outlet. Maybe we already knew that if the politicians knows the citizenry are easily pushed over they’ll never have to return our freedom? Because FEAR. Fear of death from an invisible force that we cannot control. How can one really eradicate a virus? Because if Covid is a much more deadlier and transmissible virus than the flu and we can eradicate it from society by wearing a mask and getting the jab why haven’t we been able to get rid of the seasonal flu? Remember maybe it started as a safety concern for the publics well being but now it’s all about the control of the population.

    • Greg you cannot vaccinate the entire world. Most third world countries are struggling to even get the most vulnerable vaccinated. The mantra ‘if everyone would just get vaccinated’ is not realistic. This virus will be with us for awhile and it likely will be herd immunity – a combination of getting the virus as well as vaccination that will slowly transition it to another seasonal virus.

      There is so much not being considered here, or purposely ignored, such as the natural immunity which likely lasts far longer than the vaccine. Pfizer, which I had, is only lasting 5-6 months. There is still work to be done on the vaccines. They are not the proverbial silver bullet, at least yet. And as for masking, people were already wearing masks! Why are we making a law to force people to do what most were already doing by their own accord? That is really insane.

      • We can surely provide the vaccines for the entire world and most will take them. The sooner this is controlled the less likely we’ll get another strain that may be even worse than Delta.
        What is insane is ignoring the science of how masking protects us all.

        • I don’t know but I think we’re at the point of conflicting science nowadays. Though it’s getting harder with all the big tech suppression I’ll find “science”that’ll will back up my narrative while you’ll find “science” that’ll will back your narrative. And if it was only as easy as agreeing to disagree. But instead it’s you must comply or be shunned and expelled from society.

          • You think but don’t know-and what is your area of expertise??
            Any science in your background? The science is behind those in charge of much and that will likely mean you will need to comply-you don’t like that, tough noogies.

          • @ BILL YANKEE yes you’re correct I only think and have no background in science nor medical field. Shoot I didn’t even graduate high school. But so far your lord Fauci , queen Zink and the all powerful King Biden have been contradicting themselves since the start of the plandemic.
            •“Mask don’t work… Mask works.
            •The “vaccine” is the cure so get jabbed… well the vaccine isn’t the cure all but it’ll lessen your symptoms.
            •75% herd immunity to rid this virus…. No now it’s 98% fully vaccinated to get back to normal.
            •No way we’ll see a national “vaccine” mandate that’s not the governments role and they don’t have the authority … It’s a must that government force this “vaccine” that’s the role of the government….. Must I continue????

          • Yes, science is ever changing thanks for pointing that out to me. If only the “scientists/doctors” behind Covid policy in the USA and Alaska can also change their mind when the data changes and don’t fit their narrative. Follow the science we agree with ignore the science we don’t agree with. Again back to conflicting science.

        • Actually Bill Yankee, a Pfizer whistleblower today claims that those vaccinated have 300% greater risk of catching the Delta than unvaccinated. Still developing and we need to see her actual position within the company before giving full credibility.
          And most masks are theater. Why do those giving monoclonals have to wear positive pressure apparatus? Why not just the blue cloth? BECAUSE IT DOESN’T DO ANYTHING BENEFICIAL!
          This will end when we reach natural herd immunity. The shot benefits some, but Pfizer doesn’t profit enough from some. For the rest, suffer the flu. You have half the risk of dying than you do from the shot.

          • Get back to us when your whistleblower has any cred. “Full cred?” What a joke AK as anyone can claim their BS but few will have back-up IMO.
            Keep up with your gibberish though as we need your laughs.

          • Bill Yankee, when Jesus himself appears you will be the Doubting Thomas. Nothing will ever shake your Fauci fanaticism.

    • The shots that you keep supporting are not keeping people from getting Covid nor keeping them from spreading it to others nor keeping out of the hospital nor keeping them from dying of Covid. I know nurses who have first hand knowledge. Have you done any research on what these shots are doing to young people’s hearts? You should, it’s terrifying. But go ahead and keep doing what Big Brother tells you and you’ll be just fine.

  2. The hospitals are understaffed, that’s why the remaining staff are burned out. One of my children is a caregiver at Prov. Talking with nurses inside Prov, their unhappiness and job dissatisfaction isn’t the result of not having a masking ordinance or people refusing the jab. It’s how they have been treated. They’re leaving voluntarily before being fired. They want to treat patients, not be part of some political power grab and that’s how many of them see it. They’re overworked, underappreciated, and Prov, like ANMC, has created a two tier system of citizenry that not only applies to it’s workers but to its patients. Those traveling nurses they sent up? They won’t last long. They may be there a month, tops. They didn’t last long before the pandemic and no one sees that changing in these circumstances.
    .
    A mask mandate isn’t going to make their jobs easier. He could make their jobs easier by letting people who have worked with COVID for the last 18 months, many of whom contracted it and recovered, keep their jobs. Instead, he’s firing people who object to a shot that’s so effective you now need three to be considered vaccinated and whining to our mayor to fix it. He has the ability to abate the amount of stress he puts his own staff under and he has abrogated that responsibility to our mayor. He’s no leader.
    .

