What there's more? Part two of KVHD Rocktoberfest!!!

"We're going to come together as a board," Dr. Robert Gross, DO, and first vice chair of the Kern Valley healthcare District board of directors, said regarding the passing of the motion to review the pharmacy financials before making a decision to close.

Measure twice, cut once

As was already reported, the KVHD board of directors denied a motion by board member, Bob Jamison, to begin wrapping up the business with the pharmacy, with a second motion being made by Dr. Gross to have the board carefully review the situation before closing the retail outlet.

Gross said the board needs to do some teamwork and make sure that this is the correct decision, as many questions were asked as how this will effect not only the community, but employees as well.

Jamison and Chairwoman, Kay Knight, exchanged their views regarding the decision.

"We've just had a very rough financial report for the district that says we're losing money. If you want to look at it on an emotional side, or belittle the messenger, keep in mind all you're probably doing is drawing out the inevitable and making matters worse," Jamison told Knight.

Jamison went on to say the pharmacy has been losing money for the last four years, and now with complaints and inability to service the customers properly, he said he sees no reason to delay.

"But it used to serve the public well," Knight replied.

She went on to say, "Our surgical services loses over a million dollars a year."

"We're not talking about surgical services we're talking about a pharmacy," Jamison retorted.

"We're talking about losing money and what we are going to do to prevent losing money," the chairwoman specified her concerns.

CEO, Tim McGlew, who, with help from Chet Beedle, (they're practically finishing each others sentences now) recommended to the board that the pharmacy be closed based partially on some interesting data obtained in an old consultant report.

"If we cannot do the service right than maybe we should not being doing this," McGlew explained. (Same logic would then apply to all other departments?)

"The bottom line is we've been losing money for the last, you know, four or five years, in the pharmacy, as Chet brought up last time, most of this came up as a result of the advent of Medicare Part D," McGlew reiterating what Chief Financial Officer, Chet Beedle, had been saying.

Beedle explained that the prices charged for medications were dropped down at that point, starting a cycle of losses for the pharmacy. (Well, I guess we will have a chance to look at this up close and find out if indeed that is the problem)

We need our pharmacy, says the Chairwoman

Not quite ready to give up on the Mt. Mesa Clinical Pharmacy, Knight reads off her reasons for wanting to hold off on closing the outlet.

Her concerns included the lack of availability of services on the "West Side Story" side of the lake, and employees who have put in years of work at the small facility.

(Yes, as I said in the Sept. Finance blog, there was an excuse given that the reason "The Drug Store," pharmacy in Kernville was able to remain profitable was due to the money people with power and influence living on that side of the lake. This was later disputed and laughed at by the owner of that pharmacy, who said it was just the opposite as all the medical providers are on this side.)

"I would hate to see our pharmacy close," she said was her opinion, "over the last few years the retail pharmacy has had very profitable months, I believe the allocated overhead expenses associated with the retail pharmacy are high."

She went on to say that the accounting system might be a place to start looking for answers."The losses we're experiencing are not from any mismanagement of the pharmacy or any wrongdoing within the pharmacy, but the losses as I see it are associated in the whole method of allotting overhead expenses from other departments to the retail pharmacy."

(I guess we can find that out now, as a team.)

Knight told the audience that the money to pay the long term debt impacted the finances of the pharmacy. "To service that debt we had to scrape pennies from anywhere we could."

Beedle said earlier in the year the debt was going to be a problem, he warned us. Then, however, he retracted that at the first finance commit me meeting with our then brand spanking new CEO, Tim McGlew. He then shocked me by saying it was already paid and it wasn't a big deal.

At that meeting Beedle said rather offhandedly that the 1.1 million was paid without dipping into reserve account required by the insurer Cal Mtg. We found out later that 150K was taken from reserves to make the payment.

Beedle and I ended up in a heated exchange that day as I told him that he said this all on video. Again, he said that he didn't say that. (We're cutting the videos this week and will probably fill up our Youtube site with some really fun stuff.)

Now that Beedle is becoming more open about the financial problems, as he has projected a serious problem paying next year's August bond payment. He even intimated that we could potentially have to use our insurance to make the bond payments. Our insurance is Cal Mtg. and once we do that we may as well give them the rest of the hospital. (Well, they pretty much have it now)

Our CEO, has experience with Cal Mtg. as, if I remember correctly, his last employer had more than 115 million in loans insured by the OSHPD offspring. (Office of Statewide Healthcare Planning and Development: see blogs regarding Cal Mtg. and its relationship to OSHPD)

I'll be interested to get his views on the long term debt situation.

You can't just close it, there is a process

Robert Knight, continuing his service to the healthcare district, this time from a seat in the audience where he is seen at every meeting supporting his wife who is the chairwoman.

Knight raised his hand and made a comment.

"This is a district hospital and it is tax supported by people who live here and actually earn their living here, not somewhere else. And I believe there's a section of the law that requires that you cannot just lop off a department, there's a process you have to go through which includes, I believe three different months, weeks, public notices."

The CEO responded that Mr. Knight was "right," saying that this is his first job with a public healthcare district and he deferred to Knight's experience. He said he will confer with counsel as to the process.

Knight went on to say, "It won't hurt to look at these numbers, there's a lot of, when you look at Mr. Beedle's numbers, there's a lot of stuff in there that doesn't make a lot of sense."

The options

Keep the pharmacy open and lose money, Beedle's report suggests. Cut back on staff, keep a minimum inventory with mostly generic medications, move skilled nursing facility pharmacy services into hospital, hours remain same except for being closed an hour for lunch with only one pharmacist on duty.

(That just gave me the warm fuzzies, what's the second option?)

Set a date to close the pharmacy to the public. Inventory liquidated or moved into hospital pharmacy. Employees and covered board members can use the internal pharmacy.

Okay, what did you think of that analysis?

Even more impressive is the data used to create these two top notch options.

When I looked and saw "The Casey Report" being used as a tool for justifying these two skimpy scenarios, I knew instantly the board was correct to hold off any action on this issue so this could be properly analyzed.

What is the Casey report?

The Casey report was done in 2000 by a firm suggested by Cal Mtg who was getting really worried about the lack of funds provided on the debt, but even more so, about the talk of bankruptcy.

Casey made some strong claims in the report, but unfortunately some of the data was not completely accurate, which caused the KVHD board to dismiss it as a source of advice.

Though some suggestions contained in the report, I believe, but I'll have to recheck, led to the closing of the Kernville clinic along with a cardiac rehab type of business. (Gee, a cardiac rehab in a senior community, that couldn't make money, could it?)

I have this report, and since we are now using it as viable data, I'll go ahead and tell you why it was given to me.

Former CEO, and currently a defendant in our felony elder abuse case, Pam Ott, and Bob Jamison gave it to me to impugn Robert Knight as the cause of all the financial problems at the hospital.

There is a reference in the report that the CEO, Knight, needed to be fired.

But the consultant was never hired and there was some question as to the accuracy of the report itself. Now, suddenly it resurfaces and is being taken into account as to the decision with the pharmacy???

We have an obscure report which was a one time deal, as the former KVHD board members chose not to hire on this company. And yet, here it is, an outdated, antiquated, analysis being used, I guess seriously which is hard to believe, to make a decision on the pharmacy which services a good portion of the community. (I'll say no more and just keep rolling my eyes)

As we begin to make decisions as to the future of the hospital and its potential services, business opportunities, there is the specter of that debt which makes it tough to believe much can be done without addressing this issue.

Like I said, I made a proposal to Cal Mtg. back in February I think, and both chairwoman Kay Knight, and Assemblywoman Fuller, were interested in trying to negotiate with the pseudo government agency which is actually allowed to make a profit. (That is the problem, the state is not going to fight about a profitable endeavour such as Cal Mtg. But it's the way they have become profitable which I have addressed and will revisit.)

However, CFO Beedle, talked Mrs. Knight out of trying to cut a deal for some financial breathing room, and the whole effort was stopped short.

Now, at this recent meeting, Beedle announced we could actually be using the insurance if we can't pay.

What about the pharmacy employees? What about the customers?

