The KVHD "elder abuse" case and the ABC News media abuse case
In the last four years of this investigation into the wrongdoings at the Kern Valley healthcare district which includes not only elder abuse (which is a general term not specific to chemical restraints), but other crimes such as "Brown Act" violations by three members of the board of directors; targeting employees for unwarranted termination because they wanted to tell the truth about the elder abuse caused by short staffing and peculiar new drugs being used by the Director of Nursing; a previous policy that reduced staff and pay leaving the skilled nursing facility understaffed and overworked (and patients underfed and underweight, according to government documents); use of the only local radio outlet to disseminate falsehoods regarding the situation at the hospital by a board member and disc jockey and CEO; a CEO without proper credentials who was in charge and giving orders to the management of the nursing facility; same CEO, Pamela Ott, misrepresented her credentials, claiming to be a nurse practitioner; threats from the CEO, Ott and board member, radio jock, Bob Jamison, (running off the ABC logo) of lawsuits against all who disagreed; malicious defamation, lies and deceit round off the list of incredible truths the have taken place in our rural, public hospital.
(Phhhew! That's some list for you, and I even left a few things out for brevity sake.)
Recently ABC News took up their own story of the Kern Valley Healthcare District, running a national news story on the day that defendants in the "elder abuse" criminal case went to court last week, Jan. 5, in the Kern County Superior Court.
It was simply a continuance of the matter last week in court as one of the defendants changed attorneys in the case and needed time to catch up on events, so the date was pushed out until March 9.
But as nothing is as it seems in this case, the attorney for Dr. Hoshang Pormir in the criminal matter is now not just any attorney, but we have a political celebrity in our midst with Donald Etra.
(Yeah, me too, I didn't know who Etra was and even went on to make a few cute remarks about his name, extra and et cetera, and even commented that he must be really "high powered" if he uses an "AOL" email address.)
That was until I received an email with a story about our new player. (I'm really good at looking stupid, so this is nothing new for me.)
As I gazed upon a picture of Donald Etra and his wife, Paula, posing at Camp David with friends, George and Laura Bush, I knew this was going to get even stranger. I closed the email and began my own search which lead me to several articles and even a site called "mucketymucks" which links celebrities to other people, like Etra is linked to Snoopdog and Fran Drescher too. (weee..)
More interesting is Etra's politics which he is purported to have called himself a liberal democrat. Not unusual except that he is supposedly a good friend and supporter of conservative democrat, George W. Bush.
He was a consumer advocate working as Ralph Nader's attorney, according to several of the articles I have read so far. (Interesting that he would be on this side of the case as a consumer advocate, but Mr. Etra is also known for defending death row criminals, according to background information contained on several different internet sites.)
Politics has come to this case, but it is bigger than I thought, as it would be very easy, or I should say, is easy to get your name out there on a "shock value" story such as the one being told by the attorney general of the state of California, Jerry Brown.
Could our elder abuse case get him elected to the governor's mansion? Again?
However, let's start with some background on the case, unlike ABC news, which we will deal with shortly, so we can catch up to this ever changing story which is occurring right now, not almost four years ago Diane Sawyer...
Jerry Brown's scare job on chemical restraints
As some know, the use of psychotropic medications sometimes referred to as, "chemical restraints" when used in an institutionalized setting, are really two different issues entirely.
Psychotropic drugs are not unusual to find in nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, try calling around, they are part of the arsenal against the horrible nature of some of the geriatric illnesses such as Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's disease, and other disorders which can make the elderly patients altered, frightened, and uncomfortable emotionally and physically.
And then you have the issue of medicating "violent" patients who are unaware in their psychosis that they are acting out and hurting staff and other patients. It's not really the patient him or herself, it's the diseases of age or injury which turn loving spouses, parents, grandparents, into raging, violent, out of control and sometime dangerous people.
It's a tough call as to how to treat these patients so they have their dignity, compassion and effective care for the last part of their lives.