  3. Any faith I may have had in Providence at one time is now completely gone. I do NOT want any idiot who believes that these puny masks help in any way to administer medical care to me, because it is now more than obvious that they are medical hacks who have no common sense and haven’t picked up a medical journal in years or kept up on increasing knowledge.

  4. If Providence can be wrong about this, then they can – and probably are – wrong about other medical care. They obviously aren’t to be trusted.

  5. Are Providence health care services strained because they are terminating staff & nurses for not getting vaxed? For the last 18 months those same healthcare workers were heroes of the pandemic, many have had Covid, survived & have natural immunity. If Covid was really a deadly pandemic our Southern border would be secure, migrants would be tested but they can just walk in & go wherever. This isnt about healthcare or Covid, it never was.

  6. When the number of positive case goes down, as it will and us in Southern states, will Mr. Simmons write another letter asking that mandates be lifted?

    Be strong Mr. Mayor! We elected you to stop the liberal insanity that is on constant display by the Assembly.

  7. The hospital is a business that profits off public service. I am not a customer to this business. Their business is not my problem. They have the money and the resources to make their business work, but they are failing. Now they want to demand that I mask myself because they have failed to manage their business properly? Too bad.

    Individuals have had their lifetime to learn and understand how their body works. Instead they have outsourced their ability to learn to medical professionals.

    I have not outsourced my health responsibility. I have taken care of myself without the medical system and I will continue to. I did not hire them to give me advice. I do not live in a medical ward. I am not a customer. I have not signed my rights away to the for profit medical establishment.

    These medical professionals continue to treat symptoms, but have FAILED to correct the source of health issues. Cancer is more rampant than ever. There are more diseases than I can even count. Health has not gotten better for those who participate, only the symptoms are covered up with continuous prescription of drugs. Drugs to make you think you are better, more drugs to treat the side affects of previous drugs and even more drugs to treat the diseases that the previous drugs have created.

    I have been caring for my own health since I became a legal adult. I do not use any chemical medicine. I do not have a doctor. I do not take any vaccines of any sort. I have lived through the last bi-annual pandemics that the system keeps trying to tell me is a crisis. I have made it this far on my own and I will make it to the end without the system’s help.

    Other peoples lack of personal self care and health responsibility does mean that I am now required to be responsible for them. Other peoples fear of death and loss is not my problem. I have experienced death and loss and I have learned that Earth is not the final destination for any of us.
    There is a vast amount of mysteries to discover and it will not be revealed to those who follow the official narrative. Your fear of death is not my problem. Figure it out.

  8. Well, he is just lying. If the vaccine mandate caused some to quit and they are now short staffed, how is that not at least one contributing factor? Additionally, who in their right mind would fire competent people when you are already short staffed due to COVID, as he implies?
    Is he really this stupid? Or does he think we are?

    • Between this letter and the pathetic theatrical act put on by the surgical-garbed hospital workers recently, one can’t help but wonder if they believe they are living in a Grey’s Anatomy episode. We thought they were heroes until they started politicizing COVID-19.

    • Between this letter and the pathetic theatrical act put on by the surgical-garbed hospital workers recently, one can’t help but wonder if they believe they are living in a Grey’s Anatomy episode. It takes a special kind of stupid to politicize a pandemic.

  9. Providence is being bankrolled by the US government. It will say/do whatever the government under the Biden admin wants it to do. All about the money and this hospital along with countless other institutions is whoring after it.
    As for the effectiveness of masks, both Fauci and Zink INITIALLY said masks were not necessary and were detrimental before they decided to push them.

    • “Providence is being bankrolled by the US government”, with Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare and now Covid bucks paid in addition to normal charges to any patient who tests “postive”. Any patient who dies from any condition, even traffic accidents, gun shot wounds or drug overdose with a “positive” test is a financial bonanza for Providence.
      Treating Covid symptoms of an ambulatory patient along with all others in the household or work circle at home is proven effective from a variety of inexpensive, proven and approved drugs, and avoids most hospitalizations and deaths.
      Yet after 18 months treating early for Covid, for which principle is used in every other illness, is being avoided.
      No one ever asks these administrators what’s up with avoiding early treatment. No one ever asks what financial incentives the government and pharma companies are paying to market their products to Providence or doctors.
      The opiate pandemic was marketed by paying doctors to prescribe the addictive poisons, and now with these experimental trial injections.
      The public is prevented to know what the ingredients are, and the FDA was overruled by one person in approving the first booster.

      • Follow the money. He is getting something for this stance. It is called freedom you can not handle it get out of the kitchen.

        • Wouldn’t it be interesting if it lead back to some of the assembly members? Especially the one who proposed the mask mandate?

