Get ready for a little prick, as the Kern Valley healthcare District will indeed be getting flu shots for us this year: and we can still drive thru.
The district is expecting a shipment of the mighty seasonal, elixir, before the end of the month, and will be setting up dates and times for us to drive on by to get our shots.
I'll get you those dates as soon as they come available.
(I'm thinking this might be a good opportunity for the hospital to combine the drive thru flu shots and make a little extra cash doing say...tire inflation and window washing...or maybe even some other medical stuff, like, Podiatrist, Dr. Holly Spohn foot checks, or maybe a looksy down the throat and in the ears, or since we're getting new OBGYN's, a "mobile pap smear" only for those with reclining seats though.)
Hail to the straightforward people of Reedley
Since Reedley was put on the map recently (actually we in the KRV are now officially on the map with a pin stuck in us) as the town that hired on our former, elder abuse charged, CEO, Pamela Ott as the CEO for their hospital, Sierra Kings. (They didn't know about it when they hired her, don't misunderstand)
As has been reported on this blog, Miss Ott, was put on administrative leave, unpaid, by the Sierra Kings District board, when she was charged last month with eight counts of elder abuse stemming from her turbulent employment and leadership here at KVHD.
The CFO, Barabra Jennings, who was hired on by Ott, according to the chairwoman of the board, Trish Johnson, who also said that Ott never told them what the court date was about, that the charges came as a total surprise.
(Yeah, she was quite the surprise package here too)
But I like to keep up with the Reedley news as the hospital there is now in bankruptcy, though trying to salvage some of the plans of recovery, with an interim CEO and CFO.
The Reedley Exponent put up such an intriguing headline last week, I couldn't help but be impressed.
"Local Hospital Chairwoman under siege."
(Now I did have my "shock and awe" campaign, but that indeed is not as cool had I been able to put some of the KVHD board and administrators actually "under siege.")
I so like the attitude they have in Reedley about their healthcare. As we know healthcare can sometimes do more damage than good, so it is a dead serious issue. (coming soon: "A Patient's Plea," a rural healthcare nightmare)
According to the article, by Exponent editor, Cheryl Lingo, Trish Johnson received a visit from two members of the community, who on their own accord, asked that Mrs. Johnson step down from her role as Sierra Kings chairwoman.
Yes! Be direct, be honest, you're not doing the job, you're a public servant, and the public is asking you to do the right thing.
No...she didn't step down. (We know that from our local situation. I've not only said step down, I've yelled it, to their faces. But ego is tough skin to tear through. And there is also the fact these people in office, any kind of political office, think that we voted them in to serve themselves and not us. Did you vote for that kind of service?)
But good job Reedley for taking it to them and speaking out against mediocrity.
I would like to say that I am personally sorry you ended up with Pam Ott in your area. I'm sure had you not gotten the letters of recommendation from the likes of our "terminally" a board member, Brad Armstrong, or our famous public speaker, Bob Jamison, or even Aspen Street Architects, you may have looked beyond the facade.
(I wish there was a board of directors I could sit on and vote to close that radio station Mr. Jamison enjoys using as his play toy. I need to ask someone if the hospital is doing any advertising still with the station. Since I don't really like to listen anymore, I haven't noticed. I'll find out.)
So, thank you for again setting an example for the craven, apathetic and ill informed people of the Kern River Valley. I wish you a hospital of luck.
Persistance and Tenacity, requires a new chapter, a new beginning....
Showing posts with label Trish Johnson SKDH board President. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trish Johnson SKDH board President. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
What can the small community of Reedley teach the Kern River Valley...
The small community of Reedley, California, southeast of Fresno, had a rude awakening more than a week ago, when their Sierra Kings District hospital, CEO, Pamela Ott, was charged with eight counts of elder abuse in a case that started in another rural community, right here in the Kern River Valley.
Ott, who was the former CEO/Administrator for the Kern Valley Healthcare District, resigned her position in May of 2007, as the skilled nursing facility was on the verge of collapse, and placed in "immediate jeopardy" by public health officials at least twice before she left.
(Will be bringing more quotes and pix from the May 2007 board meeting. After watching the video again, I noticed more than I did the first time around. And boy, I bet most of that isn't in the minutes. Then I was still fishing for information, now I can see clearly looking back on this video. Hopefully, we can have that up next.)