Anyone who has had to take care of a grandparent or parent or even in certain cases younger people who have brain injuries or degenerative diseases, knows that it is a full time job and nothing about it is ever perfect.
My grandmother turned very violent, breaking windows, attacking people, and was too much for us to handle at home. We tried for a time, but it became dangerous for all involved.
So, we took my violent grandmother to a facility where she could be monitored and live peacefully with caring and professional people helping us with the situation.
She was immediately put on a drug, not used in this case, but one that could make people wonder if it was not a chemical restraint, "Haldol," which is an antipsychotic, not used much anymore, as newer, safer, drugs have come along to replace that generation of drugs.
My grandmother responded well to the drug, and was no longer violent, but was much more sleepy and tired but even occasionally smiled. My grandmother it was later found had Alzheimer's.
I'm glad they gave her the drugs, they made the last obviously horrible part of her life more tolerable. I would rather have seen her sleep then grapple with her invisible demons which would set her off into fear and violence.
The situation was though that my grandmother was 92 years old, and the drugs were going to have an effect which may have shortened her life. She lived to be 102 years old, ten years after she was psychotic and put on antipsychotic drugs.
We made that choice. I call it a choice as there is little alternative out there, but we knew and accepted the situation.
The choices are slim, and must be well thought out by a combination of family and medical staff working together to make the last days, months or years, (sometimes people live a long time in a vegetative state due to illnesses like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.) as pleasant as they can be for "all" involved.
At KVHD there were no choices
But such as what happened here at the Kern Valley Healthcare District in 2006 was a breakdown in management systems, because the leader, the CEO, the administrator who signed off on the skilled nursing facility, did not have the background to be running that operation.
In fact, the credentials we have found to be true and correct, is that the CEO, Pam Ott, had a current registered nursing license in California which came from a Fresno City College degree she received, which was an AA, back in 1971.
Not only were the systems outdated and the procedures in place ineffective at the beginning of 2006, but families were being pushed out, not allowed to know what exactly was going on. They weren't given their choices.
It's not just about chemical restraints
A chemical restraint would be a medicine which reduces a patient's psychosis or altered thinking and behavior, thus allowing the patient more freedom from the symptoms and obviously allowing them the chance to be more interactive and even potentially able to help themselves again.
However, these drugs or any drugs should not to be used as a babysitter, which is what is being claimed in the criminal case here in the Kern River Valley.
In April of 2006, four months before the investigate period by the California Department of Justice, which includes August 2006 until January 2007, the Kern Valley Healthcare District was cited by investigators in the nursing center's annual survey by the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services, CMS, for using "physical" restraints on the residents.
But that claim was not as ominous as the results of what was happening in the nursing center before the six month time period delineated by the Department of Justice, DOJ, office of Medi-cal fraud and elder abuse.
Months before the August start date of abuse (I guess that's what the state might call it) there is paperwork indicating the nursing center is short staffed, not fulfilling it's nurse to patient ratios, which obviously would cut back on the ability of the unit to properly monitor it's patients.
Indeed that was the case, as residents had lost significant amounts of weight, and were even noticeably dehydrated by the investigators from public health who do the annual evaluations for CMS on nursing centers.
(There are many pages from these reports on this blog. Please look up short staffing and physical restraints, it will give background, and actual documentation)
The administrators of the skilled nursing facility were also being questioned in April of 2006, as Pam Ott, CEO, did not have a Nursing Administrator's license, and indeed she did not need one in a facility where the nursing facility is part of the hospital.
But public health pushed that issue and Ott sent the inquiry to the hospital's board attorney, Scott Nave, who came back with the answer that Ott indeed didn't have to have those credentials to sign off as administrator of the SNF.
Ott, in a letter she signed to CMS, indicates that she is "not" the person in charge of the nursing facility: the person in charge is Sharon Brucker, RN, and former Cheif Nursing Officer.
Brucker has not been charged in the elder abuse case, though Ott was a late arrival, being brought in six months after the initial arrests of three defendants, a doctor, pharmacist and director of nursing, and according to the press office for the DOJ, the investigations are on-going.
