Tulare Hospital District’s Meeting Turns Solemn to Raucous

Dr. Benny Benzeevi, CEO/Chairman of Healthcare Conglomerate Associates, speaks to the TLHCD Board of Directors at January’s regularly scheduled board meeting. Tony Maldonado/Valley Voice

This article has been updated to match the version in the March 2 edition of the Voice.

The only things missing from Wednesday’s Tulare Local Healthcare District meeting were an announcer, a bell, round cards, and popcorn.

The meeting started on a down note — officials with the district announced Fitch Ratings, a major credit ratings agency, had revised the district’s “rating watch” position from “positive” to “negative” on both its bonds and its “Issuer Default Rating.”

“I’m sure this is how Dr. [Parmod] Kumar feels, Dr. [Benny] Benzeevi felt when he practiced, when they lost a patient,” Alan Germany, the CFO of Healthcare Conglomerate Associates, said of the news.

After pointing out the hospital’s successes in quality and compliance, Benzeevi, the CEO of HCCA — the company which runs the Tulare Regional Medical Center — shifted gears to discussing the past, no holds barred, creating a raucous audience.

That atmosphere continued as the board voted to schedule a recall election for Kumar.

“Potential Death Knell”

The news from Fitch Ratings served as a reminder of the district’s difficult path forward in finding continued financing for its beleaguered tower construction project.

“This is something that potentially, certainly could hurt the hospital, death knell the hospital. Whatever you want to call it,” Germany said.

One of the key reasons for the downgrade stemmed from the voters’ rejection of Measure I, the $55m bond proposal that would have funded construction of the hospital’s unfinished tower.

“The Negative Watch is due to the failure of a ballot measure in August 2016 that would have authorized a $55 million general obligation (GO) bond issuance to finish its new building project,” a Fitch press release states. “TRMC is currently in the process of evaluating financing options and the Negative Watch reflects the sizeable amount of debt that will need to be supported from hospital operations.”

Since the exhaustion of the initial bond, the hospital has expended $7.3m to continue construction and prevent the expiration of construction permits — a drain on resources that is untenable in the long-term, Germany said.

That fact was key to a prior Fitch Rating Watch upgrade in August 2016: the agency placed the healthcare district on “Rating Watch Positive” due to optimism surrounding the ballot measure and its potential to stop the project’s drain on hospital resources.

“We felt really good that the community really wanted a hospital, they really wanted the future, they really wanted a future tower and were willing to fund it,” Germany said.

“The [August] Rating Watch Positive reflects Fitch’s expectation of upward rating movement if Measure I passes since funding will be secured to complete the new building project and Tulare Regional Medical Center’s strong operating performance has been sustained,” Fitch Ratings officials stated in an August 2016 press release. “However, if Measure I fails, Fitch will need an updated plan from management and will reassess the rating at that time.”

Wednesday’s press release from Fitch did not indicate whether HCCA or TLHCD officials had discussed any updated plans beyond stating that management officials expect “to finalize [their] financing plan by summer 2017 and will issue bonds through the FHA 242 program or Cal Mortgage.”

Germany also discussed declining patient volumes, a trend not left unnoticed by the ratings agency.

“TRMC’s financial profile has weakened through the six months ended Dec. 31, 2016 as a result of an information technology conversion and continued decline in volume. TRMC had 41.2 days cash on hand at Dec. 31, 2016 and 6.3% operating EBITDA margin through the interim period,” the agency noted in its recent release.

Financial Reporting

During the meeting, the board also approved less frequent financial reports.

Germany requested that financial reports be made quarterly, stating that monthly reports took time away from finance staff to focus on other matters and could provide an inaccurate picture.

“It allows time for finance staff to focus on financial analysis, and all sorts of other things,” Germany said. “The thing with monthly reporting is that you can have incredibly significant fluctuation, and it’s really misleading.”

On 3-2 lines, board members Parmod Kumar, Linda Wilbourn, and Richard Torrez voted to allow the less frequent reports, with Kevin Northcraft and Mike Jamaica dissenting.

Kumar made the motion to switch to quarterly reports, thanking Germany for his service along the way.