Chief Clinical Officer, Cynthia Burciaga, addressed Chairwoman Knight's concerns about the employees at the pharmacy.

"Miss Chair, as far as the comment regarding losing employees or having them lay off employees in the retail pharmacy, our open position report is available on line as well as posted in other areas, and there are many positions in the hospital where we can absorb the employees," Burciaga told Knight.

"So you're going to take care of them," I asked her.

Burciaga said she didn't want to lose any of the "valuable" employees and that they could apply for other positions at the hospital or be cross trained into something else. She thanked them for their service as they have had to deal complaints from the public and uncertain hours.

"They've been so good about cutting back their hours to help out, but still maintaining their benefits," she said.

(I'm sure if others a little higher up would pitch in their hours or cut some of their money, it would help much more than taking it from the little guys. You just don't hear the top administrators talking about taking cuts or even cutting their hours at this hospital. How about a furlough program?)

How to pump up the volume

Marge Swendleson, who could be called a community advocate, stood up and addressed the issue of insurance companies sending patients down to Bakersfield or elsewhere when they can have the same services available here.

She said a phone call to the HMO or insurance company by the patient explaining that the services are available close to home can get results.
"They can have the procedure done here and it takes is a phone call because I've experienced it and had nothing but good results."

McGlew agreed with her, but said that the hospital can't do that for the patients.

He explained, the hospital has contracts with these organizations, but they just refuse to let the district do the volume here.
"It's gotten to the point now that just a simple chest x-ray, they will require them to go to Bakersfield to get that. Clearly, the time down and back is exorbitant for a simple procedure like that."

Swendleson said people just need to make a stand, make phone calls, write letters and things can change. She said she wrote a letter to some editor about it.

McGlew said he has contacted the department of managed care to review the situation as well as sending requests for help from two other state agencies.

The CEO said its a difficult situation, "but we will rattle some swords."


Dr. Gross responded, "it shouldn't end with the letter to the newspaper, which I think is a really good idea, but there's a law on the books that basically states that these insurance companies have to provide all services within thirty miles from where they are insuring you at. So, I suggest you write a letter to your representatives as well...letters like that help, they can help an awful lot."

Is this story over with yet? No.

McGlew reported that he attended the annual California Hospital Association meeting recently and that some good news came out of the event.

"The primary purpose of that was to begin putting the network together of the critical access hospitals throughout the state of California."

He said getting this group of similar small districts together will help as far as advocating for the special needs of these critical access hospitals.

As McGlew has talked about getting more specialists up here to create more services and more volume, he said he found out at the CHA meeting, that the telecommunications or telemedicine, will be available soon by way of money from a stimulis package.

"They announced at the meeting that they had already proceeded with the purchase of that equipment for every one of the hospitals. So, that will be coming shortly, that was very good news."

McGlew also made mention of the fact that all the CEO's in the new network, have no retail pharmacies. So, we are all alone in this?

Where's my flu shot?

I guess we're all asking how we can get flu shots this year as the hospital has not recieved it's shipment as of yet. And the only shipment they are expecting will cover patients, staff, and residents of the nursing center.

What happened to the drive by flu shot clinic? I don't know, but I will find out. I need to speak to Public health and find out what has happened.

It's only speculation, but could there have been a problem paying for these vaccinations? Let's find out together.

I need a flu shot, but I will wait until I know our elderly residents and children are taken care of first. And if I or anyone else have to go to Bakersfield to get a flu shot, then we have sunk to our nadir of service.

Odds and then the end...

In his CEO report, McGlew said that they will be going to all the department heads and do a departmental review. Beedle said they haven't done that, but they always kept in touch via reports and records.

Out of the blue, McGlew mentioned a skilled nursing facility policy which prohibits hiring anyone convicted of elder abuse or neglect type issues. He said it is only a SNF policy now, but would like to see it district wide.

Second vice chair, Brad Armstrong, who has been on the board for more than 20 years, through many a disaster including the construction project and the SNF elder abuse disaster, voted with the other three board members to take a look at the pharmacy one more time.

"I most certainly don't want to make the wrong decision." And I concur.

Two new Obgyn's will be arriving in the valley at the end of October as part of the push for specialists.

And "The Drug Store," in Kernville should be keeping a close watch on the pharmacy situation here as it will impact there business as well: they're going to be making some good money if our pharmacy goes down. And they can even expand their delivery business to make it a convenience.

Oh, those folks in Reedley: City to help Sierra Kings District Hospital out of the hole, for a couple months anyway...

The question to the board of directors of Sierra Kings District is did they as a public entity, with an ability to tax, try to renegotiate it's reimbursement agreement with CMAC, California Medical Assistance Commission?
According to the Reedley Exponent, a wily local paper in Reedley, who found themselves covering a hospital with leaks everywhere, all the way into the streets, as bankruptcy was called for less than a month after a CEO was called to court.

Pam Ott, the former Kern Valley Healthcare District, CEO, with the diploma from "As seen on TV," left our valley in a hurry as investigators were lurking in the hospital asking serious questions about the care of the elderly residents in the skilled nursing facility back in 2007.

But Ott, administrator for both the nursing center and the entire hospital, left a mess with policies neither updated or new policies implemented, which caused possible casualties in certain cases. Her finance manager, is the same one which currently roosts at the Kern Valley hospital right now and in the hospital's apartments, laying around charging Pay per view events, CFO, Chet Beedle. (The pay per view events is totally made up. Sorry. I must have read that wrong.)

As Reedley struggled with both it's reputation then finances, a board worthy of our hometown reticence, interim CEO, Sandy Haskins, hired in from HFS consultants after Ott was relieved of her powers and the coffers were empty, has had his hands full trying to bankrupt the hospital while keeping it afloat for the future residents.

Though in some quotes, certain Sierra King board members initially protect Ott, that goes out the door quickly as allegations of not paying the employee retirement account came flying Ott's way, as the board did not want any part of that error too. The heat is on in Reedley and that hospital is being watched by both the newspaper, and now, city hall.

With only a few options left after much research, Haskins is borrowing 800K from the city of Reedley, so they can put up 1.6 million, the Exponent Editor wrote, to get a certain credit, peculiar to a type of hospital such as Reedley, and maybe such as KVHD, our little sour puss who wants a big 20 million dollar bond and they don't want to pay for it themselves. (Why those wise guys, I could...)

Disproportionate Share Hospital Payment Program, for guys like us who have a large number of Medical and Medicare and no one cares patients.

I thought the funniest part of another solid article from the Exponent on the subject of their financially failing hospital, was the idea that the CEO, Haskins had to go all alone in front of the City Council and ask for a loan with little or no pay off, and "preliminary" guarantees that the money cannot be grabbed in the bankruptcy or eaten by the state with it's obese appetite for cash.

Nobody from the board joined him. What a bunch of crackerjacks over there. Even a city council board member made a remark.

That is in my opinion another example of an elected board in charge of healthcare that doesn't care. We have that particular disease here, except in that they do care, but only about looking good for our small community who they seem to believe is judging them like a beauty contestant.

I'm afraid my research shows our community knows little about who is in charge of possibly their life one day if the other car crosses over the line in the canyon, or rocks begin to slide after a quake or your pacemaker quits.

Haskins isn't even Reedley, he's HFS, a management type, but the board was elected by the residents of Reedley and didn't show up to answer any questions about this loan or the reason for not making a show with CMAC so that they may potentially receive increased reimbursement from the Disproportionate hospital Payment Program.

But when Ott, our former Diva of da valley, and unfortunately for the city of Reedley, their CEO too who left with a shoe at her back, she hadn't even considered this option, along with her fellow CFO, who was let go when Big Frank and Chucky came to get their money...

What about KVHD? Umm, that's the question...tis nobler to get a bond...or try and get more reimbursement? Let's ask. I'm writing to them now.

I will go forth and get you that information...she said. I said. I exclaimed! Indeed.
More good stuff from the Exponent.
http://www.reedleyexponent.com/articles/2010/04/13/news/doc4bbcc5b788dca728308113.txt

It was the night before KVHD and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, but only this louse: Sierra Kings in bankruptcy?

