Persistance and Tenacity, requires a new chapter, a new beginning....
Showing posts with label ombudsman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ombudsman. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

I won't leave until they do: and I've got a surprise too

"Isn't that right Barbara" Chief Financial Officer Chet Beedle, during June's finance committee meeting, seeks support from Controller Barbara Figueroa as he was asked to explain the discrepancy between his report three weeks prior at the June board meeting.


Controller Barbara Figueroa, rarely heard during meetings, backed her boss as he was questioned regarding contracts and spending.


Beedle talked about the nursing registry costs announced at the last board meeting. An 80K payment, said to be a standard fee to registry companies, was questioned as the hospital works with many different companies.
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Former CEO Rick Carter was one of many, who received benefits such as an apartment, plane tickets, lunch and parking for personal business.

The CEO was also given a 19% raise before his departure earlier this year.

Last year, the CFO, Beedle, and three board members agreed that this expense which was on going, as well as paid housing, was reasonable considering the state of the hospital.

This is board meeting eve blog and I have a few things I want to make clear and then a surprise for a few people.

My goal is the perpetuity of this small public healthcare system, and with strong and circumspect leadership in the administration, finance, and the board of directors, there should no longer be minimum care and service.

Do you want Minimum care and minimum wages?

As the biggest employer and only healthcare for miles down a canyon road, the KVHD hospital must do better than just the minimum with staffing and services.

How many of us want the minimum amount of time we can speak with a doctor or nurse?

How many want to work for an employer which favors themselves over the whole organization minimizing the employee's worth?

How many of us want the minimum amount of time a doctor can spend dealing with our unique health issues?

Would any of us decide to want that for ourselves or our families. That is exactly what has been happening.

Who has to take responsibility and step aside or continue to suffer me.

Brad Armstrong: Mood, currently angry and bitter about lesser position on board as a new configuration was voted in last year.

Bob Jamison: Known to dislike almost everyone including all board members except Brad Armstrong.

Chet Beedle, has deliberately kept the public from knowing details of certain dealings. He has broken laws regarding employee information, which is a drop in the bucket.

Scott Nave, legal counsel, manipulated by the majority power, could not control the behaviors and even recent events have proven this to continue to be the case.

I'm going to work more closely with the hospital: Ombudsman

I'll be spending more time at the hospital watching and listening, reporting.

It all happened a few weeks ago when I visited the SNF for a short time and found three violations rather quickly.

I spoke to Sacramento and just chatted about what I had found. The woman knew about our hospital anyway. But after talking to me, she told me I would make a good ombudsman. She said she wanted to find my name on the list. Absolutely.

Wish I had done it two years ago, but hey, we can all work together now. Group hug.

But because I am a little different, I will be called onyourbuttsman, instead of ombudsman.

When the hospital is clear of violations, unethical behavior, and these people, then I'll move on too.

So, that was your surprise. Happy Birthday Jamison, Armstrong, and Beedle, I just wanted to let you know because I'm excited to get this new endeavour started.

I will, however, not take up the governments offer, as it would be in conflict a to reporting and writing about the problems and how they are being solved. So, just call me the "onyourbuttsman."

Board meeting tonight: Wed. July 1, at 5:30 pm in the cafeteria at the hospital.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Here's Tim, the new CEO: hello and welcome


Well it's going to be Tim McGlew's first week starting this Monday to take over the top management position of CEO at KVHD. Gosh what to do first?

I have a little checklist here which might be of use to you.

1. rid hospital of criminals and criminal activity (a must do before anything changes)

2..Go immediately to HR and find out why the state (more on this) believes there needs to be an investigation. HR has been a hotbed of mismanagement, coercion, collusion, and now its finally known. Ground zero, Mr. McGlew.

3. Oh, this is one of my points, could you make sure that staff know the rules when talking to the public. For instance, don't let anyone tell the public they can't view the SNF survey because it's not updated yet. (Bad, very bad; and it's supposed to be kept updated anyway). Oh, and make sure that the DON knows the staffing paper must be filled out before 11 am. And don't lie to a reporter who is playing dumb (its easy for me though), that it doesn't have to be filled out. Finally, if someone calls the hospital and asks for the ombudsman number, tell the person not to ask the name, first and last, and then ask if they are an employee. Looks really bad. Jeez.
(Two years ago I couldn't get near that SNF report as employees were sent to dissuade me which we all know is impossible. But things are better now, they lie or just don't know. A little improvement don't you think Mr. Jamison? Are you checking this every 90 days Bobby J?)
4. Yes, investigations are an appropriate way to spell out the problems. We need an audit (a real one) broken down and with a company who isn't a neighbor of CFO Chet Beedle. This is ASAP.

5. Please don't overlook the Cal Mtg. situation. Please, we are being rooked and have known for months we would be clearing that bond reserve, and you need to get the history of how this district was duped into a horribly bad deal which the state will not help with. But I will.

6. Make sure the community is covered in the ER. We had EMCARE with us for six years, and patients were always recieving bills over and above their insurance. However, when Chet and Pam Ott had Dr. Pormir start his medical group, not much changed in the billing. (Of course the hospital did the billing for them, I'm sure that's why nothing changed.) Now we have to find out if there are people intentionally heading down the mountain to avoid charges. Clean it up and let's bring them back.

7. If somehow you can accomplish this and pay the bills, hey, we can make money; we're the only hospital in town. We just don't have direction. We had a mammography machine that was purchased and never used. I don't know what boob did that. (Sorry couldn't resist the pun)

But there are ways to make money, and we need to cut out the costs, such as overpriced and underused, personnel. We need 24/7 ultra sound, because I can't take any more CT scan sales, because that's the only equipment you have. And I don't want anymore radiation either. There should have been a purchase to have radiology reports sent to other facilities, but we shorted ourselves again when we could have made money.

I have many more ideas, as the last three years of my life, have been spent around this facility. Really, I didn't know I was going to have to learn so much. But I keep researching and I know now many things. I wonder if I could get a degree from Kennedy Western University, like Pam Ott?

This blog contains only partial information. We're not done yet.

Good luck to our CEO and I'm hoping for the best. Take care Tim.