“First of all, Alan, thank you for being so damn good,” Kumar said. “In my 20+ years, we never had a CFO of the caliber as you are, Alan.”

Northcraft explained his dissenting vote by stating that he believed the switch would be a violation of the contracts that TLHCD has with HCCA.

“Our agreement with HCCA requires monthly financial reports to be made by the 20th of the month following. You are in breach of contract by not providing those,” Northcraft said, explaining his vote. “We cannot, by motion, change the agreement with HCCA.”

“That’s your opinion, and I appreciate that,” Benzeevi replied, “but it’s not accurate.”

“I’m not entitled to have independent legal counsel,” Northcraft retorted, “so I have to use my best judgement.”

“The Charlatans of the Past”

Benzeevi took the podium from Germany to discuss the hospital’s success in spite of some setbacks.

“We’re very, very proud of our team for taking a hospital from the brink of disaster, in spite of a 5 year physician boycott from the very physicians that have supported some of our people, unfortunately,” he said.

Across a wide swath of benchmarks, Benzeevi said, the hospital has proved its excellence.

“We look at every area and multiple variables within that area,” Benzeevi said.

Benzeevi presented statistics from those areas — including food and nutrition services, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and ‘Code Blue’ cases.

“A ‘code’ is somebody who loses all heartrate and respiration, basically clinically dead,” Benzeevi said. “If you were to have a ‘Code Blue’ as a patient here, the likelihood of you living to discharge is one out of three. The national numbers are 17 to 20 percent. That speaks volumes to the care and the notice that the nurses and the staff pay to the patients here.”

Segueing from the Compliance and Quality section of the meeting and stepping clearly into the “Other” portion on the agenda, the HCCA CEO took aim at the hospital’s critics and past leadership, pointing out one member of the audience by name.

“Let’s talk about some of the things that HCCA did not do,” he said.

“HCCA wasn’t here in 2005 to tell a community that $85m would pay for a $120m building,” Benzeevi said. “I don’t know who was responsible for that, but I looked up who was on the board.”

“Deanne [Martin-Soares], you were on the board,” he said. “Victor [Gonzalez] was on the board.”

Multiple members of the audience decided to talk, too.

“I don’t think you can call out people in the audience,” one man said.

“We’re just talking about public officials, I’m not calling anybody out,” Benzeevi responded.

He continued.

“2010, we started building a new tower before the plans are complete? Who the heck does that — start a new tower before the plans are complete,” he asked. “How about doctors that run the hospital and don’t come to the hospital — better yet, doctors supported by our taxpayer money that don’t come to the hospital?”

HCCA, he said, had over the last three years “brought the public hospital back to the public.”

“It belongs to the public. It doesn’t belong to the charlatans of the past,” he said , drawing more jeers from the crowd.

While the speech had clearly shifted the tone and mood of the audience, the point wasn’t to incite, he said, ending his portion of the meeting.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand,” Benzeevi said. “What gets us to the future is a coming together and recognizing that we all need to have an integrated healthcare system in this community.”

Recall Election

The board voted on 3-2 lines — Linda Wilbourn, Richard Torrez, and Kumar in the affirmative; Kevin Northcraft and Mike Jamaica in the negative — to schedule Kumar’s recall election.

The vote authorized Wilbourn to “issue and deliver to the registrar of voters within 14 days of the date of [the] meeting an order, stating that an election will be held on the date which is 125 days after the date of the order, to determine whether or not Dr. Kumar shall be recalled.”

However, Kumar’s participation in the vote didn’t please an already incensed segment of the audience.

“We checked with independent counsel on the issue of whether Dr. Kumar whether had to recuse himself,” Bruce Greene, the district’s attorney, said, responding to statements from the audience.

“You asked for an opinion, and I’m giving you the opinion. If you don’t like it, fine,” Greene said. “The opinion is he does not have to recuse himself from voting on whether there should be an election for his recall. He’s gonna vote on it. If you don’t like it, I’m sorry.”

Additionally, an official from the Tulare County Registrar of Voters’ office came to the meeting to request a different date.

“We would respectfully request that you order the election for June 6. That would coincide with another special election being held,” Michelle Baldwin, the Interim Tulare County Registrar of Voters, stated. That will save the district money in costs to run the special election separate from that election.”