You must have a DON
One of the corrections public health demanded of the hospital early in 2006, was the need for a Director of Nursing for the nursing home portion of the hospital.
At this point, according to employees of the time period in 2005/06, the previous director of nursing, who seemed to be well liked by the employees, left the employ of the hospital because of a disagreement he had with the CEO, Ott, and the Cheif Financial Officer, Chet Beedle, over paycuts and staffing problems.
Now this is according to several nurses who worked with this DON at the time, not from the hospital or the DON himself.
The hospital did not have Director of Nursing for the SNF, so public health insisted that KVHD hire one.
And Lucy Miller was transferred into the nursing center a week later.
Ott signed off that the hospital was in compliance by bringing in a DON.
Miller, didn't stay long, just long enough to comply with the state and federal mandates from the annual survey.
An ad in the classifieds
Miller left, or actually changed jobs within the hospital, and an ad came out shortly after, for a Director of Nursing for the SNF.
We, the media, the board of directors, heard that there was a new DON ready to take charge of the skilled nursing facility, Ott announced we were waiting and very excited about our new acquisition.
"She has more than 30 years with geriatric experience," Ott told us, and we were impressed.
In August of 2006, our new DON, came on, her name is Gwen Hughes. She is now charged with eight counts of elder abuse 368 B (1) and two counts of assault which was a result of medicating a resident against her will.
But in August 2006, Hughes was the hero, coming into a nursing center which had been recently beaten up by the state investigators over the use of the physical restraints, the short staffing, the lack of monitoring the weights of the patients, and even a few issues regarding medications, psychotropic.
"We are so lucky to get her," Ott told me as I was introduced to Hughes, who was in a wheelchair, and rather quiet as I asked some simple questions, like "what brings you to our little town?"
Hughes told us she had polio at one point in her life, but was still able to walk without her wheelchair, so we should not think it a miracle if she arose and began walking.
In conversations which were to follow the thing we kept hearing about Hughes from our CEO, (who herself, had funny credentials from a diploma mill called Kennedy/Western University, an on-line program, unaccredited, and not accepted in California,) was that Hughes was an expert in "geriatric medications."
(Now, how would she know an expert?)
Part two: the IDT team
Persistance and Tenacity, requires a new chapter, a new beginning....
Showing posts with label Diane Sawyer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diane Sawyer. Show all posts
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Don't blame me, I didn't even know about the ABC story: everyone who has read this blog knows I wouldn't have endorsed that crap
Well, thanks Diane Sawyer and ABC news for making my night:
Yes, it was Kern Valley Healthcare District board meeting night, and the phone was ringing off the hook at home as I was trying to get ready to leave for the meeting.
And you want to know who these callers were? They were people who thought I knew or orchestrated the weak, at best, attempt at a story done by ABC "WORLD" news tonight, they have more credibility than the lone blogger.
I'm sorry that anyone would even question it, but no, as I described in a post below, oddly enough, I had to call the television stations to find out what happened, as none of my team made it to the ballpark, and I was hoping for the scoop on what happened in court.
Not strange now, but none of the other stations were in court, and 23 had some interest in "my" interest in the case. But never told me about the Diane Sawyer version that was to come.
If I had known I certainly would have questioned what they were doing. I assumed a local take on the court date, not a retrospective.
Instead, my stepfather, in a different state and time zone caught the news and said our local story had gone national. He didn't elaborate on the story except that he caught a glimpse of the "Jerry's story" soundbite from the attorney general's office where this investigation emenated, and a picture of the hospital in "Lake Isabella." (How it got to Isabella nobody knows, but we do have a penchant for mobile things, homes, mammography, around here.)
So, to clarify, I had nothing to do with this story, and do not condone "using" people to fill a minute of time in a news show. We are not fluff.
If it had been done with some new information, and maybe a touch of class, or even a graphic or two, it may have had the potential to be helpful. Instead the misinformation in the story outweighed any significant assistance the news organization could have actually been to our situation, which I might add continues on.
