FIGHT OR PAY: Voting day for the Kern Valley Healthcare District

Who you gonna call? Cal Mtg.

If there was one thing I would want to say on a day such as today, bright and beautiful outside, the birds singing and the politicians finally taking a breath, that we don't have a tough decision: we have a simple decision.

Fight or pay.

Can we as a valley come together against a state entity bigger and badder than our very own Kern Valley Healthcare District?

It's up to the voters today whether they will roll over on a hefty tax increase which includes the need for more money in the near future as CEO, Tim McGlew, said, "this is just giving us a head start."

The hospital administration will NOT fight Cal Mtg. because they risk their higher than average paying jobs.

That type of excuse is used a lot up here in this Lakeside community. I've had people thank me for the work I'm doing to try and bring the truth out of the hospital and give it back to the people. Then they tell me they can't say anything because they will lose a possible contract or a job or whatever tie that binds them.

Do it or don't it's up to the majority

Today you decide if you want to tax the valley: tomorrow we count the votes and move from there.

But either way there is a 22 year old debt, a board of directors too closely tied to the hospital, administrators giving out false information, that has to be dealt with.

I think it's funny that people think throwing money at something will make things better.

How about Mediacom?

Mediacom recieved 90 million in ARRA funds to run a fiber optic line up into this valley to give us high speed internet which is also desperately needed in rural areas. So far, we have not seen a ditch dug anywhere near our community.

ARRA monies are grants and low cost loans which came from the "Obama Stimulus" monies which are still available.

Could the hospital get those monies? Absolutely, and they were warned and told they had the chance, yet they instead, use the same method which began in 1988, "A community bailout."

We have tried, and when I say we, I mean Assemblywoman, Jean Fuller, KVHD board member, Kathryn Knight, to have a meeting last year with Cal Mtg. but it was quashed as the hospital CFO, Chet Beedle and then CEO, Rick Carter.

Late

I am always late, as I have many physical problems which keep me from being places on time, and the ability to finish projects in a timely manner.

I'm what they call disabled, not all my systems are working properly, therefore, I have illness.

Now, you tell me, what is the excuse of the hospital, when both McGlew and Beedle knew of funds available through ARRA, but neither knew had to write a grant or even bothered to pursue one. And ran off the person who would have helped for FREE or under contract.

Here's a letter from a person who offered to help the hospital write grants in 2008 and 2009. He tried very politely to urge the board and administrators to move quickly as there were billions of dollars available for many projects such as small rural hospital expansion.

FREE ER?
Yes, it was possible at one point to get "brick and mortar" monies to build this ER we suddenly need though the community wants other things first. A nice ER would be great. An urgent care wonderful.

But the hospital did not have the ability to simply get help to write a grant which could have brought in the new "telemedicine" we will discuss soon, as well as other Obama promotional money for equipment and upgrade.

There is, however, money left and that is the breathing room those of you who are sitting on the fence must consider before casting your vote.

I tried very hard to get this information to all of you prior to the election. It was sent to all your government representatives, but they have dodged their job description and run for cover. Or at least it seemed that way.

I hope that you understand more of the situation and don't be too tough if you vote for the measure, as the hospital has played some interesting games in trying to obtain the first of more tax money.

And the board of directors has no intention either of taking on such a task as NEGOTIATING rather than TAXING the district.

Have a good day and if you need information, why there's tons of it on this blog. Candidates for the KVHD board have statements and stories.

Thank you for voting.

From April 2009: 

Here is a summary of what we are wanting to pursue for the Kern Valley Healthcare Distinct to ensure we take full advantage of ARRA funding. As we discussed briefly, our plan is to pursue funding in three priority target areas for ARRA.