The board did not choose to act on Baldwin’s recommendation, instead adopting the resolution that would see the election date, at a bare minimum — if the order were sent the day after the meeting — set on June 28.

Northcraft attempted to call a vote on a resolution to call the election for the sixth, prompting an apparently exasperated Greene to tell Wilbourn to “just run the meeting .”

At the end of the vote, Visalia lawyer Michael Lampe said he believed that Kumar’s participation in the discussion vote was a violation of the Brown Act.

“Mike, I would be more than happy to see you removed,” Greene said .

“Remove me,” Lampe responded.

In Depth: Tulare Regional Medical Center

48 thoughts on “Tulare Hospital District’s Meeting Turns Solemn to Raucous

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  1. Get rid of the attorney for HCCA and hire one that represents the TRMC. This meeting clearly shows why it is insane to have one attorney for both sides.

  2. Benzeevi was the ringmaster, with 3 clowns on the board, one as attorney, the other is acting CFO. Per the contract that was approved by 2 if not 3 of the board clowns, HCCA can run this was awesome hospital into the ground and walk away unscathed. It’s time to protest

  3. How did Fitch get this information when HCCA hasn’t released the year ending 2016 audit? They got information that we should have.

    “TRMC’s financial profile has weakened through the six months ended Dec. 31, 2016 as a result of an information technology conversion and continued decline in volume. TRMC had 41.2 days cash on hand at Dec. 31, 2016 and 6.3% operating EBITDA margin through the interim period,” the agency noted in its recent release.

    Bruce Green did tell Kevin to get his own attorney……I think he should come to the next meeting with him/her!

  4. one other thing, in the case against Dr Betre, he stated that the MEC was looking into how Dr Kumar treated employees if I’m not mistaken……well from that board meeting I’m more inclined to agree with Dr Betre now is saying I believe there is a hostile work environment as Bezeevi speaks to members of the public past board members in attendance.
    I also did not care for the cursing that Dr Kumar did in say Damn fine job to Alan Germany and saying Freakin’ on another issue. I was appalled that he would speak like that at a board meeting, whether or not he’s in the hot seat.
    Now I see how Kumar really is.

  5. The citizens of Tulare have loss confidence in hospital management. The Tower of Shame, frequent employee turnover, and arguments are symptoms of sub-standard management.

  6. Benzeevi, weren’t you, Kumar and Bell in the video that spouted “we dont’ need yo’ money” that was premiered at a fundraiser at Kumar’s house. What year was that? Hmmmm. Your comments about the second tower surely must have been offensive to Kumar since it was his and Bolouki’s idea that you agreed with to have a second tower. HCCA continues to be a joke, complete sham and thieves of the district’s $$.

  7. Benzeevi, would you like some cheese with your whine. Tularens have sent you a clear message. We don’t trust you and we don’t like you. You have been bleeding the hospital to the tune of $9,000,000 per year for too long. Leave!!!

  8. The people of the hospital district that goes all the was past Pixley really do want and need a hospital. They just don’t want you and Kumar to be a part of it. That goes for Linda and Richard as well. By the way Linda isn’t it a conflict of interest to have your vending machines on hospital property as long as you are on the board.

  9. Scott Hillman
    Let’s talk about doing the right thing. Correct me if I’m wrong didn’t you drive much of your business out of this community for your own benefit? What have you done for this community nothing! You have ridden on the coat tails of your grandparents.

    • There is not a more respected family in Tulare. Scot has given so much of his time and money to make Tulare a better place for us to raise our family.

    • No need to hit below the belt! If you took the time to look into Haskell’s outreach to our community over the years while Scott Hillman has been at the helm you would be embarrassed with your post. Scott Hillman has not ridden on the coat tails of anyone….he has earned his place in the family business. Why the need to attack him? If you have a difference of opinion then fine, no problem but don’t put down the obvious good he has done for Tulare.

  10. THANK YOU!

    I have to say I was very impressed with all the great quality reports presented in relation to our Community Hospital. Thank you to all the Staff for making sure my family is well taken care of at TRMC.