It's not over, but the only story they ever run is what happened three years ago, within a six month period. And words were used like "intentionally overdosing" patients. Hmm, there seems to be a discrepancy somewhere as there was not an issue of overdosing per say, as there was an issue of the type of drugs used.
But who am I to quibble with such accuracy.
And Pam Ott, the CEO, with the funny credentials, doesn't even get a dishonorable mention. As if she never mistreated families of victims or fired employees who attempted to stop the situation. (That's not interesting at all is it?)
They lost their chance to be effective and helpful.
And they didn't show up for the meeting. Yes, that's correct the ABC news affiliate in Bakersfield, Channel 23, where the story from last night's ABC elder abuse scare (they could've called it, "slipping mickey's to Grandma" if they wanted to) orginated, did not attend our current meeting.
Umm, what happened? Are we a one night stand? I thought you cared about us, our community. But it seems not. You tell stories we believe you, or at least people outside the situation who know absolutely nothing, believe you.
Anyway, please don't think I did this, it's embarrassing. And I'm sorry I had no time to address this before it happened.
We have more issues to deal with like the board member, who is unfit for his elected position, Bob Jamison, and his saga with using a radio outlet with no competitors to broadcast propaganda about serious health and safety issues at the hospital he was elected to represent in an honest fashion. (That's not interesting either?)
And major issues with our hospital, it's longevity, it's staying power...more to follow.
Yes, it was Kern Valley Healthcare District board meeting night, and the phone was ringing off the hook at home as I was trying to get ready to leave for the meeting.
And you want to know who these callers were? They were people who thought I knew or orchestrated the weak, at best, attempt at a story done by ABC "WORLD" news tonight, they have more credibility than the lone blogger.
I'm sorry that anyone would even question it, but no, as I described in a post below, oddly enough, I had to call the television stations to find out what happened, as none of my team made it to the ballpark, and I was hoping for the scoop on what happened in court.
Not strange now, but none of the other stations were in court, and 23 had some interest in "my" interest in the case. But never told me about the Diane Sawyer version that was to come.
If I had known I certainly would have questioned what they were doing. I assumed a local take on the court date, not a retrospective.
Instead, my stepfather, in a different state and time zone caught the news and said our local story had gone national. He didn't elaborate on the story except that he caught a glimpse of the "Jerry's story" soundbite from the attorney general's office where this investigation emenated, and a picture of the hospital in "Lake Isabella." (How it got to Isabella nobody knows, but we do have a penchant for mobile things, homes, mammography, around here.)
So, to clarify, I had nothing to do with this story, and do not condone "using" people to fill a minute of time in a news show. We are not fluff.
If it had been done with some new information, and maybe a touch of class, or even a graphic or two, it may have had the potential to be helpful. Instead the misinformation in the story outweighed any significant assistance the news organization could have actually been to our situation, which I might add continues on.
It's not over, but the only story they ever run is what happened three years ago, within a six month period. And words were used like "intentionally overdosing" patients. Hmm, there seems to be a discrepancy somewhere as there was not an issue of overdosing per say, as there was an issue of the type of drugs used.
But who am I to quibble with such accuracy.
And Pam Ott, the CEO, with the funny credentials, doesn't even get a dishonorable mention. As if she never mistreated families of victims or fired employees who attempted to stop the situation. (That's not interesting at all is it?)
They lost their chance to be effective and helpful.
And they didn't show up for the meeting. Yes, that's correct the ABC news affiliate in Bakersfield, Channel 23, where the story from last night's ABC elder abuse scare (they could've called it, "slipping mickey's to Grandma" if they wanted to) orginated, did not attend our current meeting.
Umm, what happened? Are we a one night stand? I thought you cared about us, our community. But it seems not. You tell stories we believe you, or at least people outside the situation who know absolutely nothing, believe you.
Anyway, please don't think I did this, it's embarrassing. And I'm sorry I had no time to address this before it happened.
