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There are two open seats on the Del Puerto Helath Care District Board, the group that oversees the West Side’s ambulance service and the Del Puerto Health Center.

The electoral competition for the spots is between incumbents Ed Maring and Jeannette Kessler and challenger Anne Ielmini Stokman. The top two vote-getters in the Nov. 4 election will secure positions on the board.

Maring is a local grower who’s served on the board for nearly 30 years.

Kessler worked in finance before retiring and has served on the board for about five years.

Stokman is a nurse with a long history in the health care industry, and this is her first bid for elected office.

All three candidates talked about the need to expand health care services in Patterson, but they differed on what those services should be. Maring and Kessler said they’d like the district to provide primary care for more residents by bringing in more physicians.

Stokman said she would prioritize bringing urgent care to Patterson over providing primary care.

“We definitely hear that people need urgent care,” Stokman said.

At one time, the district provided urgent care services to anyone who walked in. That practice was stopped to focus on primary care services. The move came while both Maring and Kessler served on the board.

“It wouldn’t be a good use of the public’s money,” Maring said of adding more urgent care over primary care.

Instead, Maring said the best use of the district funds would be hiring additional physicians for the health center.

While Stokman prioritized urgent care, she said community outreach would be needed to determine what locals really want.

Maring said his 30 years of experience separate him from the rest of the candidates.

“I’ve been exposed to it all these years,” he said.

Kessler touts her years in finance as a strong qualification for the position, as well as her experience on the board itself.

“All my financial background is a big benefit for the board,” Kessler said.

An important issue for the district is timely collection of bills from insurers, she said, and her background in finance gives her the skills to handle it. This has become especially important, she said, because California was not making MediCal payments while state legislators battled over a months-late budget.

Stokman talks about her lengthy health care resume. She received her associate’s degree in nursing from Modesto Junior College in 1981. Since then, she’s had numerous positions in the health care field and worked with many different organizations.

Even before she earned her degree, she said she had health care experience in Patterson.

“I started as a candy-striper in the Del Puerto Hospital,” she said.

The district was originally established when Patterson had its own hospital. After the hospital closed in 1998, the district continued to function and collects property taxes from the homes within the district.