But Pam doesn't believe in bankruptcy...how could this be?
The irony, I hope,will not be lost on anyone here in the KRV, that Sierra Kings District board of directors voted today to file bankruptcy, a chapter nine, municipal bankruptcy of a public healthcare district.

For those who are new to this blog, Sierra Kings District, is the, or will it be "was the", home of the criminally charged, Kern Valley Healthcare District, former CEO, Pamela Ott.

Ott who is charged with eight counts of elder abuse stemming from her time with KVHD, is currently on unpaid leave with the district, until the November preliminary hearings scheduled at the Kern County Superior Court.

Last month, September, Ott plead "not guilty whatsoever" to the elder abuse charges and was released on her on recognizance, pending the hearings, but with the provision that she not work in a skilled nursing facility. (I'm thinking maybe living in one might be the lesson)

After reading the article published on the web, by the Sierra Kings' local newspaper, "The Reedley Exponent," regarding the last month's board meeting, the new CEO and CFO, spoke of converting hospital beds into swing beds which could be used for skilled nursing.

I wonder how that plan, if it ever gets underway, as Sierra Kings voted on going with bankruptcy to solve their financial woes, will combine with Ott's employment and court orders?

What happened at Sierra Kings, other than the obvious?

Oh, the news of the Sierra Kings bankruptcy, which is scheduled to be filed tomorrow, according, to interim CEO, Sandy Haskins, reeks of timing I must say.

One month after Ott is talking innocence with a Kern County judge, her hospital, the one again in her care, under her leadership, is said to appear to be a "sinking ship" in the local Reedley newspaper.

But bankruptcy is a word I think all of us, and I mean all of us, (yes, I see you), will never forget as being the word that Ott used constantly here in the KRV: but not as a solution, rather an attack on people who would utter such a contemptible idea.

Now, Sierra Kings, Ott's latest adventure, will likely be saved from total annihilation by doing this.

In the same article from the Exponent, the latest word had been a gasping "plan" devised by the firm HFS Consultants, who have been working with the hospital for a year and supplied both the interim CEO, Haskins, and Chief Financial officer, Teresa Jacques. http://www.reedleyexponent.com/

Losing both CEO, Ott, to criminal charges, and CFO, Barbara Jennings, to some not really specific complaints, (she didn't do her job is basically what they are saying), Sierra Kings has filled it shoes with the resources of this consulting firm HFS.

You can find HFS off the website for the Association of California Healthcare Districts, ACHD. http://www.achd.org/

ACHD is a power player in the healthcare industry, and considering HFS is on the front page of their website, I'm assuming this company must be in the big league too.

Last week there was the unveiling at the SKDH board meeting of the three million dollar plan, hatched by HFS, which would be a complex, (and I'm sure costly), look at accounts recievable and billing issues. They were hoping to cull through lost monies and shore up the billing department.

But now it's bankruptcy. What a week it must have been in Reedley.

Although Haskins said, "We'd prefer not to have to do this," he elaborated on the fact that the hospital is cash poor and accounts recievable are out over 100 days.

He said, the board of directors has made the choice to go forward with the Chapter 9, and they "hope it will improve the situation."

This will be the story to follow at Sierra Kings, but the truth is that the problems here at KVHD may lead us to the same conclusions we came to ten years ago in 1999 when a CEO was fired for even mentioning the idea: Bankruptcy.

Pam Ott totally disagrees with bankruptcy. Where is she anyway?

Now, without it's CEO, Pam Ott, Sierra Kings faces a huge challenge to remain on the healthcare map as bankruptcy is both costly and risky.

HFS has apparently taken the helm for this round at Sierra Kings, but where's Pam Ott in all of this?

Ott, who in my opinion, considering the circumstances at Sierra Kings, and the criminal charges, will be moving her base of operation somewhere else in the near future. But then again, she has gotten awards from ACHD and worked with HFS, so she's in with some big guns which could protect her if they were so inclined.

Oh, but what a legacy (or scarring, whatever you want to call it) she left our respective healthcare districts.

KVHD, now known for its elder abuse, collusion, criminal negligence, retributive firings, obstruction of investigators, short staffing, and some really colorful scapegoating, has a cousin in Reedley, Sierra Kings.

They are now known for their own construction projects gone awry, a CEO charged with elder abuse, a suspicious termination of the finance officer, no money and now bankruptcy. (I'm sure there are other things I missed)

Bankruptcy is taboo

So, to tell this story I must go back to the fact that while Ott was with KVHD the legend goes that Mr. Robert Knight, CEO, wanted to bankrupt the district to shake off that mountain of debt brought about by mismanagement of a construction project some years earlier.

This lead to Ott and her gang just twisting it and spinning it, that Robert Knight, was a "threat to the healthcare district" as he wanted to bankrupt and get out of debt.

Well Knight, as CEO in 1999, and I will show you this paperwork someday, did have an attorney look into bankruptcy. It is a detailed report on the situation of the debt load they were trying to carry, and how a bankruptcy could save or renew the district.

Enter the bad guys, the antagonist, Cal Mtg.

I'm sure it wasn't the day after the bankruptcy report was made, but certainly shortly thereafter, our friends from the state agency who insured the 22 million in revenue bonds, Cal Mtg. came pounding on the door.

No way were they going to let us bankrupt without a fight. We, or the board of directors at the time, signed our district away on the construction project which brought us half a SNF and an inoperable OR.

But guess who ended up as the bad guy? Robert Knight because of his suggestion of bankruptcy. Not Brad Armstrong who still sits asleep at the board. Not the people in OSHPD who approved the building plans. Not the CEO of the time nor the board of the time.

Here's the funny part: Knight was not even at KVHD when the real damage was done with the revenue bonds. He was hired on after the disaster, expected to run a company with a huge debt load, yet, still blamed. Interesting how that worked.

(But you don't bankrupt on Cal Mtg.)I asked the interim CEO, Haskins, if Sierra Kings had any debt insured by Cal Mtg. and he reported that they did not.

Of course not, or they wouldn't even be considering Bankruptcy.

Cal Mtg. has the claws in its contracts set up so that, sure you can bankrupt, its legal, but we will take everything.

If you're interested, the state plan 2007, for Cal Mtg. is like a Stephen King novel in its descriptions of what happened to those who couldn't pay. My favorite story from the state plan involves some poor healthcare provider who couldn't pay. Rather than telling the state, they knew what was going to happen, so they just walked away and didn't even call.

Cal Mtg. actually went physically to the site to find that they were gone.

I think every healthcare provider out there should read that state plan before embarking on the Cal Mtg. deal.

Ott ramping up the propoganda: she used the blame game

Ott came to KVHD by way of the management company, BRIM, and CEO appointed, David Green (See: tracking down the troubles).

She started as Chief Nursing Officer in 2002 and was then neatly packaged as the new CEO by 2003. Dave Green basically handed her the keys to the family car and didn't check her license.

Well, Mr. Knight, won a seat on the board of directors, and he was not going away. (sound familiar) He was not going to be scapegoated without a fight, unlike others who have been taken down at KVHD.

That scrapper Knight, and then CEO, Ott, had some real problems. Where as Knight likes to tell it like it is, Ott's verbiage robotically and repeatedly contained the word "wonderful" or the Knight's did it.

Ott and the gang also accused Knight of not playing with the team about the seismic construction issues which included the Measure M general obligation bond for 12.5 million.

Knight had actually had a bid to do the retrofitting required by the state to keep the hospital in business and safe from earthquakes. (Though they would take us down in a New York minute if we didn't pay the Cal Mtg. debt payments. I guess this makes sense to somebody, only a politician I would think.)

But the Knights, who chose to fight and even run and serve on the board, (Currently, Mrs. Kathryn Knight is our chairwoman, which would have disturbed Miss Ott to no end, as you will see in the email below) have been telling the story of the hospital, it's relationship with Cal Mtg., the financial problems, and finally, we didn't listen when they tried to tell us about the nursing facility.

Why didn't anyone in this community listen?