We have more issues to deal with like the board member, who is unfit for his elected position, Bob Jamison, and his saga with using a radio outlet with no competitors to broadcast propaganda about serious health and safety issues at the hospital he was elected to represent in an honest fashion. (That's not interesting either?)
And major issues with our hospital, it's longevity, it's staying power...more to follow.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
I miss the toughness and integrity of 60 minutes: Diane Sawyer allows hack job of Kern Valley Healthcare District elder abuse Story (national but not helpful, thanks for trying)
ABC World News Tonight: sounds good
(I still remember the hayday of 60 minutes, the CBS masterpiece of television journalism, how about you Diane Sawyer?)
We were happy to hear that the story at the Kern Valley Healthcare District was being covered nationally, but that was short-lived as the majority of those who watched it shared with me they were disturbed.
"They don't even know the truth and that is why the media is as screwed up as it is."
"I can't believe they did it again."
"You're right, TV can't really cover this story."
After hours of talking and then reading some emails, I began to realize that ABC World News tonight really did nothing to help our situation here in the Kern River Valley, nor were they able to really get a handle on the story. And the may have even hurt us by coming in at the end basically and using year old footage.
The story eminates from channel 23 in Bakersfield, the local ABC affiliate, much like the only radio station in our mountain town, QAB, is also an ABC news affiliate.
The irony here lies in that ABC news, it could be argued, is a co-conspirator in the elder abuse case.
My argument would be that I personally, and I know directly that others have contacted agencies such as the FCC and ABC news and QAB to complain about the behavior of Disc Jockey and "KVHD" board member, Bob Jamison, in regards to keeping the truth of the circumstances at the hospital from the public.
Which I think makes it a conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Charged with eight counts of elder abuse, and the last defendant to be charged "thus far" (I hope anyway) in the case, former CEO, Pam Ott, was allowed an almost solid hour (meaning advertisements were purposefully reduced) to make her case with Board member Jamison's blessing.
So, we, the community, the public in general, did not know to what extent the situation at the hospital had degraded.
By this time, I know of one for certain, family that was paid off and took money to be quiet.
Yes, the district paid off a family, a small sum to go away and not let this mess get out to the public.
But when it did, the media, QAB and even the local newspaper, were allowing misinformation, and focusing on what they thought would help (help keep their advertising contract I'm sure) the hospital.
You cannot allow a hospital overrun by criminal and unethical behaviors/activities to be removed of a few and leave the top layer over the rest with no recourse.
We were warned
There was a whistle, a horn, a scream, and then a crashing noise as all of this took place between late 2006 and early 2007.
I'm here because one of the media outlets flat out lied, and the other could not bring itself to understand the problems and give it the coverage it needed.
I'm here because the attorney general had the former CEO, with diplomas from Kennedy/Western University (google that or just look at the post of her whole resume) and emails misrepresenting her credentials. Any rookie human resources clerk could catch that.
I'm still here because the county DA didn't want to get into this morass of small town politics.
I'm still here because people still need help and the truth has not finished surfacing. And I won't be going away anytime soon it seems. As there have not been others willing to step up and take on this crooked situation.
Did your story help us? Then what was it for?
We are quick to beat up on the media, and truly they do need some good wake up calls. But for the most part the media want to report as best as the type of media they utilize can support.
A television station cannot handle a complex story such as the one that has occurred here on the five o'clock news unless it becomes a series, drawn out to allow time for interviews and facts, allowing the viewer to have enough information to decide on their own what has happened.
I could suggest a few segments for television which would cover our story:
"Financial policy leads to short staffing a nursing center potentially causing patient harm. The on-going Kern Valley Healthcare District case."
Then they could add a story on corporate tyrranny and use the KVHD managers and a few board members as examples. "What to do when your manager is doing something illegal: the whistleblower act."
Another, why people are frightened enough to do things they normally wouldn't do?
The list goes on and on, as there are many layers to this situation, and so much to be learned by us all.
Point is there is a lot of material in this story, so which do you do? All of it, of course. Leave nothing out. It's too vitally important.