          • Aren’t they still getting 13 thousand from the Feds for every “Covid case”?
            New doctor lounge and swimming pool goes in next spring?….lol

  10. How is being one of the top 10 property taxpayers in Anchorage relevant? Does he think that means his opinion matters more than ours?

    • If Prov bought LESS property and built a few less buildings, maybe they could have built a larger ICU or, purchased more equipment to prepare from the Delta Wuhan or… paid their staff more. They’ve had a year to think about it. I received a piece of inside info (I’m not verifying validity) that nurses in Seattle make $10/hr more than nurses at Prov. Could be true; might not be. I asked a similar question of a Prov employee years ago: Why not build less and use the excess in funds to lower the cost of the healthcare that you provide. Crickets. Like many large corporations, asking the people at the top for relevant answers to serious issues, is not often the best way to reach a practical solution. Simmons seems to fall into this scenario.

    • My thought exactly. What a creep. And why does a CEO of a hospital think he should be someone that has any authority over civil liberties like this? The amount of arrogance in the medical industry is really leading us astray, well not us. Them. This is a battle that requires factoring in so many other things besides health and safety, but we have all been saying that very obvious thing from the very beginning only to be told “the dead would disagree with you”, as if when we go to war we should let the generals be the doctors in the medical tent that just want to prevent people from getting hurt.

  11. The CEO of a major healthcare provider thinks that masks prevent the spread of airborne viruses.
    .
    Here’s what the CDC has to say…
    .
    “Disposable medical masks (also known as surgical masks) are loose-fitting devices that were designed to be worn by medical personnel to protect accidental contamination of patient wounds, and to protect the wearer against splashes or sprays of bodily fluids (36). There is limited evidence for their effectiveness in preventing influenza virus transmission either when worn by the infected person for source control or when worn by uninfected persons to reduce exposure. Our systematic review found no significant effect of face masks on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza.”
    .
    It’s interesting to review the medical journals from before the scamdemic and after it began.
    Before the authorities wanted all of us masked the consensus appears to be that masks aren’t effective in stopping airborne viral spread.
    Now, unsurprisingly, the journal articles are telling us that masks work!
    On a local level we noticed that mask wearing all but stopped after the national health authorities told us that the jabbed could stop wearing masks.
    Signs appeared at most businesses that gave us permission to stop wearing masks if we were jabbed.
    Naturally everyone stopped wearing masks, jabbed or not.
    Nothing changed…no huge outbreak…no overwhelmed hospitals…nobody roaming the streets pulling wagons yelling “Bring out your dead!”
    Still status quo locally…nothing happening.
    You wouldn’t even know that we’re all under imminent threat of infection followed by a slow and unpleasant death except for the constant barrage of warnings and other Chicken Little communications from “Those Who Know Better.”
    Apparently the mortality stats haven’t changed…still almost zero probability of death to those under 65 YOA unless comorbidities are involved.
    And who really believes that for-profit hospitals routinely kept significant numbers of open beds or overstaffed their facilities pre-scamdemic?
    These healthcare facilities would be expected to minimize staff and maximize occupancy to generate maximum profit to owners and shareholders.
    This CEO wouldn’t keep his job long if he did otherwise so dire warnings of bed shortages and understaffing seem disingenuous…especially when he’s getting ready to fire a bunch of staff members.

    • Good post. I especially like your point that we “wouldn’t even know that we’re all under imminent threat of infection followed by a slow and unpleasant death except for the constant barrage of warnings . . . ” That is my experience. A number of people with flu symptoms, quite a lot with cold symptoms, and a few with pneumonia at levels about the same as before. No increase the past few years compared to the prior few years in deaths amongst my elderly friends. I even checked with one who lives in an elderly community. He concurs with my observations. Every now and then, I step back and reconsider if maybe I’ve missed something. And every time, I look at the situation around me shutting out all “news” reporting. I just cannot see anything more than maybe a little bit stronger than normal flu. I’ll keep my eyes open, but at this point, the word scamdemic pretty much captures the response to this thing.

  12. Reviewing Preston Simmons’ background, in summary he is highly paid grant writer and administrator. He does not and never did do the stressful, fatiguing and dangerous work of actually caring for patients. He is the typical example of corporate executive administrator that is prevalent across America and why our health care system is failing.
    The multitude of critical and experienced actual medical staff being persecuted now where deemed heroes last year.
    The corrupt incompetence displayed by Mr. Simmons will create a disaster here in Alaska. In the typical arrogant attitude of woke administrators he has no loyalty to or places value on the employees who actually make this business function.
    There is no data that supports his letter and position. After 18 months Providence has failed to develop basic and effective treatment protocols for the SARS-COV19-2 flu. This is medical malpractice at a massive scale.
    It also calls to question the ethics and competence of the board members who hold MDs and know better. This is about power and money.
    Front line medical workers and patients are expendable. Mr. Simmons has made himself the face of medical incompetence, corruption and totalitarianism in Alaska.