There's a certain amount of dissappointment on my part as far as this community's ability to understand a problem and deal with it. Gossip, judgment, and ego have played a bigger role than fairness, understanding, and compassion which always seems to take a back seat to the baser preoccupations of people.

The "smallness" of this community makes the situation more pronounced, such as attacking people who are trying to help. Like the Knights.

I tell you if there are people to respect and appreciate it is the Knights. They have a lot of heart and have hung in there when being called many unrepeatable and factually untrue things. In fact, Pam Ott, made her career here on the backs of the gossip about the Knights.

So, I'll end this for the night, and take up after the KVHD board meeting tomorrow.

I'll leave you with the immortal words of Ott from an email in 2006: (by the way those are her typos not mine. And the first reference is to the election of Kathryn Knight to the board while losing the precious Measure M.)

Ok, I finnally finished listening to the load of cow excrement. I want you to know that I got up at 5am this morning in order to accomplish this arduous task (tee, hee). I can't believe that we are all going to have to listen to that squeely little voice for the next 4 years. What is God's plan, I would like to know!!!!!!!!!!! Here are my thoughts:

1. Bob openly admitted that his grand plan continues to be to bankrupt the district. The staff are being used as a ploy in his adventure. He is well aware of our fragile economic situation and that simply increasing salaries and increasing staff will do exactly that. It is not about his concern for staff because he is well aware that no one will have jobs if he is to succeed in his ploy. Here is where I stand on the subject, there will be no bankruptcy, but rather, Cal Mortgage will once again step in and demand that a management firm come to the rescue to turn around finances just as they did during Knight's last intentional attempt at bankruptcy.

2. Mr. Knight has made several attempts to convince me to turn around the District financial successes and move the district toward bankruptcy. He has stated to me that Cal Mortgage would have to forgive the $16 million debt. Because I refuse to comply with such a sinister plot and he knows that Chet Beedle will never comply with such a plan, he now wants to remove all management and replace the very staff who have not only turned the District around financially, but also have improved customer satisfaction and quality improvement . Mr. Knight has informed me on multiple occasions throughout this year that he has a plan to once again take over the management of the district and that , even though I am a good CEO, my ten year is up. He actually even told me that I should take a position in the probation department. (QUOTE ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE).

3. It is clear that both Knights have been in attendance at all Board meetings, but have not had the ability to assimilate information provided to them about the Measure M issues. First of all, why does he discount the ability of three very bright Board members who clearly understood the issues at hand? The Board and Administration had discussion frequently at meetings related to why retrofit was not a possibility. first of all, the community spoke clearly both in written and telephone survey that the current Acute care building does not have the capacity to provided the services that citizens would like to see such as an improved emergency department, cardiology and chemotherapy. We have discussed at the Board meetings that spending the approximate $25,000 to have architects propose retrofit plans is $25,000 spend on a project that will not give the Board any information that will be used based upon the fact that the district would still have an antiquated (loved your word), over crowded facility that would not meet today's standards for providing quality acute care services.

4. The discussion that they talked about Phil Foster and Tehachapi: Yes, If we were to use the modular concept with Aspen Street Architects, we could move forward far more expediently with a building project. Problem: Mr. Knight has some incompressible vendetta against Aspen Street Architects and if we do not use the already OSHPD approved modular concept, we will waste at least another year working with a new architect, spend $100's of thousands more on plans and wait for the average 2 years for OSHPD approval of plans. Three Board members understood the value of working with the Rural Health Design Network, a group of 13 Critical Access Hospitals who received a federal grant in order to save all of that money in order to meet the seismic standards in a very cost effective way.

5. Mr. Knight stated that I had already submitted a plan to OSHPD for the building of a net acute care wing: The plan presented to OSHPD was submitted in the year 2000, and Mr. Knight posed the Motion to submit those plans. I was not working with the district at that time.

6. Mr. Knight stated that he had made it clear in "a couple Board Meetings" that he stated that he would go along with the Measure "M" only if the District were to consider "rectalfit". The reality is the Mr. Knight posed the motion for the resolution that clearly stated that Measure "M" would build a new acute care facility to improve emergency services, provide more privacy, and to add Cardiology and Oncology services.

7. I cannot speak to the Gross's Clinic project that Mr. Knight has discussed. Discussion would be a clear breach of executive order of the Board. I am shocked that Mr. Knight has exposed his wife, who is not yet a board member and the media on executive protected information (quote me!).

8. As for the discussion about me bullying and cursing at staff: No comment except to say that I hope that he can find nursing staff who are willing to purger themselves in court, because that is where this discussion is going.

That's what came up for me, but I am sure that you will think of other issues - just call me!

(How do you like the tip of the iceberg. More to follow...)

Sierra Kings District board: Did former CEO, Pam Ott, stop payments to employee pensions...

It's the valley kid again, in trouble, or actually it's an interesting story up at Sierra Kings District Hospital in Reedley, CA, where Pam Ott is now being blamed for stopping payments on the employee pension account. But the story isn't so clear....
(UPDATE) It's been reported and a complaint filed with the Fresno County DA, that Ott also was able to use the communities general obligation bond monies they voted in specifically for an addition onto their hospital. Somehow, she found a way to move monies that are protected for a specific purpose into the hospital operations account. Hopefully, we will hear news soon on that.)
Sometimes people find other people to blame things on when they don't want to take responsibility and possibly lose their job, friends, spouse, over something which could simply be shifted on to someone else, a doctor, a pharmacist, a nurse, a whole hospital of employees, or however you need to do it to save yourself.

the healthcare shuffle: the blame game

Pam Ott, left our valley here in 2007, as the CEO on the run, she headed up away from criminal investigations, into the Reedley area where she landed a job as a CEO, again.

She put the past behind her, leaving the blame for the nursing center disaster, in the hands of those who unwittingly trusted Miss Ott as she said she had plenty of credentials to handle the SNF.

Ott left with the idea that this was the last we would see of her, bye bye. (idiots)

The blame seemed to fall right in place, onto the people Ott managed convince to help put out the small conflagration taking place at the hospital.

Now it's Ott's turn

Ott didn't get far, as Sierra Kings hospital was on the brink of bankruptcy when the word came down that the California Department of Justice had filed elder abuse charges against her in Sept. 2009.

the Sierra Kings District Board

The board of Directors, claimed they had never heard about Ott's little problems here in the valley at KVHD. (I was so quiet nobody could've heard me) They were shocked and outraged, and put Ott on leave, until the court date, when she was then dismissed from power.

But these things never end there do they?

Ott gets canned, and now Sierra Kings is filing for bankruptcy a month later. According to an article in the Reedley Exponent, the Sierra Kings board of directors is now saying that Ott and her CFO, Barbara Jennings, stopped making payments into the Social Security pension account late last year.

The IRS supposedly came out to tell the board of directors that this was done and that it was quite illegal and could get them booted out of the special pension program.

It's funny when people lie

It seems the hospital board members were appalled by this turn of events and said they didn't know it had happened, and their new CEO, cleared himself too, Sandy Haskins, saying, according to the article that he made sure the payments were made.

Why this leaves poor Ott and her sidekick with all the blame. I wonder how it feels to be blamed for something you may or may not have actually done?

The board members are supposedly looking for a record that they knew about the payment problem when they fired Ott and that was part of the reason she was tossed to the streets.

However, in the article, a link will be at the end so you can read the actual story, the board said it couldn't find the minutes to prove that they had a meeting and knew Ott had not paid the fund.

That sounds fishy?

They know they talked about it, just not when or where the dialogue would be to prove it.

But guess what? They don't have to prove it, they can just say it. Since Ott is already blessed with the title of elder abuser, she's probably capable of these other oversights.

The board in Sierra Kings sounds an awful lot like a certain board of directors I know oh too well here in the valley. (quick to protect themselves of course)

I don't know if Ott did it or if the board just wants to avoid getting stuck with the blame, but I wonder if Ott didn't do it: How does it feel to be scapegoated? How does it feel to be the one everyone blames?

I'll stop now, because I a moments away from saying "na, na,na, nanna."

