This week I had the pleasure of joining the naming ceremony for the new behavioral health teaching hospital at the University of Washington. The new hospital is now named for our state’s former Speaker of the House and lifelong public servant Frank Chopp. I found myself thinking about how lucky I was to work with Frank, to learn from him and to call him a mentor and a friend.
Frank believed deeply that public policy could, and should, make people’s lives better. He was also realistic. He was an incrementalist, always focused on doing the thing today that would make the better thing possible tomorrow. I saw that approach throughout his career, beginning even before he became a legislator, when I first had the privilege of working alongside him.
Frank worked with WSHA on some of Washington’s most meaningful health policy achievements, including the Basic Health Plan, Apple Health for Kids and mental health parity. Many of those efforts were shaped through the Speaker’s Task Force on Mental Health, staffed by our beloved former WSHA Senior Vice President Randy Revelle. Seeing Frank’s wife, Nancy Long, and hearing her reflections was especially moving.
So many leaders were there, including Governors Jay Inslee and Bob Ferguson, but what I felt most was gratitude for Frank’s leadership, his humor, his passion, and yes, his famously colorful language. I am deeply thankful to the University of Washington for honoring Frank in a way that reflects who he was and the lasting difference he made.
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Sincerely,
Cassie Sauer
WSHA President & CEO
[email protected]