    DR OSTRUM

    I’d like to say how grateful I am that you were the doctor on call Several months ago the day my grandmother was brought into the emergency room with a possible Heart Attack. You and your Team were spot on. One particulate nurse I remember was Diane and her kindness and detail to everything.

    HCCA

    Thank you to the HCCA Team for their hard work and diligence on improving the HealthCare system at TRMC.
    To have such gifted and talented individuals who are taking this hospital to the next level, is beyond impressive.
    Again, the quality improvement over the last few years is remarkable. I I have to say that anyone with any common sense knows HCCA is doing this for the Citizens of Tulare not themselves.

    Citizens for Hospital
    Accountability

    I am overwhelmingly disappointed in your actions. You should have been the first to have stepped up to support HCCA as they took a near Dead hospital back to life. You should have been a servant for the community to help move thing forward not backwards.
    Instead all you have been is a
    a hindrance. You should’ve stood up to the boycotting doctors and told them what they’re doing is wrong. I’m baffled at how you think HCCA is ripping off the hospital when in reality all they have done is improved it.
    In my opinion your Group should be investigated for Sabotaging a community/district hospital.

  11. I agree with you Kassandra this should be a team effort in building a strong thriving hospital unless there is a hidden agenda. A hidden agenda in supporting Kaweah Delta Hospital become flooded with patients in hopes to attain a goal of a newly built facility.

    Citizens for hospital accountability you really need to stop talking poorly of the staff at HCCA it is downright disgusting and very unbecoming.

    • I am one of the one that has flooded Kaweah as you said for their great care. I just spent eight days there. I would have never made it out of Tulare District if I had gone there. Sad to say but I am glad there is a alternative to Tulare District.

      • I just spent a week watching the lack of care at Kaweah! My family was bleeding out after surgery, and after 3 nurses seeing him, not one nurse looked at him! Surgeon had to come in and stop the bleeding. Unacceptable! Is that the “A” rating you bought? Sounds like an “F” to me, he could of died.

  12. As a current staff Member at HCCA they are doing it to themselves. Ive seen close friend/coworkers get fired, ive seen staff leave. I dont think citizens for accountability ever attacks us as an employee there… there are a lot if us that are tired of HCCA but we stay there because we love the hospital and the community. We cant say anything because we are afraid of losing out jobs if we speak up. Im taking that risk of my full-time employment. You will see more employees start to speak out. And Im not talking about the Cheer leaders. Its time to take a stand.

  13. Mr. M or whatever your real name is. It’s obvius that you are NOT a member of the HCCA team because they don’t hire cowards there. HCCA team members are real people who ain’t afraid to identify themselves because they are proud of the great work they do and if being the savior of our public hospital. That’s why because if their hard work they have been able to earn multiple pay raises which the clowns that that ran the hospital before (like those hiding behind the joke organizashun calling theirselves Citizens for hospital Nonaccountability) not only couldn’t do but nearly cost 500 people their jobs. I am sure that you don’t work at the hospital because HCCA will never hire losers and cowards like you. I know that because I am sitting right here having dinner with four of them

  14. Hahahaha you’re
    so not an employee.
    I along with many others love where we work and who we work for. I would encourage anyone who maybe unhappy with their employer to find employment elsewhere. No one is forcing anyone to stay anywhere. I do have a question though. Was it the 2 raises they gave you or the new technology they brought to the hospital or maybe how they’ve tried to bring all-around better health care to Tulare?

  15. You go Julie. I like that. Citizens for hospital Nonaccountability. The losers of the past. Jealous of HCCA because no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get it right until HCCA came and saved them. Mr. M I can’t respect you because if you truly work at the hospital but don’t like it be a real man and leave.

  16. Julie, Kim and Edward, thanks for making Mr.M’s point about the hostile work environment faced by those who disagree, maybe you guys could help Benzeevi with his next board presentation, since he might be running out of insults.

  17. In my opinion it appears to me that the “Citizens for Hospital Accountability”group is causing all the stress on the hard-working staff of TRMC. You have belittled the staff and it’s on your own website. Who does that?

