After months of waiting to see if the California Department of Justice, Attorney General, Edmund G. Brown Jr., agents from Medical Fraud and elder abuse, could bring truth to the case against the district, it looks like a new defendant, former KVHD CEO,Pam Ott, will most likely be facing a judge this week.
Although Ott is one of many responsible for the chaos and system breakdown which took place at the KVHD nursing center, and one of several administrators who fled the scene as civil lawsuits, threats of closure and exposure, were looming in 2007.
But Ott was the leadership, and it was the leadership who tried to escape responsibility for their actions blaming it on others, covering tracks and creating scapegoats.
More than two years after, Kern Valley Healthcare District, CEO, Pamela Ott, resigned during the crisis in the skilled nursing facility, sources say that Ott will be in Kern County Superior court on Tuesday, Sept. 8, to face her indictment and responsibilities for her part of what happened at KVHD in 2006/2007.
With an on-going state investigation netting enough evidence to bring Ott back to Kern county where she originally fled from as the KVHD nursing center was on the verge of closing because
of poor practices, possibly lack of knowledge, but certainly lack of oversight by the hospital's administrative team.The original three indictments, from Feb. of this year, but regarding the time period of Aug. 1, 2006 to Jan. 25, 2007, of Dr. Hoshang Pormir, Gwen Hughes, Director of Nursing and Debbi Hayes, Pharmacist did not fit the evidence of those closest to the situation.
The administration led by Ott, ignored or punished negative information from the employees, the press and residents of the Skilled Nursing Facility as investigators from the state's Medical fraud and Elder abuse Bureau of the Department of Justice set upon the hospital.
Recently, things began to change in regard to the investigation, and on August 14, the state put another charge onto the pharmacist, for conspiracy, injurious to the public. Hayes, plead out on the count, receiving a one year suspended jail sentence, and three years probation along with community service.
The Pharmacists role in the upcoming court hearings is still speculation, but she may end up as a witness in the case. Nothing solid on that yet.
Though the Department of Justice is quiet as to its intentions, waiting until late Friday, as the Kern County Superior Court website showed a "new" item on its calendar for Sept. 8, when Dr. Pormir and Gwen Hughes have scheduled pre-prelim hearings, there was a third item: Motion to amend complaint.
Calls and emails came in asking me about this, and finally, with some certainty, we have learned that Pam Ott has been indicted. At this time we don't have the exact charges, but will get those to you after the holiday.
We will be in court on Tuesday, Sept.8, and we will have our cameras.
As to others who still linger at the hospital, there is no word, if there any other indictments coming up. We will be watching closely.
But I would say to the state, and its investigators, that Ott has been gone for two years, yet the problems remained. The nursing facility was reputed to be short staffed again, and high priced contracts, costing the hospital almost three million dollars, did not solve the problems.
Chief Financial Officer, Chet Beedle, has repeated many times since 2007, that the hospital has never been short staffed. Though he recently admitted to the fact that LVN's and RN's were supposedly doing the work of nurse's aides, who spend most of their working hours in direct contact with the residents, and some strongly disagreed with Mr. Beedle's observations.
In 2006, Ott, Beedle and Bob Jamison, indeed lead this community on a wild goose chase for a general obligation bond that would have not sufficed, and architectural plans that were not workable, and finally, watched the staff shrink in the nursing facility, care for residents compromised, then directed a stranger, a new director of nursing to order whatever pharmaceuticals she wanted, as Gwen Hughes was supposed to have years of experience regarding chemical restraints.
Documents from the hospital showed that Ott signed off on the skilled nursing facility annual surveys, yet, the state allowed her to get away with some serious stretching of the truth about the actual problems.
Including short staffing. Click on document to read.
Employees claimed to be harassed and frightened, and most certainly overworked, dominated by an administration which stuck together refusing information about what was truly going on at the district.
And board members who hired Ott, with credentials from a diploma mill, appear to have allowed her to run roughshod over the district, employees, residents, patients, and even doctors.
The day after Ott stepped down, board member, Brad Armstrong, allegedly went into Ott's office, closed the door behind them, as human resources manager at the time, Michelle Rosado, fired several employees who were obviously thought to be a threat.
On that same day, Heidi Sage, Administrative Assistant, who worked in the CEO's office, was not at work while the terminations were taking place. Sage's mother, Tish Orr, who is a witness in the indictments, and someone I interviewed, went out on stress leave, because of the lack of help with the situation in the nursing center.
Armstrong has never answered to any questions regarding his role in the skilled nursing facility systems which failed. Or the short staffing where only the employees would say that they were not adequately staffed, and therefore care was compromised, but not the former chairman, Armstrong.
The twenty year board member (and that's what term limits are about folks, do you want 20 years of the same mistakes and attitude, or just 8?)
Armstrong, had an opportunity in 10/2006 to listen to the employees and order an investigation. But the chairman treated it like a mutiny, chastising the employees for not going up chain of command. Though the employees said they had already been to the CNO, Sharon Brucker, and Pam Ott, with Armstrong and the board, the open door policy slammed on their fingers.
This man, Bob Jamison, board member and local radio star, used blogs and his radio show to attack those who would believe that there were serious problems at the hospital.
He allowed, the now indicted, CEO, Pam Ott, to come for an hour on his talk show to give her side of the story. (See "Here's your witness Jerry Brown: Ott on QAB)
I asked Mr. Jamison at the last board meeting this month if Ott was indicted if he would take her back to the radio station and defend her.
His answer was just to stare at me.
My hope is that we clean out all the dirt, and that the people I have mentioned throughout this blog be put under oath and then tell their stories under the penalty of perjury.
This hospital needs to heal, Ott's indictment is a good start. But there are others who need to face their participation in the situation. Hopefully, in court, but if not, then there must be other ways to deal with them.
More info and pics to come...Will keep you updated.
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