  13. Dear Mr. Simmons,

    As the proposed mask mandate is clearly and unequivocally about the forcing of a coercive, virtue-signaling, and pro-conformity political agenda, and NOT about public health — as virtually all ‘the science’ is increasingly demonstrating —- I do not care about your endorsement of it. That you publicly choose to do so only highlights your own authoritarian mindset and agenda.
    .
    PS: Your blatant lies regarding the lack of connection between the shortage of professional workers at Providence, and the many health professionals who will be or have been forced to quit as a result of your heavy-handed and fascistic jab mandates (cannot scientifically call them “vaccines”) only further highlights your dishonesty and willingness to do anything to further your political agenda of mandates, coercion, and submission to corrupt authority.

  14. Simmons, you are not fully telling the truth and you know this! You are behind the assembly all the way. Some of the assembly is repeating history, remember Nazi Germany asking people show me your papers, telling on your friends that are Jews or who not full blood German who are hiding. Look at Cubia and other socialist Countries who are controlled by the government. This is not about health at this point it is full control. These people on the Assembly who wants full mask mandates do not care about the people ( look on what they post on social media) mocking and making fun of the working class people. They virtual signaling by placing the mask in front of you. I have nurse friends who tell me different than what you are telling. Explain this to me why are so many nurse and doctors quitting? That is because they don’t want this vaccine inside them! You gave them a choice to take the vaccine or lose their job. This is not just happing in Alaska, it is happing around the world!

    The masks don’t work! You are breathing back in your own CO2 which then turns into an infection in the chest. The verse can pass through the mask.

    You and the assembly are pocketing money somewhere or someone is paying you off Period!. This has been going on for Two years know and it is taking a toll on a lot of people. Family members are dyeing from other illness not related to covid, but you are placing it under covid. What about the suicided rates in teens/elderly because they cant see their friend or loved ones. What about the people who already have a mental illness, anxiety and you making it worse because of these restrictions . What about the children who have specials needs and have sensory overload by placing the mask on that child. By making a child wear a mask you are creating high anxiety on them.

    If the vaccines work so well then why are the people who are vaccinated having lots of health problems when they never had it before. Again i have family members and friends who have gotten the three different kinds of vaccines that are out there, they did have a bad reaction to this.

    oh lets not forget about the alcohol tax that these assembly members have put into place disregarding that fact that we the people didn’t vote for it. This is a message for some of the assembly members. You better repent to God for what you are doing.

  15. Why vaccinate??? Why the resistance??? Blood clots, brain hemorrhages, and did I say blood clots? Yes, lots and lots of blood clots. For all the monkeys that attempt to say, hey! Stop with the conspiracy garbage, first of all have you even attempted to look outside CNN? Try it! I know it’s especially hard because you’ve had the jab and you now refuse to hear anything else so you’d like the rest of us unvaccinated heathens to go the same route, right??? RIGHT! Blood clots are the sore spot for the vax. Has anyone looked to see the amount of deaths lately? Many in their sleep and many outright collapsing. Of course no one want to attribute them to the vaccine so its ruled something else. Many of us un-vaccinated have recovered from covid, many of us are succinctly aware of the dangers of an untested substance, we’re not hesitant, we don’t want to be injected with an untested serum.

  16. When COVID hit a year ago Providence set up an alternate care site in the AK Airlines Center at the University that I understand was never used. This was during the time we had no vaccines available and the States medical facilities and staff handled all the patients without their current “care restrictions “.

    So why are they not using the alternate site now? Why do they need to fire the same unvaccinated staff that cared for all the patients before there was a vaccine? Were they not as safe and capable then as now? Does the hospital PPE provide inadequate protection for their staff? Why do they feel a special effort to campaign politically concerning protection from COVID which has an extremely low death rate when they deal daily with diseases and behaviors that cause many more deaths such as heart disease, alcohol and drug abuse? Why aren’t they campaigning, writing and testifying for the Governor, Legislature, Mayor and assembly to take the stronger measures to stop the death toll and medical costs of these issues?

    Emergency room personnel are subjected to abuse, conflict and treatment resistance from patients that are intoxicated, under the influence of drugs and mentally unstable and from individuals that for religious or other reasons do not want or refuse treatment. It is not called for or justified and that is why every hospital and emergency room has armed guards to help deal with the violence. To single out unvaccinated COVID patients as the cause of disrespect over any of the others is grossly incorrect and political.

    I condemn anyone insulting, harassing, or injuring any first responders, medical personnel or Good Samaritans attempting to help them. It is a fact of life it happens and should not be used as justification for taking anyone’s individual rights to submit to invasive procedures or vaccines no one can be sure what the long term complications could be.

    The history of the FDA is full of mistakes and errors in approving drugs that are safe but then forced to withdraw them because they are determined to be harmful or deadly. I challenge any of the medical personnel trying to force these vaccines on the unwilling to publicly deny that the FDA has never approved a harmful drug that killed or caused serious damage to individuals! Also is Providence Hospital and these same medical personnel willing to publicly agree to compensate anyone harmed by these vaccines financially? Are the Assembly members willing to sign over their pledge to personally reimburse individuals harmed in the future by these vaccines?