Sorry about this community of Reedley, but we could not get the support from the citizenery, media or the government, in particular the Grand Jury, to reel in our people who were responsible for short staffing our eldery residents care, while at the same time allowing a nursing director to order new medications without contacting family members, ignoring employee complaints, and finally denying any wrongdoing.
Instead, we sent off Pamela Ott, with some sort of glowing reference from the chairman of the board at the time, Brad Armstrong, and Sierra Kings District ended up with her and her skeletons in the closet.
In fact, Ott was "under fire" when she left, as employees began to get brave and talk about what had happened. I was right on her heels, but she ran, protected by the phalanx of support inside the hospital.
This afternoon, I spoke, with Sierra Kings District board President, Trish Johnson, and she confirmed that Ott is on an unpaid "administrative leave" until the court hearings Nov. 3 and 4.
Johnson said, "Pam Ott is on administrative leave, we've been looking at this situation, so we're far from done. I can only tell you because we are taking this very seriously, that the outcomes are not definite yet."
"So with that said," Johnson added, "we're doing what we can to keep the hospital from running rampant with rumors. There will always be disgruntled people as you well know, we don't contend to hide anything."
I asked the board President if the charges against Ott came as a surprise.
"Yes, it did. The board learned about it the Tuesday after Labor Day and we did not have any idea, we knew she had to go to Bakersfield for a court appearance, but we did not know what for."
Johnson concluded by saying that the board will be reassessing the situation with Ott in November.
The local newspaper and website," The Reedley Exponent," had some excellent coverage with a story regarding Ott, along with an opinion piece to knock your socks off. There were also some well written letters to the editor which reflect the situation at Sierra Kings District.
In editor, Cheryl Lingo's article, she quotes the board President as saying that they could not have known of Ott's past prior to hiring her.
(quote from Exponent)
"Johnson said the board was unaware of Ott's problems when she was interviewed for the CEO position two years ago. Johnson said she believes the board did its due diligence in confirming Ott."Every organization has its internal struggles, and there's no way we could have uncovered this sort of thing," she said."
In a punched up opinion piece, by Fred Hall, no holds barred, he tells it like it is about Ott resigning and even the board members resigning.
Unequivocally, in everyday language, Ms. Ott you should quit immediately for the good of the entire community and staff of the facility where you are employed. It’s simply a matter of doing the right thing at the right time for the right reasons!
Hall kept rolling, and I'm going to give another sample here that may give some here in the Kern River Valley and at the healthcare district something think about.
In the interim, we can only plead with those who were placed in charge of this tremendously important community asset to do your jobs and get things cleaned up. If you’re incapable or unwilling, then get out of the way! This hospital is a public entity and not something to inflate the egos of a few or enrich others who show such incompetence in dispatching their fiduciary duties.
Here are a few comments from the letters to the editor section:
It is time for a change in the hospital’s leadership and time for the current Board to be held accountable for their poor decisions and inattention to fundamental issues.
We also have just become aware that the hospital's board of directors was fully knowledgeable concerning these problems when the contract was offered to Ms. Ott. It seems apparent that Mrs. Trish Johnson, board president, chose to overlook or at least play down the implications of these legal problems which were well known in Kern County prior to the employment of Ms. Ott.
So many of these comments are familiar to us in the valley, as we have struggled with certain board members, and administrators, such as our chief Financial Officer, Chet Beedle for several years now.
Go to the Reedley Exponent and take a look a their stories and reactions. They are planning to bring in extra help so they can rightly provide media oversight so the community of Reedley doesn't remain in the dark.
The Sierra Kings District board will being interviewing for an "interim" CEO and CFO as Barbara Jennings was terminated according to the board President.
Though Johnson resisted talking about the situation with the Cheif Financial Officer, she said the two situations were "unrelated."
However, in the news article from the Exponent, there appears to be some relationship:
Johnson maintains there is no connection between Ott's being placed on administrative leave and the firing of former CFO Barbara Jennings. "Barbara Jennings wasn't fulfilling her duties here at the hospital. These two things are not connected." Johnson confirmed that Jennings was brought on board by Ott.
http://www.reedleyexponent.com/
Ott, who was the former CEO/Administrator for the Kern Valley Healthcare District, resigned her position in May of 2007, as the skilled nursing facility was on the verge of collapse, and placed in "immediate jeopardy" by public health officials at least twice before she left.
