As 2020 nears, Northern Inyo Healthcare District is bidding a fond farewell to its current longest-
serving Board of Trustees member, MC Hubbard. After almost 14 years, Hubbard is retiring from
her service to the residents of the Healthcare District’s Zone 5 region, covering southeast Bishop,
Wilkerson, Big Pine, and Aberdeen.
NIHD’s Board of Trustees is in the process of accepting letters of interest from Zone 5 residents
interested in being appointed to Hubbard’s position. The Board selected Trustees Robert Sharp
and Jody Veenker to conduct interviews of candidates and then make a recommendation to the
entire Board for final selection. That person will hold the Zone 5 seat until November 2020. At
that point, he or she will need to formally run for election to complete the remaining two years of
Hubbard’s term, slated to end in 2022.
NIHD Chief Executive Officer Kevin S. Flanigan, MD MBA, said to date, five people expressed an
interest in the position. Of those five, at least two have submitted formal letters of interest to the
Board.
For Hubbard, the decision to retire, as she likes to call it, from the NIHD Board is one that she has
considered for a while. “Although I have learned a lot about healthcare and have certainly
appreciated the time I have served, I have been on the board for more than 13 years,” Hubbard
explains. “I decided it was time to allow someone else to serve on this essential Board of
Directors.
Appointed to the Board in 2006, she had just retired from a long-term banking career. She says
the chance to learn more about the inner workings of healthcare intrigued her. Hubbard quickly
realized the size of the learning curve ahead of her, especially as NIHD began its move to
construct a new two-story hospital.

The completion of the two-story hospital in 2013 serves as a milestone for all the Board members
of the era, and Hubbard is no exception. Following voter approval of a needed bond measure, the
Board stood alongside NIHD staff as they faced construction challenges and rigorous state seismic
regulations. Hubbard said there were days where she wondered what she had gotten herself
into with her appointment. She would go on to win election to her position three times.
“I admit there have been some wonderful accomplishments over the years, but the first thing
that comes to mind is the completion of the hospital building,” she smiles. “It was quite an
experience going from the construction phase to the final occupancy over the three-year
process.”
As for a personal sense of accomplishment, Hubbard notes the Healthcare District is still
considered a continually growing entity. “Healthcare is in an endless state of change, and I’m not
sure everyone realizes how much change occurs every year. Plus, how much of that change is out
of our control at the local level,” she said.
“Being part of the District during both the positive times and the challenging times, I think that
where the real accomplishment rests, not just for the Trustees, but for everyone who works at
the District. Every day in healthcare gives us another chance to make a difference in the lives of
those we serve. We have to enjoy the good times and survive the bad to continue making that
difference. If we lose sight of that, then we lose sight of those we serve.”
As for her fellow trustees, Hubbard wishes them well on their journey. “The other four board
members are very caring, and certainly a group with diversified backgrounds. I am sure they will
rise to the challenges facing healthcare districts going forward,” she said. “Each individual brings
their strengths to the Board, and I am confident they will achieve positive things.”
As for her future, Hubbard intends to spend more time with her family, including her four great-
grandchildren. She will also stay busy as a trustee to the Slager Foundation and as a member of
Bishop Sunrise Rotary. Also, she is back at work, at least part-time, as the Traffic and Billing
Manager at Sierra Wave Media, home to KSRW-FM/Alt 92.5 and TV Channel 3.

Hubbard notes that through the years, she received a lot of support. “Thinking back, all I can say
is what a ride it has been. I want to thank our community members and certainly the wonderful
staff at NIHD,” she said. “It’s truly been a pleasure to work with all of them.”

Northern Inyo Healthcare District prepares to bid farewell to long-time Board of Trustees
member MC Hubbard at the end of December . Photo by Barbara Ferrey-Laughon/Northern Inyo
Healthcare District