    The quality of care has rapidly improved since HCCA has taken over. Why would any of these boycotting doctors advice their patients to go elsewhere when their chances of

    1. Urinary Catheter associated Infection is ZERO at TRMC

    2. CODE BLUE 1 out of 3 survival rate at TRMC Amazing!!

    3. Ventilator acquired pneumonia ZERO at TRMC

    4. 100 % compliance nutritional area

    5. Case management is able to place 92% of their displaced homeless patients. Amazing!!

    (And that’s just the beginning)

    To me it sounds like HCCA stepped up to the plate going above and beyond doing the job they were called in to do.
    I don’t know about you but in my opinion it seems like harassment from
    “Citizens of Hospital Accountability”

    Leave these dedicated hard-working employees alone…

  18. Let’s talk.. I don’t recall any comments from Citizens belittling the staff, perhaps you could point those out. As to your quality facts stated, its interesting that you use the same slides at Benzeevi used during the first half of his tantrum. Given they refusal to provide the public with information, you must be closer to HCCA then most and are able to confirm these stats with backup information, I would hate to think you will just take his word on this.

  19. Actually Truthbtolld I listen to an audio provided by the Valley Voice. I’m just a concerned Citizen like you.

  20. At Julie Ver. And Kim. I do work there and attended at the directors meeting….maybe you can enlighten us on the Mold they found in the Cardiac Catheterization lab?

  21. Beside the cowardice of not identifying yourself “untruthbtold” there is also the hypocrisy of the group you’re part of, the citizens for hospital Nonaccountability. I sat in the audience throughout the entire meeting and Dr. Benzivi did not utter a single insult. He just talked about the screw ups at the hospital over the past 10 years and the people that were directly responsible for it – Which by the way are the very same people that are in charge of the citizens for hospital Nonaccountability – Deanne Soares, Bill Postlewaite, etc. they should just own to their failures and leave our hospital alone. Maybe you and them can travel to other city’s for your medical care but I can’t and neither can many of our community

  22. Check out the citizens for Hospital accountability page they’re really going after Dr. Kamboj and
    Dr Chopra.. This group is about attacking people. They have already attacked Dr Kumar.

  23. I am amazed that you guys still refuse to bring Dr. Kumar’s name into the picture. He has been on the board for the entire time the hospital has been having problems. If you did not hear the insults or innuendos Bensleezy spewed out your are deaf. I am not a member of the committee for ACCOUNTABILITY but I believe they are on the right track. You guys accuse them of attacking the employees and you guys are the ones that can’t say anything respectable. Which tells me that deep down you are trying to convince yourself you’re right. Take off the blinders and quit blaming the very people that are trying to help the hospital be great again. Keep going committee for hospital accountability!

  24. Ironic, when past board members point fingers at everybody else but dont like being held accountable for their actions hahahaha
    Really?? What joke😜

    • What actions would you like accountability for? Are you talking of the past items that now HCCA spews as truth. Her are a few examples that are lies:

      In 2005 that the Tower was a $125,000,000 project and we deceived the community when asking for a bond of $85 million.

      OIG complaint – details of what it is was and what they asked for in settlement. Neither Benzeevi or Skip Barwick were involved since this was a closed board discussion. They have each stated figures of $20 million and then $25 million. Only person that sits on the board that would know is Dr. Kumar.

      Since my name was on multiple slides including a picture of a woman in stockades what other items would you like me to accountability for? Are you even aware that I left the board in November of 2008?

      I don’t write this to be defensive but to show that the lies and deceit are coming from HCCA with I am assuming knowledge from a board member.

      A couple of other facts that are stated as truth which are not:

      Since 2006 there were 3 CEO’s and then HCCA. Numbers have been given of 6-10.

      HCCA wasn’t around for the past. Wrong Benzeevi has been there since at least 2010 as an employed ER physician. He then formed his own ER group and took that contract away from his employer in July of 2013. He was given the contract as the alignment partner in December 2013.

      When the MEC issue happened last year he was quoted as saying “a self-selected group came to them.” It will soon become apparent that was not true. It was planned and he was very much involved in planning it.

      The constant attacks on the citizens group, physicians and citizens of the community are a distraction to move the spotlight off key points – HCCA is paid $25,000 per day and the hospital census has done nothing but decline year by year since they were selected.