I'm here to help bring about true change and hopefully watch justice happen in my lifetime. Though I recieved a few exasperated emails tonight from those who just want this to end. Some are families of the nursing center residents and others are just involved somewhere.
I hope that there are those who are redeemed from this horrible situation, as it changed all our lives who are and were involved.
Channel 23 I believe you should make your way up here tonight, at 5:30 pm for the board of director's meeting. It is time for the media to help out, we would appreciate it.
You could help get the truth, "the dam truth" out there. Because that is what our job is about.
A story with a juicy Jerry Brown soundbite is tempting, but that was old news, and he has reiterated the exact same message without elaboration.
I'd like to ask him why or how Pam Ott ever got on the witness list. What drugs were the investigators on when they did that? Psychotropics?
And really I want to know why the rest of the notables, some still stuck at the hospital, are not being at least reprimanded. Maybe not elder abuse, but lot's of obstruction took place, and truthfully, some of it, not so long ago.
So, the media who covered this need to ask themselves if they did this to shock us and make us tingly or to help?
I know that the story contained an interview with the "former" attorney for Dr. Hoshange Pormir, a long time doctor in the valley, from Lebeau and Thelan, about how Dr. Pormir supposedly feels about the drugs which were administered.
I know Dr. Pormir probably didn't appreciate that interview as today in court, the date was continued until March 9, 2010, because he has a new attorney, Donald Etra, from Los Angeles.
That was a very self serving interview I believe, and even more so, it may have damaged Dr. Pormir's case as I saw no reason that he should reveal anything as to the direction his client or his defense is taking the case.
That was a bad and damaging interview.
What happened in court:
It was a strange morning as I struggled to get out of bed, and my camera person had a car breakdown, and my friend hit traffic in the canyon because of road work, and none of us made it to the church on time to see the three defendants.
But I decided to make a call to channel 17, KGET, and then 29 to see if they had covered the case. No.
Unhappy, I decided off chance, though I had not talked to them before as I have the others, to call channel 23, an ABC news affiliate.
I got someone on the news tip line, and asked if they went to court. Yes. I thought great. I was told that it was continued until the ninth of March as a new attorney, Donald Etra, had come on for one of the defendants, he couldn't tell me which one.
I thanked him for the info and then he asked me who I was. I said, I'm Laura Hart, and not hearing a shriek, I continued on to say I am the reporter who was the first investigator on site in the matter and staying on until it's properly and justly settled.
He didn't tell me about the story that was to run later on both the local and national news, but asked me some more questions. I told all he needed to know about me was on my blog: google me I told him. (sounds kind of kinky now that I say it that way)
Anyway, news guy then thanks me and asks me for my name and number, basically because of my winning personality I'm sure, to catch up later.
Then I try to find this attorney locally, and the name, "Etra" sounds both like "extra" and etcetera" which seemed odd.
So, I call back the newsguy at 23, and just for kicks have him restate the name so I know it's not in my mind, and I dyslexically wrote it down.
He reassured me on the name and so then I looked it up and reassured myself by calling the courthouse to verify the name.
It may not be exciting, but basically, the case was continued, new lawyer needs time to catch up on the situation, and we will see where they are at in March.
There maybe more...I'm still poking around.
Civil case, in Shepter vs. KVHD, they're arguing the statute of limitations law which allows the government entity, say the healthcare district, to be informed that they are going to be sued six months after the injury or death took place. That is in California, other states are even more restrictive.
KVHD is arguing the Shepter case, one of the victims listed in the criminal matter, that they didn't file on time.
These short statute laws offer a kind of protection to the government entities, as many times the people who have injuries or lawsuits are unable to collect or even be heard as they may not have filed on time. The lawsuit could be dropped or not even started based on this shorter than average time frame, statute of limitations.
Tonight: board meeting 5:30 pm in the hospital cafeteria. Please attend as the meetings become more and more important. The auditor will be here, to give his perspective on all things financial. But I want to remind those who attend: this auditor has been doing the districts books for many years, Rick Jackson. And the thing I would like to see happen would be a thorough, forensic audit.