Infrastructure - We need an new ER facility, and in time will probably need a new acute care facility to meet seismic standards. We have also outgrown our rural health clinic. Furthermore, we have a debt with Cal Mortgage for previous construction of our long term care and related facilities that also benefit the acute care services. What we have in mind is preferably rolling new funding into one package with the existing debt to construct the new ER, acute care, and expanded or new clinic in a fashion that would position us to grow in response to increasing demand from the communities we serve and our recreation guests. The benefit in economic stimulus would be immediate creation of construction jobs, the multiplier effect, and renewed economic stimulus as we are better able to accommodate the tourism and recreation trade that is so vital to the economy of our mountain valley, not to mention population growth that would be accommodated with available healthcare services. As it is now, people from our many valley communities have to leave the area and go to already over taxed facilities and providers outside our valley for many of the speciality services that we could provide with appropriate infrastructure, plus the resources in the following.

Technology - As for all healthcare providers, we can improve quality, increase efficiency, and provide a more complete complement of services with the right technology. As a rural healthcare district, this technology can include telehealth and telemedicine, as well as diagnostic, patient care, medical records and administrative systems. Again, given technology is a priority under ARRA, and equipping new facilities with the best available technology can expand our effectiveness, help us attract new providers, and allow us to reach out to specialists that are not locally available, the investment in technology will provide near term and follow on longer term economic stimulus, adding to the impact of the infrastructure investments.

Primary Health Care Workforce Development Programs - In spite of the high quality of life and lower cost of living we offer, our area is not immune to the shortage of healthcare professionals. We struggle as do most other providers to maintain staffing patterns for practicing physicians, physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, and especially RNs, and LVNs. We have one new collaborative program with a college for LVNs that will be coming on line soon, and we have one provider who has taken the initiative to arrange for internships by nurse practitioners. We would like to team with educational institutions to expand and add to these programs, whether that is funding for actual programs, offsetting some of our costs, or providing scholarships. Keep in mind that we, in Kern County, are in a high unemployment area. California State Bakersfield, within commuting distance for our residents and included in our labor market for nurses, has an accelerated RN program. And Cerro Coso College right in our back yard, has an LVN program. In addition, we want to obtain ARRA funding, if available, to invest in our current staff, some of whom, especially CNAs will become nursing students and eventually graduates, and others who will need training in use of new technology, medical specialities, improved methods, such as continuous quality improvement, patient satisfaction, and customer service skills, all of which will increase our impact on community health and wellness, foster growth in our complement of services, and stimulate the economy as we increase the number of patients served. Closely tied into workforce development programs could be prevention and wellness initiatives, where while reaching out to the community for wellness education and prevention services we are also marketing the primary health care workforce development opportunities to potential nursing students. Workforce development can also include improving our internal infection control and health information technology literacy through staff development, thus addressing these priorities under ARRA.

We can break ground on infrastructure in the near term, as we have an architectural firm retained that has much of the design work done already. We can provide a time line once needed for a grant proposal. Can you advise us of needed timelines to make sure we are a player in the next round of infrastructure funding?

Does our idea of packaging funding for new construction with restructuring our existing debt make sense, and do you think we should also be talking with Cal Mortgage?

Is there anyone specifically in Sacramento who is the contact person, or responsible individual for coordinating ARRA funding, or is it the individual department or program heads e.g., for FQHC grants for community health centers?

You offered contacts, advice, and perhaps other resources, and we are all ears and very appreciative. I am eagerly awaiting hearing back from you, hope I did not provide more detail than you wanted, and cannot wait to get on with pursuing these opportunities. I met last week with our CFO/acting CEO, Chet Beedle, Dr. Robert Gross our Hospitalist and physician leader who serves as an elected voting member on the board, and one of our dedicated management team members, Tom Wright. We are all eager to move on this, as is our Board Chair Katherine Knight and other board members.

Could have done this, but this person's offer was declined, though there are still more dollars to be had, the current directors and administrators have not moved on this, though, McGlew said in an email that they would be.

So, I assume those who believe strongly in this administration's tax measure will be okay with the fact that they didn't have to pay in the first place?

Board of directors meeting, this Wed. Nov.3, 2010 at 5:30 PM in the cafeteria at the hospital.

If measure G fails or if it succeeds we should all be there, as the hospital still has to answer to possible negotiations with Cal Mtg. and it's fearful posture to try answers such as what were put forth by many people almost 2 years ago.

Election results in the morning....All the best"