      We do acknowledge that on our social media page, that has well over 1600 followers, that others may express opinions of people and we are trying not censor. Some comments are removed and we did block a handful of people during Measure I, that continued to distort the past that they had no knowledge of, that were confusing the issues. This came about because of requests from members of the public that followed the page.

      Our goal has not changed since our inception – we are going to save OUR public hospital for the long-term better good for our community as a whole. We will continue on this path not by personal attacks but bringing out truth and letting the community make their decision.

  25. AM you are so wrong again. I am not a board member just someone that has worked in and around the hospital since 1974. Yes Everyone should be accountable that’s my point!

  26. Deanne
    How can you claim to be such a great advocate of citizens for Tulare when you weren’t even an advocate for your own employee’s. My cousin worked for you for a very long time and found herself without a paycheck with you being her employer.

    OIG complaint
    Deanne we all know Dr Kumar wasn’t the only one on the board but you find it necessary again to accuse him, this is a lie.

    It appears after reading many documents and listening to many recordings your name pops up just as much as Dr Kumar, in reality it appears that you are at the top of the list for the hospitals near destruction/bankruptcy.

    Deanne
    You can’t continue to blame HCCA and Dr Benzeevi for the irresponsibility of your time and many others who sat on previous boards. What HCCA and Dr Benzeevi have done with this hospital is a miracle.

    Deanne
    I have multiple friends who work at this hospital and have heard from many of them that they have gone to the MEC a multitude of times with many issues that were never resolved, so in my opinion they weren’t doing their job. How can you have an effective MEC when they won’t even listen to the concerns of the staff. To my understanding the employee’s are happy with the knew MEC because issues are being addressed.

    • Trash Talk Lucy….when you have no solid foundation of fact you just start with the trash talk. Just how low will you go with your destructive comments? How pathetic you are! Same goes for Trash Talk Let’s-Talk with Kassandra……the two of you are showing just how destructive you really are. Pathetic!

      • Barbara it’s a shame… These people can dish it out , yet when you give it back your criticize.

        That wouldn’t be very nice if I said “Trash talking Deanne”

        The Citizens group has a Dynamic way of belittling people who don’t agree with them.

  27. Lucy

    This Citizens for Hospital accountability group has absolutely NO foundation . If any of what they were saying had any truth to it these people would be in jail. All LIES from the Citizens for Hospital Accountability. I also find it very peculiar that the only two people ever brought up here are Kumar and Benzeevi , yet Kamboj , Smith and McFetridge were all part of a board at one time or another.. Which pretty much explains the hospitals status prior to HCCA.

    You’ve called everybody under the sun and apparently you have NO case, Why do you have NO case, because what HCCA and the TRMC Board are doing is to get this hospital back on its feet from the awful mess they found it in.

    A family friend stated that when they were approached by this group it seem like they were out for blood not to save the hospital.

    Another friend said that Citizens for Hospital Accountability site was going after Dr Chopra last week. What are they trying to do take one doctor out at a time?

  28. This is from a Site called ” SAVE TRMC”. Very good information to consider when making a decision .

    It’s unfortunate that yet again in TDH history, a small group motivated by ego and financial gain have managed to bamboozle our great community yet once again. When the people who are behind this so called Citizens for Hospital Unaccountability were in charge, the hospital lost millions of dollars, wasted the 85 million dollars bond and left the Hosital in shambles. In fact, the hospital was losing money the last three years of Deanne Martin Soares term in the Board (check it out, it’s all public information) and her final gift to the Hosital was a federal OIG investigation, a huge fine, and five years of federal probation – all for inappropriate physician contracts which by the way include the very physicians they now want to bring back. HCCA on the other hand picked up a failing bankrupt hospital and made it profitable in spite of the boycott by these very physicians. And HCCA was able to save our new tower. Check out the facts for yourself.

  29. Let’s-talk. ” and HCCA was able to save our new tower”????? Wasn’t HCCA supposed to help fund the finishing of the tower.? How’d that work out?

  30. Kass It seems obvious that you are somehow tied with HCCA, you are very one sided? Do they pay you per post, do they let you write yourself Do they just give you talking points?

    When the community votes almost 2 of 3 majority you say the community were bamboozled. No They saw through your smoke screen.