    The companies that are responsible for producing these vaccines have obtained complete immunity from being held in anyway responsible for any harm caused by their vaccines from Congress! Wonder why? Trust them?

  17. “As of Sept. 29, 84% of Providence Alaska caregivers are either vaccinated or have an approved medical or religious exemption, Providence said”.

    If in your mind it’s reasonable to let religious nutters cut random holes in the public safety net you’re the wrong guy. Go back to double entry accounting and overcharging for kleenex.

    • That statistic of 84%, however, does not take into account the many FORMER health workers and professional at Providence who quit, or were fired, for not submitting to their experimental jab mandate.
      .
      Physician, heal thyself!

  18. “Some things are believed because they are demonstrably true, but many other things are believed simply because they have been asserted repeatedly.”
    Thomas Sowell

  19. He’s lying. I’d be curious to see his voting record.

    Fascist Alaska. You belong to the state and it’s chosen oligarchs.

    Unvaccinated are the new 1930s Jews. History shows it didn’t stop there.

    Can we please stop this self delusional nonsense Alaska is a conservative state?

  20. One of the top 10 property tax payers – OK – but I’m betting that all of those that are opposed to the masking together pay more than all top 10 single taxpaying businesses together. Therefore we trump you!

    • And, at the end of the day, why on earth does your taxpayer “status” matter?
      What an —.
      A few years ago the CEO of Prov admitted in the ADN to charging 3 times the national average simply because they can, because there’s no competition.
      Not unlike Planned Parenthood, they’re all about the $$$ with no real interest in the health or safety of any persons.

  21. I see big pharma has sent a letter (threat) to the mayor, it was “der reich” thing to do. You know helicopter moms? This is a helicopter CEO. Out to gouge more money out your wallets for his stock holders.

  22. CEO positions are by definition political. So you’ve done your job. Go crawl back under your rock.

    Better than half our population are vaccinated and better than 25% have acquired natural immunity. By definition we have herd immunity.

    That means leave the people alone that have DECIDED not to get the shot. Their decision, their consequences.

  23. Whatever you do if you are sick, don’t go to Providence. They will implement the CDC death protocols and keep your family from stopping them.

  24. Was at Providence for surgery three weeks ago. Had to wear a mask going in, but not during the surgery and not during recovery, either. Apparently you can only spread covid when you are ambulatory, or something like that. Proof that it is all silliness and excuses.

  25. Mr. CEO – your opinion is just that, an opinion. Just because you have a medical related title and back your opinion up with unsubstantiated, cherry-picked numbers, and generalities, does not make it fact. Seems to be just another piece to a very well-coordinated COVID bad news campaign, orchestrated as a means to an end – that end being more subtle erosion to our personal liberties and more government control. Freedoms lost are very seldom recovered. Your opinion holds no more or less weight than my opinion and I suggest your time would be better spent on resolving the obvious personnel related issues you’re experiencing that were apparent long before COVID as evidenced by your own self admitted staffing shortages. You are sadly just another disconnected administrator with an “I’m smarter than you, therefore I must save you from yourself” complex.

  26. Guy should be fired.
    .
    Seriously. He left the hospital about 35% empty for almost a year, and now thinks a normal workload is overwhelming. If he was running a hospital I owned, he would be looking for work now.
    .
    A hospital needs to fill about 90-95% of their beds just to get enough revenue to operate. He is complaining because he is in the 80% range at the worst? It is BS.

  27. Masks are a waste of time, it just about control, when will the foolish in “Crazy town” kick all the communists off the assembly.

  28. So Preston is saying since the hospital is a bigger taxpayer they have more say in how to run Anchorage. It sounds like Preston Polly Pants here believes in a ruling class and slave class.
    I say Hock A Loogie For Freedom!

  29. He is a Health Administrator not a doctor. He doesn’t even live in this state. He lives in Washington and manages 3 hospitals. He’s too far removed from the boots-on-the-ground Alaskan issues to matter. Impressive title, but he’s not a doctor.

  30. Well done Alaska!!

    “On average, the U.S. saw a 26% decrease in cases over the last two weeks while Alaska recorded an 84% increase.

    If Alaska were a country, it would be the nation with the world’s highest per capita case rate, according to data from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Alaska’s 171 average daily cases per 100,000 over the last seven days is nearly double the rate seen in West Virginia, which ranks second in the U.S. Bermuda and Serbia, at the top of the global list, have a case rate of 99.”

    You not only have the tallest mountains, largest salmon, and heaviest pumpkins, you also have the highest per-capita case rate in the world! Congratulations!

    Freedom, baby, isn’t it great? Freedom to fall ill and possibly die when there’s a solution at hand.