(Will be bringing more quotes and pix from the May 2007 board meeting. After watching the video again, I noticed more than I did the first time around. And boy, I bet most of that isn't in the minutes. Then I was still fishing for information, now I can see clearly looking back on this video. Hopefully, we can have that up next.)
Sorry about this community of Reedley, but we could not get the support from the citizenery, media or the government, in particular the Grand Jury, to reel in our people who were responsible for short staffing our eldery residents care, while at the same time allowing a nursing director to order new medications without contacting family members, ignoring employee complaints, and finally denying any wrongdoing.
Instead, we sent off Pamela Ott, with some sort of glowing reference from the chairman of the board at the time, Brad Armstrong, and Sierra Kings District ended up with her and her skeletons in the closet.
In fact, Ott was "under fire" when she left, as employees began to get brave and talk about what had happened. I was right on her heels, but she ran, protected by the phalanx of support inside the hospital.
This afternoon, I spoke, with Sierra Kings District board President, Trish Johnson, and she confirmed that Ott is on an unpaid "administrative leave" until the court hearings Nov. 3 and 4.
Johnson said, "Pam Ott is on administrative leave, we've been looking at this situation, so we're far from done. I can only tell you because we are taking this very seriously, that the outcomes are not definite yet."
"So with that said," Johnson added, "we're doing what we can to keep the hospital from running rampant with rumors. There will always be disgruntled people as you well know, we don't contend to hide anything."
I asked the board President if the charges against Ott came as a surprise.
"Yes, it did. The board learned about it the Tuesday after Labor Day and we did not have any idea, we knew she had to go to Bakersfield for a court appearance, but we did not know what for."
Johnson concluded by saying that the board will be reassessing the situation with Ott in November.
The local newspaper and website," The Reedley Exponent," had some excellent coverage with a story regarding Ott, along with an opinion piece to knock your socks off. There were also some well written letters to the editor which reflect the situation at Sierra Kings District.
In editor, Cheryl Lingo's article, she quotes the board President as saying that they could not have known of Ott's past prior to hiring her.
(quote from Exponent)
"Johnson said the board was unaware of Ott's problems when she was interviewed for the CEO position two years ago. Johnson said she believes the board did its due diligence in confirming Ott."Every organization has its internal struggles, and there's no way we could have uncovered this sort of thing," she said."
In a punched up opinion piece, by Fred Hall, no holds barred, he tells it like it is about Ott resigning and even the board members resigning.
Unequivocally, in everyday language, Ms. Ott you should quit immediately for the good of the entire community and staff of the facility where you are employed. It’s simply a matter of doing the right thing at the right time for the right reasons!
Hall kept rolling, and I'm going to give another sample here that may give some here in the Kern River Valley and at the healthcare district something think about.
In the interim, we can only plead with those who were placed in charge of this tremendously important community asset to do your jobs and get things cleaned up. If you’re incapable or unwilling, then get out of the way! This hospital is a public entity and not something to inflate the egos of a few or enrich others who show such incompetence in dispatching their fiduciary duties.
Here are a few comments from the letters to the editor section:
It is time for a change in the hospital’s leadership and time for the current Board to be held accountable for their poor decisions and inattention to fundamental issues.
We also have just become aware that the hospital's board of directors was fully knowledgeable concerning these problems when the contract was offered to Ms. Ott. It seems apparent that Mrs. Trish Johnson, board president, chose to overlook or at least play down the implications of these legal problems which were well known in Kern County prior to the employment of Ms. Ott.
So many of these comments are familiar to us in the valley, as we have struggled with certain board members, and administrators, such as our chief Financial Officer, Chet Beedle for several years now.
Go to the Reedley Exponent and take a look a their stories and reactions. They are planning to bring in extra help so they can rightly provide media oversight so the community of Reedley doesn't remain in the dark.
The Sierra Kings District board will being interviewing for an "interim" CEO and CFO as Barbara Jennings was terminated according to the board President.
Though Johnson resisted talking about the situation with the Cheif Financial Officer, she said the two situations were "unrelated."
However, in the news article from the Exponent, there appears to be some relationship:
Johnson maintains there is no connection between Ott's being placed on administrative leave and the firing of former CFO Barbara Jennings. "Barbara Jennings wasn't fulfilling her duties here at the hospital. These two things are not connected." Johnson confirmed that Jennings was brought on board by Ott.
http://www.reedleyexponent.com/
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