Anyone can take someone else's numbers and say they look all right: but when you actually have receipts, bills, cheques, that is far more invasive and thorough. Yes, costly, but I bet we find more money than not, as billing is behind a few years.
See you there...
(I still remember the hayday of 60 minutes, the CBS masterpiece of television journalism, how about you Diane Sawyer?)
We were happy to hear that the story at the Kern Valley Healthcare District was being covered nationally, but that was short-lived as the majority of those who watched it shared with me they were disturbed.
"They don't even know the truth and that is why the media is as screwed up as it is."
"I can't believe they did it again."
"You're right, TV can't really cover this story."
After hours of talking and then reading some emails, I began to realize that ABC World News tonight really did nothing to help our situation here in the Kern River Valley, nor were they able to really get a handle on the story. And the may have even hurt us by coming in at the end basically and using year old footage.
The story eminates from channel 23 in Bakersfield, the local ABC affiliate, much like the only radio station in our mountain town, QAB, is also an ABC news affiliate.
The irony here lies in that ABC news, it could be argued, is a co-conspirator in the elder abuse case.
My argument would be that I personally, and I know directly that others have contacted agencies such as the FCC and ABC news and QAB to complain about the behavior of Disc Jockey and "KVHD" board member, Bob Jamison, in regards to keeping the truth of the circumstances at the hospital from the public.
Which I think makes it a conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Charged with eight counts of elder abuse, and the last defendant to be charged "thus far" (I hope anyway) in the case, former CEO, Pam Ott, was allowed an almost solid hour (meaning advertisements were purposefully reduced) to make her case with Board member Jamison's blessing.
So, we, the community, the public in general, did not know to what extent the situation at the hospital had degraded.
By this time, I know of one for certain, family that was paid off and took money to be quiet.
Yes, the district paid off a family, a small sum to go away and not let this mess get out to the public.
But when it did, the media, QAB and even the local newspaper, were allowing misinformation, and focusing on what they thought would help (help keep their advertising contract I'm sure) the hospital.
You cannot allow a hospital overrun by criminal and unethical behaviors/activities to be removed of a few and leave the top layer over the rest with no recourse.
We were warned
There was a whistle, a horn, a scream, and then a crashing noise as all of this took place between late 2006 and early 2007.
I'm here because one of the media outlets flat out lied, and the other could not bring itself to understand the problems and give it the coverage it needed.
I'm here because the attorney general had the former CEO, with diplomas from Kennedy/Western University (google that or just look at the post of her whole resume) and emails misrepresenting her credentials. Any rookie human resources clerk could catch that.
I'm still here because the county DA didn't want to get into this morass of small town politics.
I'm still here because people still need help and the truth has not finished surfacing. And I won't be going away anytime soon it seems. As there have not been others willing to step up and take on this crooked situation.
Did your story help us? Then what was it for?
We are quick to beat up on the media, and truly they do need some good wake up calls. But for the most part the media want to report as best as the type of media they utilize can support.
A television station cannot handle a complex story such as the one that has occurred here on the five o'clock news unless it becomes a series, drawn out to allow time for interviews and facts, allowing the viewer to have enough information to decide on their own what has happened.
I could suggest a few segments for television which would cover our story:
"Financial policy leads to short staffing a nursing center potentially causing patient harm. The on-going Kern Valley Healthcare District case."
Then they could add a story on corporate tyrranny and use the KVHD managers and a few board members as examples. "What to do when your manager is doing something illegal: the whistleblower act."
Another, why people are frightened enough to do things they normally wouldn't do?
The list goes on and on, as there are many layers to this situation, and so much to be learned by us all.
Point is there is a lot of material in this story, so which do you do? All of it, of course. Leave nothing out. It's too vitally important.
I'm here to help bring about true change and hopefully watch justice happen in my lifetime. Though I recieved a few exasperated emails tonight from those who just want this to end. Some are families of the nursing center residents and others are just involved somewhere.
I hope that there are those who are redeemed from this horrible situation, as it changed all our lives who are and were involved.