Read it in the Exponent:
http://www.reedleyexponent.com/articles/2010/03/24/news/doc4baa394719421767508279.txt

KVHD wants taxpayers to foot bill for former financial errors: Caldwell Winters Flores Study shows two thirds of residents agree, how convenient

KVHD CEO and CFO hand in hand, word for word, on bond...
We're just like Tehachapi, they say...
UPDATED
With the financial number's crunching so loudly it sounds like someone eating potato chips in church, the Kern Valley healthcare District, administrators, Tim McGlew, and CFO Chet Beedle, have made the statements that the hospital cannot go on without a big multi million dollar bond to pay off old debts which have been hampering progress at the hospital for twenty years.

The two administrators who have narrowed the field of potential remedies for the financial woes to either a general obligation bond which would increase property taxes or taxes which would just increase.

The word bankruptcy is like saying hit me with a hammer, as it has been a rumor that because the hospital's debt is covered by Cal Mtg. insurance, that solution is too risky. But with bailouts across the nation one must wonder why a small hospital cannot find a creative solution to their problems without raising taxes.

Even though the tax potential would fall away from the senior population and fully on what is left of a middle class here in the valley. I don't have numbers yet, but I'm hunting, and have help, but the situation here in the KRV grows worse each time another government agency or even a water company who maybe didn't get the best deals on their wells which contain uranium, arsenic, too much flouride and chlorine, which are eating up their filters so the community must pay them to fix that too.

This community has been hit with a smart bomb, and we have knuckleheads leading or misleading the public.

The issue of the hospital, it's perpetuity, it's potential tax grab, is all so important to get into the minds of voters. However, the Kern Valley Sun Newspaper has kept that information to themselves as they have made themselves the judge, jury and monopolists of our local media.

I'll not go into the chamber issues yet, but to say that a sign at the bottom of the canyon, is a sign of potential action on our parts, is sad. People might say, well it's something, just like the sidewawalks we put in on Lake Isabella Blvd. But until we fully see the picture up here, most especially homeowners, businessowners, and employees, we won't be able to rebound, we will most likely be assimilated by the pseudo problem solvers of the government.

Caldwell, Flores and Winters remember them from Measure M?

At the last KVHD special meeting which again took on the issue of keeping the hospital afloat while the healthcare reform is battled out on Capitol Hill and then to the Supreme court, the only two "creations" were higher taxes and a general obligation bond.

Board members were practically mute and seemed to totally rely on the two administrators, McGlew and McBeedle to handle the planning, which they were told had to be a bond or taxes.

Oh, I asked Chet and I'll put up the video of the response, why last year he claimed all was well in Hooville, and now the Grinch showed up and we must have a bond or Christmas will be ruined.

Well, McGlew, saying that KVHD directly compares to Tehachapi, and that is what they are basing their numbers and strategy on. Tehachapi had to give up a bond, because they need to actually build a hospital, and they need to agree where it will be built. You see they already bought property, but not everyone is going for it. They are a mess KVHD would hope never to be. Yes, we have maimed, killed, fired, lied, covered up, squandered all our cash, but somehow we still manage to see a patient or two in the ER.

Now, as I mentioned Caldwell, Winters and Flores, who had the hospitals' ill be gotten 2006 bond, Measure M, which lost by less than one hundred votes, won all their other bonds that year. You see they get paid a percentage. If the bond was say one hundred million and another was fifty million, they would get a chunk of the sale. Now they lost the smallest bond they had, our bond.

So, I questioned why they would bring back a company who let your last bond slide to go for the landslide of bonds passed in 2006? I said it was something to consider.

And when McGlew told us all about the survey which showed that this community supports another bond to the tune of the two thirds majority vote needed to pass a bond, the survey amazingly showed that 67% agreed. (Next I'll be showing you the survey from 2006) How interesting, that in a depressed year where the hospital is holding out it's hand looking for scraps, that the community would be willing to pay these taxes. Now this must be true, as there is a 4% error rate. Right? You can't fake these kinds of things, or can you?

Look at your bond options: it's like buying a new car, I'll take the CD player please...

Click on images to enlarge:


The administrators don't have their minds dead set on this bond, no not at all. They actually show a budget without the bond. It's all so preliminary.

That's what he told me after the meeting

I suggested to Mr. McGlew that he consider looking at other bond companies and quit copy catting what they are doing at Tehachapi, if we wanted that, we would have paid Robert Duncan, another Post Pam Ott era, CEO, the $250,000, we are paying McGlew. Duncan was a Tehachapi find we lured over to our rotten mess in 2007 to see if he could make things good. I think he was here at least three months.

After the April monthly KVHD board meeting, where the talk was "preliminary" about the bond or tax increase, it got more concrete at the end of the night when McGlew announced he wanted the bond on the November ballot.

Since the board members are not sure of their positions on this obviously, they have added no new ideas to the stew, therefore, it's been pretty bland with bonds and tax increases only.

After the meeting McGlew told me that KVHD was not going to use Caldwell Flores Winters, that he was dealing with a different group now. I complimented him on his decision.

Then I'm at the pharmacy the other night chatting with Chet about the situation, and he said, no, they were in fact still using CFW. I said no you're not, Tim told me that you are branching out and have found a different company to use.

So, what other bad information is there?

Okay, so obtaining public information at the hospital has become more like dentistry or a root canal, as I'm not kidding I can't get a straight answer from the CEO or the CFO and the board has basically dropped out of sight afraid to be the "taxman."

I have sent questions, asked for documents, and now, I can tell you that information I will cover will be from the inside. If it's good information great, if not, it can't be any worse than the wild goose chases I have been lead on by the administration.

Sometimes I wonder why this feels so much like the Ott era. (Our former CEO, Pam Ott, will be heading to court leading the way on elder abuse charges stemming from her time at the hospital early this summer. I'll take a look at the criminal case, as we have to wonder if Dr. Pormir another defendant, will have told the Department of Justice the truth about Ott. Now Pormir, wearing two new attorneys, Donald Etra and William Ginsburg, may not have to spill the beans, I'll get into that soon.)

And just a head's up to family members of residents of the nursing facility, the annual survey will be coming up, and you might want to keep your ears to the ground and make sure we have finally implemented a compassionate, fully staffed 24 hours a day, skilled nursing unit.

We know that the nurse's aides will once again be accessible come summer as they are out of school. But just how many will come to KVHD knowing about the hiring firing practices of late? (coming soon, where did all the people go, except Chet McBeedle who is waiting for retirement; were the employees that bad? Can we afford to constantly fire and have employees quit? How much is that costing every year? Good managers, have little turnover, don't forget.)

One more thing, the survey...

'

Of course, I found it highly suspicious that the survey from a company hired by CFW, found on their survey that more than two thirds of the residents want to help pay the debt the hospital accrued through mismanagement and the help of a government agency lacking a feasibility study, Cal Mtg., and the bleed out from the skilled nursing disaster.

I decided to call someone who donated thirty thousand to the hospital four years ago, and I asked him if he would be willing to put up some more money for the hospital, as they need the community to take over the financial care of the hospital, as it cannot find the correct people with good ideas who can save the hospital without pickpocketing the community?

Before I could get the question out, he said if this has anything to do with raising taxes then I totally disagree.

His name is Richard Blomgren, and you can find his name around the tree of life in the hospital lobby, where his thank you for that donation is in the form of a rock under the tree. Wonder what happened with that money? Did we pay it to Cal Mtg.?

I told him I hate to tell you but it does have to do with taxes. He told me "no way." I said what if, as Chet McBeedle is saying that it is the only way to keep the hospital open?

Blomgren, long time small businessman in the KRV, paused and said, what I think we are going to hear more and more as the economy disintegrates under federal and state mismanagement, "That's not my problem."

I have made more than fifty calls and have yet to get one single person to agree to this.

I also asked if they heard about this tax increase. They said no. I asked where they get their information as I said before, and they said the local newspaper and some TV.

Well, Television hasn't picked it up yet, and the "Mad Canadian" Susan Epstein Barr, reporter for the Sun, omitted all detail of this story. What sort of product are they producing? One that gives them power over your information.

