Sierra Kings District hospital surviving bankruptcy: Glitch former KVHD CEO missing employee pension funds

We should never have let her go: we owe them an apology

The Kern Valley Healthcare District was in a shambles in 2007 as the skilled nursing facility was under investigation for "chemical restraining" which may have lead to the deaths of several residents.

The CEO of the time, Pamela Ott, now charged with eight counts of elder abuse, resigned in May of 2007 and with the defense of KVHD board members, such as Bob Jamison, now infamous for his hour long radio broadcast, allowing Ott to defend herself, left and took another CEO position at Sierra Kings District Hospital.

Much like KVHD, Sierra Kings serves a small community, and is a public district. Ott took over, and a month after elder abuse charges were filed, in 2009, Sierra Kings fired their CEO and their CFO, Barbara Jennings.

Because Ott was not pursued by the justice system, or KVHD board and legal counsel, she was able to obtain her job at Sierra Kings. She may have even recieved a reference.

We allowed her to go without taking responsibility for the many crimes which occurred at the district during her tenure here in the KRV. (But the beat goes on...)

Sierra Kings went into bankruptcy

Within a month of Ott's termination at Sierra King's, the hospital went into bankruptcy and the board brought on a familiar management company, HFS.

HFS, who recently audited six months of KVHD records, because of the default with the hospital's "old debt" insurer, CAL MTG., took Sierra Kings the only route it found most promising: bankruptcy.

With the backing of the City of Reedley, they were able to try many options, allowing the hospital to continue to serve, and also grow.

Sandy Haskins became the interim CEO, and during the bankruptcy it was reported that Ott had been able to utilize monies from the Reedley community's GOB that was to expand the hospital.

The second and now more nefarious deed, was the pilfering of the Sierra King's employee pension fund.

According to an article in the REEDLEY EXPONENT the bankruptcy is going well, new equipment has been purchased, a new building constructed, but the employees who participated in the pension program, some have lost their retirement.

The article mentions the fact that the employees have tried to attach their lost or stolen pension monies to the bankruptcy but will have to go without, as there is no way to reimburse these employees for the loss.

I'm sure that the employees will find another route, like suing Pamela Ott, who will ironically be forced into bankruptcy herself as she faces both criminal and civil cases. Her co-defendant in the KVHD case, Gwen Hughes, has filed bankruptcy and will now have to utilize a public defender to fight the Attorney General's charges against her.

But the bankruptcy is going well they say....

After the most negative campaign for Measure G here in the Kern River Valley, it was stated repeatedly that a bankruptcy for this district was: Not possible, destructive to the employees who would lose their jobs, and the community would lose all its services too. We all shook with fear.

Now, Sierra King's District Hospital in Reedley, is coming out of the end of their bankruptcy with more services and a new building.

Did they talk to the attorney kept from public view by KVHD administrators and board members?

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