Dr. Kin Yee, a dentist, elected as new President of Chinese Hospital Board of Trustees after 5 rounds of voting

(SAN FRANCISCO) Dr. Kin Yee, a dentist in San Francisco and representative of the Hop Wo Benevolent Association, was elected as the 2023 President of the Chinese Hospital Board of Trustees.

The swearing in ceremony for all members of the Board of Trustees was held on January 30 in Chinese Hospital. Mayor London Breed was invited to administer the ceremony.

"I am honored and humbled to be elected as the chair and looking forward to working with my fellow board members," Dr. Yee said in the swearing-in ceremony.

"2023 remains extremely challenging for Chinese Hospital and the healthcare industry due to labor shortage, high inflation and supply chain disruptions," Dr. Yee said. "Despite the challenges we will face, Chinese Hospital will continue to expand collaborations to create new programs and services, improve the quality of care and patient experience, lead the effort to safeguard our community, and enhance our financial viability and operational efficacy."

There are a number of the new members joining the Chinese Hospital Board, including Misha Tsukerman who is a young lawyer working at the San Francisco City Attorney's Office representing the Chinese Democratic Constitutionalist Party.

Past Board President Kitman Chan could not finish his full term in 2022 due to suffering a stroke. He represented the Chinese Democratic Constitutionalist Party in the past two years at the Board of Trustees. Vice President Harvey Louie was the Acting President when Chan was absent.

It took 15 rounds of votes earlier this year to elect the new Speaker in the U.S. House. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors also went 17 rounds before choosing District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin as its President for the next two years.

The Chinese Hospital Board of Trustees was no exception when they elected its new Board Chairman in January. In the first election meeting, 16 Board Members came up with the same votes 8:8 for four rounds. Dr. Yee and longtime Board Member Thomas Ng both were nominated and received 8 votes. Two Board Members voted remotely by sending their votes via cell phones.

The Board decided to hold another election meeting in a few days. In the second meeting, all 16 Board Members were present. Dr. Yee received 9 votes from his fellow Board Members and was elected to be the new Board President. Ng received 7 votes. Louie was elected as Vice President.

Currently Ng is the longest serving Board Member among 16 Members at the Chinese Hospital Board for over 42 year. Ng is the 8-time past President.

"I am almost 90 year old. I am getting old. I support anyone who received the majority of the votes to serve as the President. The most important thing is that we all want to serve the Chinese Hospital and our community," said Ng.

Ng also stated that he believed in the in-person voting system in the Chinese Hospital. It didn't happen before to accept any votes via cell phones. "I respected the decision made by the full board."

Louie, who was the Acting President in the election meeting, responded to Wind Newspaper's inquiry. "Last year we voted and approved the new updated version of the Chinese Hospital By Laws. Our By Laws needed to follow the language of all non-profits in the state of California. Hence the need to update. Due to the pandemic and the senior age of our Board, we voted to allow voting by phone if it could be done confidentially," Louie stated.

"Thomas Ng and all the CCBA (Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association) members approved the motion. No objections," Louie added. "On more rounds of voting, it was late and the Board voted unanimously to table the vote for another day. No objections and no abstentions. Motion (was) passed."

Louie said, "Kin Yee is the legally elected 2023 Chair of Chinese Hospital."

James Ho, past Board President of the Chinese Hospital representing the Chinese Democratic Constitutionalist Party, appointed Kitman Chan to the Board representing his Party two years ago.

"Kitman could not finish his full term as Board President because of his health condition. He is recovering now. It will take some time for him. We decided to nominate Misha Tsukerman to join the Chinese Hospital Board on behalf of our Party," said Ho.

"Misha is a young lawyer working at the San Francisco City Attorney's Office. We hope we could have more young generations to serve the community. Misha needs some time to understand the system and the Chinese community," said Ho.

*Note: The article has been updated online with more information than the print edition.