I'll give you no more names but there are people in this community who aren't as stupid as some think. And talking with one of them recently, he was quite upset to learn the hospital was coming after money, and especially to use to pay old debts. He was also concerned as to why it was not broadcast on television or mentioned in the paper as people "need to know about this" he said. He went on to say that as I mentioned this valley is in deep financial trouble and the hospital issue would be a good place to start...

Next up: Finance Commit me meeting Wed. 9 am in the "grieving room."

Thelma and Louise: Kern Valley Healthcare District elder abuse case next week!

In the annual Medicare/Medicaide nursing center survey of February of 2006, the former CEO, Pamela Ott, had tags on the report which indicated she needed to be in possession of a Nursing Home Administrator's license.


Though the license is relatively easy to get, there is a state program which puts on a test, the administrator passes, and you've got yourself a license.

Oh, but with this license comes responsibility. It means that if anything happens in the nursing center, that person with the NHA license is automatically the responsible party.

Ott never tried to get the license even though she says in her correspondence shown below (click on paperwork to read):
"I do have many years of experience as an administrator of a distinct part long term care facility as a division of healthcare district healthcare systems," she claimed in the letter to CMS.

But the conclusion to the letter states that the Chief nursing officer, Sharon Brucker, has all the responsibility for the skilled nursing center.

Brucker over the course of 2006, gave all the nursing center reports to the board, but by the end of the year, in December, Brucker gave her resignation as CNO.

It's an interesting resignation, (It's on the blog in it's entirety) as Brucker goes about telling us how bad the financial problems were in the past with the hospital.

But she turns about and talks about how Ott and CFO, Chet Beedle, are the bringers of change.

"Pam and Chet are a very good, strong administrative team (Team? This statement indicates they all knew about the problems) Kern Valley Healthcare District is very fortunate to have these individuals in their roles. So, many positive things have happened. We have equipment to care for our patients, (state of the art), we have services that are financially solvent (which one's are they, sharon?), that staff has consistently had two salary increases a year (which staff, the one's on salary only?), the staff has a funded retirement plan and we have supplies to take care of our patients (Oh, do you? Why don't you talk to Cardinal and a few others)."

(There were no changes which occurred under Ott's leadership which corresponds with Brucker's claims. Yes, there was a lot of talk, a planning meeting, money spent, but nothing changed for the better...)

Brucker didn't stop there she attacked former board member, Bob Knight, continuing the urban legend. Saying he crossed the line.

Ott and Brucker sure crossed a line, as they both were involved in keeping the truth of the SNF problems out of the watchful eyes of certain board members. As well as a recorded meeting between myself, Brucker, Ott, Chet Beedle and Michelle Rosado, which lead to private personnel information being shown to a reporter. That information is also on the blog.

Brucker's report was just another example of defamation and propoganda.

Ott announced Brucker's resignation as if she were leaving the hospital. She said she would miss her. (what narrowly miss her walking down the hallways? Things were getting weird at the time, as employees were scared and leaving, and the board was setting up it's bulwark to deal with the situation)

In the letter to CMS, Ott tells the government oversight of the SNF, that she is not in charge, but the CNO is:

"It is a fact that I do not have an administration license and the Director of Nursing (chief nursing officer) does have responsibility for both the acute care and long term care units."

So, who was responsible? And who tried to wriggle out of responsibility? Thelma and Louise or AKA Pam Ott and Sharon Brucker. Brucker stepped down and Ott took off as soon as the notice of closure of the nursing home was printed in the Bakersfield Californian.

This is their paperwork. Department of Justice, I'm sure you've seen this document, but you understand that DHS was already down their throats in 2006.

They were using physical restraints in a manner not in accordance with state and federal laws. Patients were losing weight. There was some issues about the drugs the residents were receiving too.

But in August 2006, Ott and Brucker, welcomed the new Director of Nursing, Gwen Hughes, who is also charged with elder abuse and assault and will be in court next week. The two administrators told us that she was the expert in geriatrics and will be making changes.

Those changes were the type of drugs they used. But again it was not the drugs as they are used regularly: it was the lack of staff to keep an eye on the people who were on these psychotropics.

But the nurses were busy trying to keep the nursing center afloat. As the year 2006 moved along, so did the problems.

Nurses tried to bring the issues to the administrator, Ott, CNO, Sharon Brucker, and the board of director's themselves.

The board ignored the problems, calling the employees "disgruntled."

Except two board members who tried to get word out to the state agencies, but were blocked by the three "killer B's" Brad, Barbara, and BJ.

Will the DOJ take this into consideration?

I hope you will Donny, Steve and Jerry. You have an opportunity to save a small rurual hospital: what are you going to do? I'll be there in court and I'll be able to see what the attorney general has in store for us.

He could leave us hanging, with some of the former staff and administrators who continue to degrade the hospital.

Or, a miracle could occur, and the DOJ will do its job and help out a "small" rural community. We need your help Jerry, Steve and Donny.

You've got two more to get in court: give it a try, please.

"Oh, we're goin' to the courthouse and we're gonna get prosecuted: Okay Jerry, Donny and Steve, you're up: but you forgot a couple

It's court time again folks, Superior Court, Kern County, elder abuse charges, what can the potential Governor do?

I've always liked Jerry Brown, but then I'm old enough to remember all of his terms in office, as well, as some of his campaign promises from the past. I also remember the idea of flat taxing which absolutely drove the inmates at the Capitol crazy, but, hey, I was all for it.

And I'm all for this too: Justice.

Can you do it Jerry Brown? You said you would. You sent people to our little village to investigate, even though I was here (not much I've been able to do).

But can you bring justice and finally, maybe, a conclusion to our drama?

You are a good writer, Mr. Brown, why I was just reading some of your stuff. It's promising that you understand how a "corporation" can use it's staff to commit crimes. In fact, this "whistleblower" story your office is working on is quite interesting.

So when two whistleblowers filed suit under seal in April 2008, attorneys from my office immediately investigated - examining hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, interviewing witnesses and subpoenaing records.

Do you think, Department of Justice, that you now have enough evidence to prosecute this case from the top, where it started? Did you read hundreds of thousands of pages of KVHD documents? I know you didn't because they were shredded. But you may have got a look at some of them, eh?

Is justice here in the KRV worth the same amount of time and effort as does a big, notorious, corporation? (I guess we're about to find out)

You see below the 2007 meeting post, and you read Miss Ott's words and you know as well as I do that she's lying through her teeth. You watch as the board let's her do it. (except for two board members who tried to get to the truth, but had no backing from this community, or the grand jury, or anyone in the media, except me-dia)

I can tell you if you put her in front of a jury and you let people talk, finally after feeling they've been on a stranglehold for three years, you will get the truth. You will know how this whole horrible drama came down from the top, the board, the CNO, and finally harming the patients.

You have the power, I have only more time than you. You also know that I will be there at court, both days, next Tuesday, Nov.3 and Wed. Nov. 4, for the prepre and preliminary (if indeed there is not a plead out).


I'll be the one wearing "Red, White, Black and blue."

I've been thinking that Pam Ott, former Kern Valley Healthcare District, CEO, the leader of the pack of trouble which hit this community hospital back in 2006 and 2007, thought she got away.

Her attorney in September, Jim Faulkner, criminal lawyer at large, told a reporter from the Bakersfield Californian that Ott's case, was well, basically, nothing. She's innocent and we're all idiots or persecutors, not prosecutors.

Fortunately, the Californian reporter didn't seem to be as dumb as her attorney was playing him, and neither are we. Especially those of us who lived through this nightmare.

We know what happened Pam. It was Christmas of 2006:

Yes, here's a photo op we took Christmas of 2006, Pam invited me over to the skilled nursing facility with my camera and my dog to sing to the residents.

I'm all for singing, though, Ott should be singing another tune right now, in my not so humble opinion.

If you look closely at the picture you can see the discomfort on the faces of the people being asked to fake as if there is nothing going on. Why they let this idiot reporter right into ground zero and I didn't see a thing. Except I did.

