As there are now more than 250 posts up here and an audience which may have just come aboard, here's the best way to explain it, so you may understand the blog.
The Kern Valley healthcare District, a public healthcare district hospital which was built in 1964 with money from the Hill-Burton project, which was designed to help cover the people in the rural areas, like here in the mountains surrounding a man made lake with rivers and streams.
A nice senior retirement community, the area attracted people to the beauty of nature, a contrast to the cities they have been retiring from for years.
The River and the road leading into the mountains make this, the Kern River Valley, quite dangerous to drive to and from, making it crucial to have healthcare available, and most especially, emergency healthcare.
I came up here ill with Grave's disease, and recently rehabilitating from a medical error which lead to the ototoxic damage which changed my vision and removed my inner ear balance system.
I was so sick at the time, I came here because it looked like a nice place to curl up and die. However, I wasn't so lucky, I ended up with a few less parts, and less weight on my bones, but alive, painfully so.
I'm the bi-polar reporter, streetfighter writer, who evolved from a situation that happened in this town. I didn't come here to fight or work, I came to try and get well or just let it go.
In the middle of that perplexing question of life and death, I found myself at the hospital; covering it for the local newspaper.
When I see the word news next to paper, I think of reporters and research. However, when I see the local paper, I think, "sold to the highest bidder." A sell out of a paper which gave rise to corruption inside the healthcare district which lead to death and maltreatment.
We live in a small area where nobody had the guts to stand up and say, "stop it." The history in these mountains were that of Indian tribes and cattle ranchers who got along fairly well, until a certain military type came up here and slaughtered almost a whole tribe of Indians. Gunned them down in a ditch. Squandered wonderful history we could have claimed here.
But the point is that the white people didn't stand up for those Indians then, and they must have left their most craven ancestors here to do more damage, as this new century has not brought more civility to this rugged mountain country, it seems it's a place to hide transgressions.
So, back to the healthcare district, which I began covering in 2005. By 2006, I was getting better, but my father became ill, and the year was crazy.
The hospital wanted a general obligation bond to build something out of nothing and putting it nowhere, they began their campaign. During this campaign it would have looked bad that the hospital nursing center was having problems, being investigated for using physical restraints, weight loss of patients, short staffing. So, a new program began: the silent restraint, psychotropic medications.
These medicines don't leave bruises, but given for the wrong reasons, by a staff without a proper manager, a proper system in place, a CEO who claimed experience in nursing centers, horrible things went wrong and fast. In six months the hospital was buzzing about the problems.
The management was doing all to cover up. I was sick and confused, but not completely out of it.
Here are the blogs I recommend you read to get the story of our players: Pam Ott former CEO, the sticky three board members; Brad Armstrong, Barbara Casas, and Bob, the media mogule, Jamison; CFO, Chet Beedle who won't tolerate employees pushing their own opinions to the point of breaking the law; CNO Sharon Brucker leader of the nursing center until sudden departure into a job that was "made" just for her; and the rest of the gang.
The blogs start when I return from my sister's house as I fell and had a stroke, eight months later, I came back to the meeting to open the door and hear the barking dog sound of Bob Jamison yelling at a public speaker. When he saw me for the first time in a year, he stopped yelling and his jaw dropped. I'm a prize fighter, it's only been a few years, and I'm younger than this crowd, I may just outlast them....
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2008/12/two-newly-elected-kern-valley-health.html
(Good video here, with the change of the guard at the end of 2008, four months before their ER director is taken away in handcuffs)
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-beginning.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/01/news-ethics-youre-not-my-friend.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/02/request-for-relief-from-cal-mtg.html
(this was stopped as CFO of KVHD, Chet Beedle, intervened between the board, assemblywoman Fuller, and Kathryn Knight. Now, they are asking for the GOB.)
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/02/to-doj-dhs-kern-co-da-cal-mtg.html
(The agencies couldn't hear our cry for help or all the yelling. After the doctor, nurse and pharmacist were charged with elder abuse in Feb. 2008, I went off the charts tagging them about how wrong they were about them, and not picking up the CEO, Ott. There are others, and I'm still yelling.)
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/02/response-and-my-response-cal-mortgage.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/03/interview-cal-mtg-113006.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/03/kvhd-board-meeting-2107-ceo-reportscary.html
(Ott's report is scary, as it starts to unveil the truth of what is being covered up.)
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-meeting-madness.html
(Oh what a meeting last March shortly after the charges were filed by the DOJ)
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/04/kvhd-april-1-2009-board-meeting.html
(April meeting was even better!)
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/05/may-kvhd-meeting-can-they-govern.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/06/few-questions-for-you-mr-jamison.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/06/heres-tim-new-ceo-hello-and-welcome.html
CEO Tim McGlew did he pan out to be what we needed? Carter took the money and ran.
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/06/june-kvhd-board-meeting-new-ceo.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/07/kvhd-skilled-nursing-facility-update.html
Hospital takes over nursing center, contractor leaves in a hurry.
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/07/breaking-news-kvhd-nursing-facility.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-did-kern-valley-media-cover-itself.html
The media and it's contribution to crime. Oh my they were so bad you can still hear the sucking sound.
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/07/marsha-smith-kern-valley-sun-qab-radio.html
And they allowed a threat on their website and were being what girls think they are, cute. (Sorry you three aren't babes anymore)
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/05/deputy-asked-me-who-might-want-to.html
Oh, yeah, and before the threat I had a gun pointed at me. Here's what I told the police that night.
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/07/give-us-all-break-kvhd-thats-not.html
Employees got the worst of all of this.
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/07/board-meeting-pix-2-july-full-report.html
After my shock and awe campaign, called say it to their faces, not just on a blog. And that is what i did much tothe dismay of the board members.
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/07/shock-and-awe-campaign-first-pix-of.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/08/theres-whole-buffet-of-laws-to-be-eaten.html
Pharmacist blows the whistle and Ott comes down charged with elder abuse. finally possible justice.
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/08/update-kern-county-superior-confirms.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/08/department-of-justice-interviews-former.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/02/wrap-your-heads-around-thisevidence.html
Evidence is everything except to those who just don't want to believe. She did it, it's true.
Bob Jamison, radio and the board, a politician, a witness to the defense, as he needs to be prosecuted for his obstructing the investigation into Pam ott, CEO.
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/05/jamsion-scandal-in-his-words-which-are.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/09/anatomy-of-news-storywhat-you-think-you.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/05/measure-m-for-malfeasance-atten-jerry.html
Short staffing lead to the disaster at the nursing center. They wanted more money. It's a public hospital, built with public funds, supported by community property taxes, but that wasn't enough.
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/03/shortage-of-staff-and-money.html
http://kernvalleyhospital.blogspot.com/2009/09/following-trail-of-pamela-ott-former.html
Ott finally charged, loses job at Sierra Kings District where she managed to leave a investigation ridden KVHD and take up a CEO job again, in Reedley. However, the past finally did catch up to her and recently Jerry Brown listed her as one of the top three elder abusers in the state.
Persistance and Tenacity, requires a new chapter, a new beginning....