    I guess you must Remember that HCCA cares about its Tulare employees so much that it made sure you could not be able to work at the hospital for three years if HCCA had to leave. If you are an employee Maybe that is your motivation?

    The employees and paid people at Save Trmc may talk about ego motivation for the other side, but how do you sleep when selling a whole district community hospital down and benefitting your own finances?

  31. “ONE SIDED” now that’s The Pot Calling The Kettle Black. That’s laughable.

    Di- it seems that everyone who disagrees is either an employee or an Employee…well I’m NOT!!!

    Di let’s be realistic. When you say ” The Community Voted” please tell the people this is a small district with a section of even smaller registered voters. In my opinion Citizens for Hospital Accuntability manipulated and lied to this small group of voters with the intentions of misleading them. Just like when you say the “Community Voted” again “misleading” “Lies” you make it as if the whole 65,000+ Citizens of Tulare Voted. Let’s be real

    Di- many many hospitals and other types of businesses have such terms in their contracts. I’m not sure why that is awkward to you.
    I know that if I were HCCA I would want my employees to follow me if I were to start up a new enterprise such as a New Hospital… Completely reasonable.

    Citizens for Hospital Accountability please stop Lying to the Community.

    • didn’t HCCA continually and I mean on every piece of mail they sent, every presentation they’d do……….THE HOSPITAL WILL CLOSE IF WE DON’T PASS THIS 55 MILLION BOND.
      was this true? NO……

  32. Kass – So you think it is Okay for HCCA to take all of Tulare employees call them HCCA employees then not allow them to work for the hospital for 3 years if they split.

    Some have been at that hospital more time then HCCA has even existed but they want to take them away from Tulare. They were Tulare employees first, Tulares best people. Not HCCA. And In the last News Article you said HCCA may even build a HCCA hospital.

    Is that bringing the public hospital back to the public. Steal Tulare Hospitals best people and building a privately owned hospital. No one person who is not being paid by HCCA would think that is Okay. ” Let’s be real”

    And I do not forget the 28 people they laid off. Maybe you do since your job must of been safe. But at least Mr Germany gets to be reimbursed for his Jamba Juice. Do they reimburse you too.

  33. Di… I have read it time and time again ” Get rid of HCCA” from Citizen for Hospital Accountability. To me that means they want to get rid of all the Staff at TRMC ,because the staff is HCCA. I would be livid at Citizens for Hospital Accountability for not caring about these hard working people. Is Citizens for Hospital accountability going to pay their mortgage , daycare or food bill once they get rid of HCCA. I can answer that NO!!

    If Citizens for Hospital Accountability is successful in shutting this hospital down then HCCA would have no choice but to build else where.
    Once again HCCA would be looking out for the Best interest of the Employees,unlike Citizens for hospital accountability.

    Deanne Martin Soares will you be paying the staffs bills.. Albert Aguilar will you.. NO!!You can get rid of HCCA, but with that they take all the hard working Staff.. I’m going to bet these employees never thought of that..

    Furthermore, HCCA is the company that saved all these Jobs. They are the reason the staff still gets paid in-spite of all the Lies you have told.

    Citizens For Hospital Accountability in my opinion =
    LIES-LIES-LIES-LIES-LIES

  34. It really floors me after reading all these posts, that none of you care about all the mismanagement of the money that’s going on.
    Did you know that Southern Inyo Drugs were funneled through TDH? Isn’t this illegal?
    As we were being sued by a pharmaceutical company for failure to pay, you just seem to sweep it under the rug.
    And as a loan to Southern Inyo cooked up by HCCA (Benzeevi) of $200,000 was then increased to $500,000 without board approval, you all seem to think that’s ok.
    I bet they gave that paper of that motion to Linda Wilbourn to read from because if she had written herself she wouldn’t have sad, ‘oh’ when she got to the part that stated the loan was increased…..it was NOT paid back in July as stated,,,it was extended in July.
    But I guess you don’t care about all of that……
    THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT THE CITIZENS FOR HOSPITAL ACCOUNTABILITY ARE LOOKING AT SINCE NONE OF YOU EVER BRING ANY OF THAT UP!
    excuse me for NOT being a low information voter!

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