After the fake caroling, and the addition to our group of songbirds, of former KVHD CNO, Sharon Brucker, who, according to paperwork shown below, was in charge of the skilled nursing facility during the time it used physical and chemical restraints, but happened to duck out, during the holidays, as the chestnuts began roasting on the open fire.

The employees watched me with some regard as I walked the halls of the skilled nursing facility with Miss Ott.

A resident and her husband, began to get loud, and they were yelling. Ott stopped by and began talking to the man. (The wife is still in the SNF, her husband died recently. The woman is having problems, I visited her, she's got anxiety I'm sure from her husband's death, but then there was the thing about moving her out of her room she had with him. Oh, well. They know better than I do about these matters.)

Ott began talking really loud, like they couldn't hear her, but that wasn't the problem. She was trying to cover up the fact that they were saying something she didn't want me to hear. "help."

I've been in a lot of nursing homes, and have seen a lot of things happen in them. I had two grandparents in homes at some point, and would visit them regularly, or when I had the chance. So, I was not shocked or surprised by the behaviors seen in nursing homes.

But the whole thing seemed strange as Ott tried to quiet the couple as if I would suspect something. I say she was starting to get paranoid, which lead her to blaming almost everyone for the problems.

Let's just say it: she didn't know what she was doing. The system failure Ott speaks of occurred before Ott arrived. She was the system failure. The failure of the board of directors and former CEO to actually research Ott's background.

Now, how is she going to explain in court the resume. The college called Kennedy/Western University, an online, diploma mill, which hands out certificates to those who "pay."

But she couldn't do it alone. Where are the others Mr. Brown? It's Friday, why haven't we seen at least two more brought up on charges. I know, I know for a fact, you can prove it. I hope it's not the money. I hope we are currently running off priniciples and the idea that justice can be served even if it's not on a platter.

Let your witnesses speak. Go to court and you will hear the truth. No plea bargains.

Why is my case not listed?

I was just checking the Kern County Superior Court website to see if there were any new arrivals posted there.

I entered a couple names into the search engine and they didn't show up.

http://www.co.kern.ca.us/courts/crimcal/crim_index_case_detail.asp

Now, I know that there's a way to do this and a way not to do this. If I were Ott's attorney, I would be thinking, "good" they didn't bring in anyone else. Therefore, I can prove my case, by saying, "why just poor Pammy?"

You can't do that, blame it all on her. She had a CNO in charge of the nursing center, it's her fault.

(If I was her attorney, I would do that.)

So, bring them in, Jerry. Bring in all the trouble and let them twist while the rest of us testify to what we know.

I'll have more for us all to consider on Monday, the day before we find out if the state does have the ability to bring justice to an open wound which continues to fester while there are still those present at the hospital and on the board of directors who are responsible for the disaster.

You have the power. And I have a blog. (Gosh, that hurts.)

Paperwork and quotes coming up next: It was the CNO in charge, according to Ott's correspendence with the Department of Health Services, who by the way, has its own responsibility in this matter. Apparently, they are regular "visitors" to the hospital now, after the fact. But where were they? And where were the witnesses?

It's not over until it's...probably still not over...

KVHD presents: Flu shots for the communtiy/Ott countdown/YouTube/Bob Jamison gets "cracked" on his show this morning

Quick update: Word is that there will be a drive thru seasonal flu shot clinic on Nov. 4, from 9 am to 2 pm in the front parking lot of the Kern Valley Healthcare District hospital.

Costs are $10, but those with insurance need to check with their providers to see if there is any reimbursement available.

So, a little late but worth the wait. Hopefully the hospital will have obtained enough of the vaccine to catch the rest of us who have not had our shots.

Got a court date with a former CEO I just can't miss:

I won't be at the drive thru shot clinic, because November fourth is a big day in this valley not just for vaccines: it's the preliminary hearing date for the elder abuse case starring the leader Pam Ott.

It will be worth missing the flu clinic to have the camera in court to see exactly what the state of California is going to do. Will it be plea deals or is the Attorney General Jerry Brown serious about following through...we will see won't we.

Next week: the countdown begins, and you will finally get a look at our video from Ott's resignation in 2007. There are only four new videos up currently on our YouTube site, but I'm going this afternoon to try and get you thirty more.

After six months of neglect, our YouTube site is being watered and manicured.

Look for: "Knight Grilling some Ott" "SNF part 1" "SNF part 2" and "Short staffing" are up now.

I've cut the videos into smaller segments, under two minutes, for easier viewing.

http://www.youtube.com/user/OrderBipolarDisorder#p/u

Oh, the story is interesting, but you should follow up with the videos for a real feel for these people.

Quite unbelievable radio today on QAB:

Bob Jamison, KVHD board member, Pam Ott supporter, and radio talk show host, got his name a bit smeared this morning by a listener who didn't like his regular nonsense about medical marijuana.

Apparently, Jamison had a flyer he said was "found" in Bodfish canyon, which was an invitation for medical marijuana event.

As he went on making this some hot issue, the police were supposed to be interested in (it's medical marijuana, Bob, and its quite legal) he took a call from the community.

Now this is really funny and quite fitting, as Jamison uses this radio outlet to attack all who come against him or something lodged in his mind.

This is what happened: The caller came on and asked about the flyer, then told Mr. Jamison she was the one who organized this event.

Then, she said, Bob you drink, so what are you talking about? He began to answer, and the caller told him that she and her son lived in the valley for 20 years and that Jamison was known to drink and beat his wife.

Yeah, we're all agog about this. He finally got a taste of his own medicine on the air for all who listen, (a few left I guess), and it was fitting.

I make no claim to know Jamison's alcohol intake or how he treats his wife, that's their problem or her problem or whatever. Maybe the caller knew more than I did about them, but I don't need to attack him on that level, it's way too easy simply criticizing his lack of ability as a board member.

It's the fact that Jamison was attacking someone on the air about their medical marijuana event, party or whatever, thinking that he was safe and then the caller turned it right around on him.

Go get him Kern River Valley...Don't let him think that he can broadcast an attack on you and not expect some retaliation.

(I've been under attack by Jamison, and for some reason, he seems to think that this is okay, but what I'm doing here on the blog isn't. Hypocrites and cowards always can dish it out, but can never take it. But I would not have attacked him personally regarding his drinking or his wife. The caller did that.

So, you know, both Mr. and Mrs. Jamison felt they could freely defame me, and called me a drunk and other fun things, in front and to people who know me. I'm not a drunk, but he and Mrs. radio broadcast, felt no compunction about this kind of attack. Aside from all the other ones about how I was slanting stories about the problems in the skilled nursing facility at the hospital, yeah, right.

How does it feel this morning, Mr. Jamsion, to be called out on your own Show? Smile. I am.)

Mr. Jamison, from 2007, his famous attack pose, threatening lawsuits, physical violence, and calling Pam Ott leaving the district, "a tragedy."

Jamison at a recent KVHD board meeting in 2009, looking more subdued, but nonetheless, still dangerous as his attacks on people in the community via QAB media, make him quite the popular dinner guest about town.

Was there an emergency board meeting at Sierra King yesterday? We need to find out.

After the Kern Valley Healthcare District called for their own "special" board meeting on Wednesday, the day after former CEO/administrator, Pamela Ott, 59, was brought up on charges of elder abuse, it has been said there was an emergency meeting called at Ott's latest employer, Sierra King District Hospital.

Could it be that Sierra King, located in Reedley, is going to get a resignation or maybe firing their now criminally charged, CEO?

They couldn't be doing that...Ott's attorney says she's completely innocent.
(I'm sure like a child.)
More on this story...
http://www.skdh.org/

How did the media do on Ott's story...I give best story to the Bakersfield Californian

As you can imagine in your nightmares, I went and checked on all the media coverage regarding the elder abuse charges against former CEO of the Kern Valley Healthcare District, Pamela Ott, this week.

Some of it, was laughable, others used straight news releases from the Department of Justice, some used the news releases as foundation for their articles, then other crashed so much information on top of you it was hard to understand.

