"Do you know what the case number is," the clerk at the Kern County Superior court "Felony Department," asked me earlier today when I called to find out why there's a new trial date in the Kern Valley Healthcare District elder abuse case.
I rattled off the familiar number above because this case has been on-going, with the three defendants changing lawyers every other month, until now it boils down to public defenders and a new court date.
The elder abuse trial was set for September, though the calendar has a lot of "white out" on it now, it has recently been stretched out until March of 2012, as defendant, and former Kern Valley Healthcare District, CEO, Pamela Ott, changed attorneys.
According to the Superior court clerk, the reason posted in the minutes, was that Ott's new attorney and also a public defender, Brian McNamara, needed more time to go over what she called, "extensive discovery..." even though McNamara is yet to be cited as Ott's attorney.
With this trial like a cloud over the Lake Isabella community, maybe even defining the rural healthcare system in the region forever, there are now seven months for Mr. McNamara to pick thru the evidence, but what will the new California Attorney General, Kamala Harris, be doing during the lull?
This was Jerry's case
On the campaign trail, Jerry Brown, and Kamala Harris showed up in Bakersfield just days before the election last year. Harris is pictured at the left next to the now Governor, Jerry Brown, who brought the justice department into our mountain community in 2007, taking away a few defendants on elder abuse charges, but leaving behind many who participated in the cover up at the financially failing rural hospital.
I have been watching the cases that Harris has taken interest in since she stepped into Brown's shoes this year, and his boots went a walking into the Governors mansion leaving behind a case that simply doesn't go away. Why?
A situation that involves more than just the abuse, which is enough, to some degree in my opinion, but leaving behind the actual issues and administrators which allowed this foul soup to continue to simmer, really doesn't serve the purpose that is intended to stop the chance of it happening again.
Yes, it's a big case, bigger yet than the DOJ ever imagined in that they have not even touched upon the issues that have occurred with a California insurer, Cal Mtg.
One of their own?
Two years ago nobody here in this valley, employees and residents included, knew of the debt that is attached to their property taxes and insured by Cal Mtg.
Now Cal Mtg. is a well known name and those who want to seem as if they know of something, often mention Cal Mtg. as the villain in the downfall of the hospital over the last 20 years.
Cal Mtg. has actually taken over the hospital at points of default, but they have also tried vigorously to get the community to spend a "latte's worth of money" monthly to pay off the debt and potentially go into more construction projects which is why the hospital is flat broke in the first place: they couldn't oversee to complete the expansion.
I am unsure of what agency handles the oversight at Cal Mtg. but it is something to look into as they have an interesting history which includes taking all of their premium on a 30 year contract, during an emergency measure of refinancing the "revenue" or municipal capital improvement bonds, done by CFO, Chet Beedle in 2003 when the state had it's worst credit rating in years.
Cal Mtg. was either duped by a dump like KVHD or they didn't understand that the hospital has been not only imprudent, but ignorant in it's financial spending. Board members with little knowledge or experience have voted in things they don't even study. The rubberstamp it's called when a board simply relies on it's chief administrator and privately contracted legal counsel to make a decision is too common here.
I don't know the reason that this hospital was not shaken down so that the possibility of restoring it would be available if new oversight was put in place.
Is it justice to simply take away a few people and not the whole group who bred the problems that lead to this type of situation? And then to almost leave behind the leader, head administrator, Pam Ott, who had full knowledge as well as control as her title implied?
But then so did her HR department manager hiring and firing, and her CFO could not have missed the projections of costs, while they were short staffed? Could he?
Ott's relationship with certain board members gave her quorum, therefore cover, and employees who had knowledge was also significant, and especially as scapegoats were made of innocent employees who tried to help expose the mess.
Or would it have been better to simply do all that is necessary to protect the safety of the patients, remove all the infection, do the investigation, so the hospital has a chance to heal?
Well, I have some questions for Kamala Harris, as her PR department doesn't know much about this hidden thorn, that has damaged so many lives, not only the sad treatment of elderly patients and their families, but the ability to function properly financially and offering safe and fair healthcare to the community.
So, at this time, the KVHD/Jerry Brown, elder abuse case is now in the hands of new leader, Kamala Harris, and has been pushed to March of 2012 as all the defendants have had to change attorneys, and these same people are using public defenders, though two are in private practice, due to conflict of interest.
Also coming up: the next generation of law suits and trials from the Kern Valley Healthcare District...Go to the Kern county Superior court site and click on the tab "Civil" enter dates from 2003 to present to find the list of cases now filed in court.
http://www.co.kern.ca.us/courts/crimcal/crim_index_case_num_results.asp
Update soon: What does the DOJ have to say? And why do doctors and CEO's use public defenders?
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