Channel 23 I believe you should make your way up here tonight, at 5:30 pm for the board of director's meeting. It is time for the media to help out, we would appreciate it.
You could help get the truth, "the dam truth" out there. Because that is what our job is about.
A story with a juicy Jerry Brown soundbite is tempting, but that was old news, and he has reiterated the exact same message without elaboration.
I'd like to ask him why or how Pam Ott ever got on the witness list. What drugs were the investigators on when they did that? Psychotropics?
And really I want to know why the rest of the notables, some still stuck at the hospital, are not being at least reprimanded. Maybe not elder abuse, but lot's of obstruction took place, and truthfully, some of it, not so long ago.
So, the media who covered this need to ask themselves if they did this to shock us and make us tingly or to help?
I know that the story contained an interview with the "former" attorney for Dr. Hoshange Pormir, a long time doctor in the valley, from Lebeau and Thelan, about how Dr. Pormir supposedly feels about the drugs which were administered.
I know Dr. Pormir probably didn't appreciate that interview as today in court, the date was continued until March 9, 2010, because he has a new attorney, Donald Etra, from Los Angeles.
That was a very self serving interview I believe, and even more so, it may have damaged Dr. Pormir's case as I saw no reason that he should reveal anything as to the direction his client or his defense is taking the case.
That was a bad and damaging interview.
What happened in court:
It was a strange morning as I struggled to get out of bed, and my camera person had a car breakdown, and my friend hit traffic in the canyon because of road work, and none of us made it to the church on time to see the three defendants.
But I decided to make a call to channel 17, KGET, and then 29 to see if they had covered the case. No.
Unhappy, I decided off chance, though I had not talked to them before as I have the others, to call channel 23, an ABC news affiliate.
I got someone on the news tip line, and asked if they went to court. Yes. I thought great. I was told that it was continued until the ninth of March as a new attorney, Donald Etra, had come on for one of the defendants, he couldn't tell me which one.
I thanked him for the info and then he asked me who I was. I said, I'm Laura Hart, and not hearing a shriek, I continued on to say I am the reporter who was the first investigator on site in the matter and staying on until it's properly and justly settled.
He didn't tell me about the story that was to run later on both the local and national news, but asked me some more questions. I told all he needed to know about me was on my blog: google me I told him. (sounds kind of kinky now that I say it that way)
Anyway, news guy then thanks me and asks me for my name and number, basically because of my winning personality I'm sure, to catch up later.
Then I try to find this attorney locally, and the name, "Etra" sounds both like "extra" and etcetera" which seemed odd.
So, I call back the newsguy at 23, and just for kicks have him restate the name so I know it's not in my mind, and I dyslexically wrote it down.
He reassured me on the name and so then I looked it up and reassured myself by calling the courthouse to verify the name.
It may not be exciting, but basically, the case was continued, new lawyer needs time to catch up on the situation, and we will see where they are at in March.
There maybe more...I'm still poking around.
Civil case, in Shepter vs. KVHD, they're arguing the statute of limitations law which allows the government entity, say the healthcare district, to be informed that they are going to be sued six months after the injury or death took place. That is in California, other states are even more restrictive.
KVHD is arguing the Shepter case, one of the victims listed in the criminal matter, that they didn't file on time.
These short statute laws offer a kind of protection to the government entities, as many times the people who have injuries or lawsuits are unable to collect or even be heard as they may not have filed on time. The lawsuit could be dropped or not even started based on this shorter than average time frame, statute of limitations.
Tonight: board meeting 5:30 pm in the hospital cafeteria. Please attend as the meetings become more and more important. The auditor will be here, to give his perspective on all things financial. But I want to remind those who attend: this auditor has been doing the districts books for many years, Rick Jackson. And the thing I would like to see happen would be a thorough, forensic audit.
Anyone can take someone else's numbers and say they look all right: but when you actually have receipts, bills, cheques, that is far more invasive and thorough. Yes, costly, but I bet we find more money than not, as billing is behind a few years.
See you there...
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