Of all the outlets covering, I say The Bakersfield Californian did the best job. Good facts, simplicity of coverage, best quote award and it was well written.

Ott's attorney, Jim Faulkner, said she was completely innocent. Boy are we going to have fun with that.

I know I popped the Californian in the jaw earlier this year, and explained to them that we are not just "carnage canyon" to feed breaking news, we have a "history" up here, that the surrounding beauty does not belie.

So, I emailed all of the media outlets with corrections, (I'm sure they just loved that) and let it go at that.

Basic facts:

Here are some of the basic facts:

This happened at the Kern Valley Healthcare District in Mt. Mesa California. KVHD is a public healthcare district.

They have a hospital and a skilled nursing center in the same building.

Pam Ott has phony credentials as to her administration degrees. Google, Kennedy Western University.

The state investigation runs from Aug. 1, 2006 until Jan. 25, 2007.

Ott resigned in May 2007, when the the civil lawsuits began to appear.

Ott worked with a board of directors, who had a quorum, three of the five always voted the way Ott wanted them too. Open Brown act violations occurred.

It's no doubt the board knew what was going on as well.

Feb. 20 of this year, the state charged, Dr. Hoshang Pormir, the medical director for the SNF, Debbi Hayes, the Pharmacist, and Gwen Hughes, the director of nursing who began working at the hospital after Ott and her CNO, were tagged by CMS/DHS in 2006 for using physical restraints and short staffing.

Aug. 14, Debbi Hayes, the pharmacist plead no contest to a conspiracy charge, got a one year suspended sentence, three years of probation, and community service so she can become a witness in the case.

On Sept. 8, it was supposed to be the pre preliminary hearing for the doctor and director of nursing, but Ott got the spotlight as they charged her that day, and the case was continued to Nov.3 and 4.

Let's begin the day, and watch...

Well, it took me a few hours just to get out of bed, so I did not get out to go to court this morning. (Not because I didn't want to, but physically I'm not in great shape, and some days are "no can do days," and apparently this is one of them)

My understanding is that there is a motion for an extension on the cases, so I will get an update later this afternoon.

A few thoughts, from last night. I laid in bed thinking about the families of the victims, wondering what I would have done if it was my family.

The first thing that came to mind was had I heard the crappolla coming from that hospital dismissing my pain and heartache, I would have probably done something very bad.

I have much respect for the restraint the families have taken in this matter. We have many ways to fight for justice and bring out the truth, and I will give my all to make sure that happens. (Although my all is not what it used to be, it's still pretty strong)

The local radio station, AKA KVHD board member, Bob Jamison, the CEO hugger, put up its version of the story of the pharmacist's plead out in court on Friday on the radio "snewz" site.

I think Mr. Jamison ott to follow this story closely, as people are beginning to talk, or tell the truth.

We all remember your great defense of Miss Ott, Bobby J., back in 2007. We are reading it over and over, the transcript from that really interesting show you put on to keep the community blind.

Yet now you (QAB "smooth news" Scott Costa) reports on the case as if, yes, it wasn't all in my mind, as you told everyone it was. The DOJ doesn't think it was all in my mind. The families who were hurt don't think it's imaginary.
What is your story now? I found your arsenal of smoking guns you claimed I would never find.

Hey Costa, want a real story, call and interview me.

But in 2007 that is what you told us all. What do you think now Bob? Do you feel at least a bit uncomfortable about all of this as you were one who knew when families were being told there was nothing wrong, that there definitely was.

Will your news reports continue to slant toward casting the blame on all others without any responsibility yourself?

Scott why don't you download the interview from my blog with Ott and Jamison and put it up on your site. Hey its a great archive.

Now the newspaper is another matter entirely as families were looking for true information, but I have made them privvy as to why there was none after I left. They know, and eventually I will tell the whole story.

If at any moment, any of you think that all the information is on this blog, you are wrong. Yes, I've held back, much like a savings account, waiting for that rainy day. But I've got things on everyone, and in case anyone wants some of this information, all you have to do is call me.

Here's the QAB report:
Charges Against Hospital Pharacist Dismissed Debbi Hayes, the former pharmacist with the Kern Valley Hospital, has had all charges, except one, dismissed against her in the case involving patient abuse and deaths at the Skilled Nursing Facility. Hayes had 11 felony counts against her, including causing harm or death to an elder, but had 10 of them dismissed and plead “no contest” to a charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice. The charges were dismissed this past Friday. She paid just under $300 in fines and was given 3 years probation. However, the other two defendants in the case, Gwen Hughes, the former Director of Nursing for the Skilled Nursing Center, and Dr. Hoshang Pormir, a former staff physician, will both be in Bakersfield court today at 9AM for a Pre-Preliminary Hearing and then are scheduled to be back in court tomorrow morning at 8:30AM for a Preliminary Hearing. They are both facing multiple felony counts including charges of causing harm or death to an elder or dependent.
Now scroll down and read the report the way I wrote it.

UPDATE:Breaking News: Kern Co. Superior Court shows Pharmacist Debbi Hayes sentenced on Friday

Update:
After making some phone calls, one to Pharmacist Debbi Hayes' attorney, Phyllis Hix, I know little more than I did last night.
I asked Hix for some clarification of the information on the website and she said, "no." I asked her for a statement and she said, "no." I asked if she will ever speak to me in the future and she said, "maybe."
I'm pretty sure Hix is either Military or has been deposed a half a million times. Usually I'm pretty good about getting at least a spoonful of info, but not this time. My worst interview before this aborted attempt with Hix was with the military.

Anyway, I do know now that Pharmacist Debbie Hayes is not in jail. On the website suspended sentence is underlined. It shows that she could have 3 years probation, according to the Kern County Superior court website.

It appears, but we will wait for word tomorrow, that all other 10 counts of elder abuse and assault have been dismissed, and Hayes has plead to the lesser charge of conspiracy.

The site also shows another court date for Hayes on Tuesday, August 18, as we will be there both Tuesday and Wednesday for the preliminary hearing in the cases against Dr. Hoshang Pormir and Gwen Hughes, we will keep you updated.

If anything else breaks in the meantime, we will be there with our cameras to catch it and bring it to you immediately.

Yesterday:
As of right now, all I know is that information on the Kern County Superior Court website is showing that Pharmacist Debbi Hayes has plead "Nolo Contendere" to the additional conspiracy charge added to the ten counts against her, including elder abuse and assault.

The other charges have possibly been dropped.

The site is showing that there is still another court date on Tuesday, 8/18/09, but as of right now, it indicates she is sentenced to a one year term. (see below)

"Nolo Contendere" means a plea made by the defendant in a criminal action that is substantially but not technically an admission of guilt and subjects the defendant to punishment but permits denial of the alleged facts at other proceedings.

A very interesting move here on the part of the state. Not that its uncommon to get a plead, its cheaper, and if you have a crummy case to start with, its not a bad idea. They added a "conspiracy" charge meaning more than one person just to the Pharmacist's case, and then she pleads out to it.

Dr. Pormir and Gwen Hughes, the other current defendants have not had this charge put on their cases, as of today. And they are both still scheduled for a pre-preliminary and preliminary hearing Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

This puts a big spin on this. Who's our other conspirator, there has to be one? And when will she and her friends be visiting the jail and court?

That's all speculation, I will have more for you tomorrow.

http://www.co.kern.ca.us/courts/crimcal/crim_index_case_detail.asp
Defendant Information:
Name:
HAYES, DEBBI GAYLE CHAMBERS
case Information:
Court Case #:
BF126665B

Filing Date:
02/17/09

182(A)(5)
CONSPIRACY:OBSTRUCT JUSTICE/ETC
PLED NOLO - 859A PC
08/14/09

Sentence Information
JAIL/PRISON 365 DAYS,
SUSP/STAYED 365 DAYS,
TOTAL CREDIT 0003 TIME SERVED 3 DAYS
CONFINEMENT LOCATION JAIL
FORMAL PROBATION GRANTED FOR 3 YRS,
CHARGE
FINE AMOUNT

MISC. FEES 60.00 RESTIT FINE 200.00 FINE TOTALS 260.00