    • Yes, Freedom baby!!! It’s still great!!!! Rather die free knowing I ultimately made the decision to not be afraid and live life than live in fear with a mask on for the rest of my life because the numbers of infected per capita looks terrifying. Plus if the fear mongering you spew is of any real concern then well at this rate we the freedom loving, unmasked, unvaccinated folks will not be of trouble to you vaccinated folks soon right. Because remember we should be dropping dead like flies here soon especially living in Alaska the highest infected State!

    • The Vid spreads faster indoors than outdoor due to the circulation of fresh air. While most of the lesser forty eight are spending a large part of their day outdoors in the last two weeks, temperatures in Alaska are dropping and more people are indoors. Just as mid summer spikes for Florida mid Summer due to heat, people spent more time indoors in air conditioning. That would probably the case for the other locations you listed. But corollated deductions are probably not your strong suit.

    • There is always a solution at hand. That is not the point of all this. The point is: Are you your own, or are you the property of the state? We Americans hold one view, historically the world has another.

    • How about death rate overall? Cases might be a good thing too as all of those that survive are gaining NATURAL immunity and if they were vaccinated, they got better immunity. Everyone is going to get exposed to this eventually unless it fizzles out and doesn’t survive as long as the celebrity MD’s say. Doesn’t matter regardless. You are just being a partisan bot as usual and trolling and cherry picking hard to sling snarky rhetoric. I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of not living and tearing civilization apart in the process. As you come over here to troll, you seem to want the latter. Well done. You know we have to get out of this eventually and face the music, right? This is no way to live. Epidemiologists understood the inevitable when they said “flatten the curve” instead of “lets run away and hide and see if this goes away”. Do you?

      • OMG! Only 99.89% of us unvaxxed will be around after COVID! Natural immunity will come, likely sooner rather than later as the vaxxed catch COVID anyway and develop true immunity. Many of us did next to NOTHING for the past two years and are doing just fine.
        ‘I’d Rather Die While I’m Living Than Live While I’m Dead’ — Jimmy Buffett

        • We are in agreement. I’m not sure if you are respond to me or the dog. My comment might have been confusing. Sorry.

          • You are right on! Only 99.85% of us could be left if the virus goes rampant. But some cowards cower in fear at a 0.15% death rate! They have no idea what it is like to actually live!

  31. Another zero, just like the lawyer running YKHC , native health in Bethel.
    Screw the lawyers, all they want is more money. The money they get is our PFD. If they lose they’re intimidation factor over the Villages, then they’re back to having to live within their means.

    $363 Million on a hospital upgrade in Bethel and can’t take care of anything more than the common cold, but wait it’s $60K for a ride in their medicac jet to Anchorage.

    This system was designed to fail Western Alaska.

    Whine whine snivel snivel, all because of piss poor management.

    • You neglect to mention power. To them, power is as important as money and they use it it crush anyone opposing them. When will the Natives, the ‘customer-owners’, rise up to overthrow these greedy tyrants?

  32. Situation by Design.

    Socialism, vote your way in… Shoot your way out.

    Looks like the decades of rotting our youths brains via secondary and post secondary ‘indoctrination’ has paid off with huge dividends for the socialists.

  33. Again, when was Providence been declared the leading Medical center of Alaska? Didn’t think so. How many malpractice suites have they lost over the decades? Most serious cases are medivac’d to Seattle.

  34. Where is the nurses’ union? Or does the union (used to be Teamster’s Local) support management over its members? BTW, the Providence CEO needs to shave his beard and mustache if his mask is to be “effective”.

  35. Yes, Freedom baby!!! It’s still great!!!! Rather die free knowing I ultimately made the decision to not be afraid and live life than live in fear with a mask on for the rest of my life because the numbers of infected per capita looks terrifying. Plus if the fear mongering you spew is of any real concern then well at this rate we the freedom loving, unmasked, unvaccinated folks will not be of trouble to you vaccinated folks soon right. Because remember we should be dropping dead like flies here soon especially living in Alaska the highest infected State!

  36. If you read the letter, Mr. Simmons simply declares: “Masks are effective”. He cites absolutely no evidence or reasoning in support of that statement. Yet, he hopes to be taken seriously? If Providence is being led by people this shallow, it will fail as an institution. I will go out of my way to avoid using their services. The central issue here is the efficacy of masks. Do they work? My own analysis is that the benefits are very modest, if they exist at all. Could the Assembly take a minute or two to evaluate the actual evidence on mask efficacy and reach a logical conclusion? Or is it all politics, all the time? The current situation is irrational. The bizarre nature of this matter suggests two choices. (If there others, please offer them.). Either something else is going on here with the Assembly and Providence or, those involved have lost their minds.

