(look again) Do you feel like bonding with the Kern Valley Healthcare District: well, they feel like bonding with you, generally

A cry for help

Last week at the KVHD Finance Committee meeting it became clear that there problems that could no longer be handled with the smidgen of talent we currently have working towards the future of KV district.

In the process of finding out the financial situation is dire at best, even Bob Jamison, criticized the current situation.

Issue there is, Jamison was one of the founding fathers of the problems at the healthcare district.

Let's take a look at his record. He grumbled about a credit card our CFO, Chet Beedle, wanted to obtain to utilize in purchasing supplies and medications for the pharmacy.

He called it a "stopgap" measure. Well, 100K isn't going to stop our gap, which is more of a chasm now, so it was a moot point.

Jamison has been behind some of the criminal and unethical practices which has lead to the KVHD reputation becoming laughable while at the same time, people have begun to hate the hospital.

When former, elder abuse charged, CEO Pam Ott, said "jump" Jamison did his best. He voted on the board to hire Ott, he protected her in the face of truth when she was accused of allowing people to be harmed or mistreated in the nursing facility, he engaged in slanderous activities, and even took this agenda to the radio station where he works and broadcasts.

Can you imagine having this man solve any of our problems? He was one of the problems until he lost his quorum and now is nothing more than a irritable figure of a board member. Why is he still here voters?

My guess is because his ego is bigger than his character and he doesn't know when to quit. My dog died last night the most beautiful death as if he knew how to do it. He could teach us all a few things.

If he cared about this hospital and this goes to others such as the "term limit" poster boy, Brad Armstrong, who helped bring the plague which is our long term debt more than 20 years ago.

(And, yeah right, the past doesn't matter.)

If the board 20 years ago, where Brad Armstrong sat, had done the right things, like getting all construction complete; making a plan for the future; and not allowing the overages which lead to a 20 plus million dollar debt; we would be in great shape now.

And had we not been in grips of the dark and gray area of the government, Cal Mtg., an office within the office of Statewide healthcare planning and development, we still would have been a better hospital than we are now.

In 1999, had we bankrupted on Cal Mtg. and made it out the other side, we would be a top notch hospital. We would have had the money to reinvest in ourselves. (bankruptcy as it turns out, is not an option so much as it is a possible result of years of parasitic management)

Our current accounting system, run by our financial manager, Chet Beedle, is called the "rob Peter to pay Paul," system of accounting.

That's why vendors are getting money only when they finally complain or even threaten a lawsuit.

This is not going to work, and we need to keep this hospital open.

You could be generally obligated

The newest in ideas is to go back after a general obligation bond to pay off the long term debt.
(This is from last year, one year ago since they recently told us that we are getting a new ER, sorry, I mean paying the debt or whatever they want really. It becomes their money once we relinquish our property taxes in a vote this November 2, 2010)

I thought the debt was nothing; not the problem? That's what I keep being told anyway.

Now, they've realized that the only way to get money is from this community by way of your property taxes.

And who knows what else they will add onto it so that they have a little extra money to fly people up and down the West Coast and buy lunches, vote on murals not nursing raises to fix a dangerous skilled nursing center.

Give me a break!

Now, I said I agree there is not enough money in our current tax base, as some of our property taxes automatically go to the hospital. It's not much though.

I heard an idea out of one camp about simply raising these property taxes.

Nice, considering most of the top dogs at the hospital don't even own property up here.

Again, it's a question of trust. In the federal bailout, rather than allow a floundering business to die, the government and all it's wisdom, gave billions to the same people whose business practices caused the problems.

Not real bright. And that is what must be avoided here.

There must be reorganization in the administration and hospital before a bond could even be considered.

And with Mr. Jamison and Mr. Armstrong still on the board of directors, not that they do anything, but they could use this time to step down and allow people with the future in mind to come aboard and try to help.

If they do or don't, it doesn't matter anymore as those two are really irrelevant.

We need this hospital, but we need it to serve us better than it has in the past...

Currently, on the board of directors: Kay Knight Chairwoman; Victoria Alwin Secretary of the board; Dr. Robert Gross DO, first vice chair; Bob Jamison, Treasurer; and Brad Armstrong, second vice chair.

This board needs to do something now in terms of finding some real stop gap measures to utilize while a "strategic plan" is drafted and hopefully, well thought out.

(I have the strategic plan from 2006, and it's certainly full of hope, but nothing came of it. That's sad, considering there was time and expense, but it's now nothing more than a box taking up space in storage.)

Because of the whacked out spending spree which took place in the last four years, the hospital is in serious trouble, and there's no hiding from it anymore.

Nobody takes any responsibility there, and it's again a matter of not being able to plan for the future.

If you want to find out more about the potential increase in your property taxes or you need to know what is going on with Mt. Mesa Clinical Pharmacy, I suggest you attend the board meeting.

And the meeting is this Wed., Dec. 2, at 5:30 pm in the hospital cafeteria.

Remember, the board members are elected, the administrators are hired by the board, and the public has the ultimate say. So, say it already.

See you there.