Dave Miglin serves as treasurer on the Broadlawns Board of Trustees.

Polk County voters have an important choice to make for Broadlawns Medical Center, our county’s public hospital and one of the region’s most essential community institutions. At a time when health care is changing quickly and public hospitals face increasing pressure, Broadlawns needs steady, experienced, community-minded leadership. That is why voters should vote to return Emily Webb and Emily Westergaard to the Broadlawns Board of Trustees (labeled on the ballot as “County Hospital Trustee”).

Hospital trustees do not make headlines every day, and that is exactly why their work matters so much. They are responsible for asking hard questions, protecting the hospital’s mission, supporting safe and high-quality care, and ensuring that decisions are made with the long-term health of the community in mind. The best trustees bring judgment, preparation, independence, and a deep respect for the people who rely on the hospital in moments of vulnerability.

Emily Webb and Emily Westergaard have demonstrated the qualities Broadlawns needs on its seven-member, nonpartisan board. Webb, who is running for her second term on the Board, brings legal, business, technology, privacy, health care, and nonprofit leadership experience to the role. Westergaard, who was appointed to the board in 2025 and is running for her first, full term on the board, brings more than two decades of nonprofit leadership, partnership-building, fundraising, and community engagement experience, along with a deep understanding of how health, education, housing, and opportunity intersect for families across Polk County, Iowa.

Good hospital governance is not about politics or personal agendas. It is about respect for the public trust, competency, and stewardship. It is about making sure the hospital remains financially sound while continuing to invest in excellent care. It is about listening to community needs, supporting strong leadership, and insisting that the institution live up to its public purpose, while being accountable to the Polk County taxpayer. In that work, experience matters.

That experience has produced tangible results. Some of the most recent achievements that the Board has overseen include the selection and hiring of Proctor Lureman as Broadlawns’ CEO, a decision that has helped give the hospital strong and well-regarded executive leadership at a critical moment. Leadership transitions can define the direction of a public hospital for years; Webb and Westergaard have been actively involved in helping hospital leadership plan Broadlawns’ future.

They have also supported forward-looking investments in brain health and memory care. Broadlawns purchased its first mobile clinic to bring treatment directly to patients, meeting people closer to where they live and reducing barriers to care. The hospital also purchased a building for its first clinic specifically dedicated to patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease—an important and compassionate step as more families confront the challenges of memory loss.

At the same time, Webb and Westergaard have backed needed infrastructure upgrades on Broadlawns’ main campus, which has served this community for more than a century. Investing in aging facilities may not be glamorous, but it is essential. Patients, staff, and taxpayers all benefit when a public hospital maintains the physical foundation required to deliver modern, outstanding care.

Broadlawns is more than a hospital building on Hickman Road. It is an emergency room when seconds matter, a mental health provider when families need urgent support, a clinic for people who might otherwise delay care, a source of good jobs, and a public institution with a mission to serve everyone. Trustees who understand that mission—and who approach the work with preparation, accountability, and humility—make a real difference.

I am proud to serve on the Board of Trustees with both women because they truly understand the work and are dedicated to the mission of Broadlawns. Voting for Webb and Westergaard is a vote for continuity without complacency. Broadlawns must keep strengthening access to care, supporting its workforce, responding to community needs, and making responsible decisions with taxpayer’s dollars. That work requires trustees who can ask hard questions, listen carefully, and keep the hospital’s mission at the center of every decision.

In the November 2026 election, it can be tempting to overlook offices that seem technical or low-profile. We should not make that mistake. Hospital trustees help shape the quality, accessibility, and sustainability of care in our community. Their decisions matter to patients today and to families who will need care tomorrow.

For voters who want Broadlawns Medical Center to remain focused on patients, community health, fiscal stewardship, and service to Polk County families in need, the choice is clear: this November, vote for Emily Webb and Emily Westergaard to the Broadlawns Board of Trustees.