    • I agree with you regarding the efficacy of public mask wearing, JMark, but beyond tbat, and what I think is the REAL reason for the push for a mask mandate by the radical extremist authoritarians on the Anchorage Ass-embly, is the dehumanizing aspect of covering one’s face in public, as well as the “mark of compliance” that it immediately demonstrates.
      .
      For authoritarian extremists (so-called “leftists”, who are nothing of the sort), EVERYTHING that is denormalizing, destabilizing, disruptive, destructive, and dehumanizing is not only lauded and applauded, but mandated by coercion wherever they can do so. They are nihilistic neo-Jacobins who seek nothing less than the overturning and destruction of everything that is good, rational and decent.

  37. Who is really surprised by this. Another example of the coordinated campaign to influence policy makers with public pressure. Thank goodness for the comments here at MustReadAlaska. Try to propose an opinion like the ones shown here at the Anchorage section of Reddit and you’ll be voted down so fast your comment is closed within an hour of posting. Day and night.

  38. It’s interesting these leftist radicals are against borders but simultaneously believe if everyone in the US is vaccinated and masks up somehow a miraculous invisible Covid border appears to protect us. (Who’s crazy? It’s not us sane folks.) Insanely, these leftists ignore the fact that most of the third world is not vaccinated and they support Biden importing more disease by opening the borders. Furthermore, it’s all about timing here. Everyone knows the delta virus furiously runs it’s course then fizzles out everywhere it hits. The radicals up here know this and want to take credit that their nonsensical masking mandates saved us. The delta virus will likely die down soon like it did in Florida. They know that and want to take advantage of it politically. They also want to hurt Mayor Bronson as well as Gov Dunleavy. It’s important to remember that EVERYTHING the left does is to gain power. Everything. They do not care about us. They want control of Anchorage and Alaska at large. We need to fight back and drive them back to the respective Lower48 states where they belong.

  39. For 18 months Providence has received increased funds to manage this health issue. Remember Berky and his “flatten the curve” so hospitals could prepare? This letter begs the question: What have you done with all this time to prepare??? He still acts as if this is a brand new crisis. Prov’s improved capacity, staffing or preparedness clearly did not materialize, despite the added funds received. This like last fall, is the season with colds and flu AND the rush of elective surgeries before the end of the year. Clearly nobody at Providence planned ahead? This seems to either be incompetence or deliberate to keep the money coming. Take your pick!

  40. Merck just forwarded a request for approval to the FDA for an anti-viral medicine in tablet form that has shown good results in keeping people out of the hospital. Now we’ll see how impartial and accepting of science the FDA and WHO really are. Chances are that the politicians and lobbyists in bed with Pfizer, Moderna…etc will fold along with the FDA thus ensuring the only choice remaining will be the non-vax.

    • I don’t know Brad. I agree that the FDA is corrupt, but I think they actually negotiated with Merck in order to squash ivermectin until they gave full FDA approval for the vaccines. We’ll see but my suspicion is that that pill will get approval because it’s a patented drug and the kickbacks have been already made. One of the kickbacks was the US government committing 1.2 billion (yes billion) to Merck for that treatment if they get fda approval and if Merck doesn’t get their approval, they might reverse their stance on ivermectin or ask for more kickbacks to keep their mouths shut. We shall see. It’s getting to be just an obvious money laundering scheme that you don’t need to be an investigator to see. But I do think they know this is going to run out with people getting different forms of immunity (or the booster spiel will get tired) and more treatments coming about. There’s a chance everything peter’s out by spring and they know it and they are just trying to take as much money as they can before time runs out. Who knows though, of course.
      **
      By the way, if anybody out there would like to pursue ivermectin I suggest you do that before you need it. It took me 3 weeks to track down a pharmacy that had it and wasn’t totally overwhelmed. Merck is throttling production in my opinion and I couldn’t find any pharmacy up here willing to keep it in stock despite other sources existing besides Merck, obviously as I was able to find out of state pharmacies that had it.

  41. To Preston Simmons re your demand for compulsory masking enforcement:
    .
    1. Are you a practicing medical doctor, epidemiologist, virologist, pathologist, statistician, or clinical psychologist; if not, what makes your demand for compulsory city-wide masking more credible than the demands of residents who do not want compulsory city-wide masking?
    .
    2. If adult residents refuse to obey your mask mandate or refuse to pay fines for noncompliance, do you believe they should be jailed and have their money or property taken?
    .
    3. If minor residents refuse to obey your mask mandate or do not respond to mask-enforcement personnel for any reason, do you believe they should be detained and placed in protective custody to prevent them from spreading Covid-19?
    .
    4. Does your demand for compulsory city-wide masking include converting code-enforcement employees to sworn law-enforcement officers with authority to arrest violators?
    .
    5. If Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Texas, South Dakota, and Florida public health officials do not require entire populations to wear masks, what qualifies you to demand an entire population wear masks?
    .
    6. What peer-reviewed study recognizes masks as a statistically significant method of viral source control, especially among asymptomatic people, and supports beyond reasonable doubt the popularized meme that “my mask protects you and your mask protects me”?
    .
    7. In what specific places has compulsory masking of entire populations been proven beyond reasonable doubt to cause statistically significant reduction of Covid-19 cases?
    .
    8. What peer-reviewed study supports beyond reasonable doubt that public-health policy applied in places with no compulsory masking of entire populations, such as Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Holland, Texas, South Dakota, and Florida should not be applied to Anchorage, Alaska?
    .
    9. What peer-reviewed study proves beyond reasonable doubt that forcing an entire population to wear masks does not prolong a Covid-19 outbreak by suppressing development of natural immunity, also known as herd immunity, in the population?
    .
    10. What specific metric will have proved beyond reasonable doubt that your mask mandate worked as expected and what assures the public or a data analytics firm such as Integra Med Analytics that your metric is reasonable and obtainable and that data used in your metric is accurate and verifiable?
    .
    11. Is Covid-zero your desired end state; if not, what is your desired end-state is it your expectation that Anchorage residents will be forced to wear masks indefinitely until your desired end state is reached and sustained for an unspecified time?
    .
    13. Did you lobby for mask mandates during past seasonal influenza, bird flu, or swine flu outbreaks, do you intend to lobby for mask mandates during the 2021-2022 influenza season?
    .
    14. If, as you imply, your hospital capacity is strained to the breaking point, why have you not demanded emergency assistance from the military like that which the federal government provided in New York?
    .
    13. How many health-care workers quit Providence Alaska because of vaccine and mask mandates; how many health-care workers have threatened to quit Providence because of vaccine and mask mandates and why should you not be held responsible for your part in deliberately creating an artificial shortage of health-care workers?
    .
    14. What is Providence Alaska’s gross income for 2019, 2020; what is the projected income for 2021 and what percentage of 2020 and 2021 gross incomes to date derive from Covid-related cases?
    .
    15. What verification process assures the public or a data analytics firm like Integra Med Analytics that Providence Alaska’s Covid statistics are accurate, that Covid-19 infected patients who die from non-Covid related causes are never reported as Covid deaths?
    .
    16. What assures the public and data analytics firms such as Integra Med Analytics that Providence Alaska physicians are not pushed to add Covid as a secondary diagnosis when documenting treatment so the Providence Alaska organization can qualify for higher Medicare reimbursement, similar to the case in which Integra Med Analytics is suing Providence St. Joseph Health, over alleged False Claims Act violations related to $188.1 million in Medicare claims upcoding?
    .
    17. What assures the public, data analytics firms like Integra Med Analytics, or the DHSS Inspector General that Providence Alaska physicians are not pushed to add Covid-19 as a secondary diagnosis when documenting treatment so the health system can qualify for DHSS Covid-19 waivers from the Stark Law which prohibits referrals between physicians and companies providing “designated health services” paid for by Medicare or Medicaid, otherwise known as “kickbacks” in the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute?
    .
    18. Will you make publicly viewable copies of all DHSS Covid-19 waivers requested by, and granted to, Providence Alaska including financial exchanges between the Providence Alaska organization and companies supplying masks, pharmaceuticals, and equipment which may otherwise be under DHSS investigation if DHSS Covid-19 kickback waivers were not in effect?
    .
    19. To provide the public additional insight into the Providence Alaska corporate culture behind your compulsory-masking demand, please explain the conflict between Providence Alaska organization and Dr. Bruce J. Kiessling which led to the removal of sponsors for Dr. Kiessling’s show on radio station KENI, and why the public should not believe the Providence Alaska organization is once again asserting undue influence on the community by coercing medical staff into attending Assembly meetings and demanding city-wide mask mandates on behalf of the organization.
    .
    20. Will you direct the same Providence medical staff members to sign sworn affidavits attesting they attended Assembly meetings voluntarily, on unpaid time, under no influence from Providence management, if not, why should the public believe Providence Alaska employee testimonies on Covid-19 statistics or compulsory masking?
    .
    21. Are you aware of patient reports that Providence Alaska denies therapeutic Covid treatments such as Regeneron, Remdesivir, Ivermectin, Molnupiravir, and hydroxychloroquine, if so, are these reports true?
    .
    22. If denying therapeutic treatment emerges as a proximate cause of prolonging the patient’s illness, complicating the illness with additional, potentially fatal consequences such as pneumonia requiring ventilator intervention, or ultimately killing the patient, should you, as Providence Alaska CEO, be held liable under Alaska’s manslaughter and reckless endangerment laws?
    .
    23. What is the decision-making process for denying therapeutic Covid treatment to a patient; are you in fact the final deciding authority, if you are not, who is?
    .
    24. Absent your sworn testimony in response to the preceding questions, do you believe the Anchorage Mayor should, immediately and without question, comply with the Providence Alaska CEO’s demand for compulsory city-wide masking?

  42. These employers, whether hospital employers, government employers, school employers, airlines, or corporations or small businesses are blindingly following stern recommendations from our “president”, that are requiring employees get vaccinated. They are setting themselves up for massive, class-action lawsuits because there are still no FDA-approved vaccines on the market. Only “Emergency Use Authorization” drugs that re not required.

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