Let’s be clear about this: HCCA and the TLHCD board are dedicated to transparency. The Board has cooperated with the grand jury every step during its important examination of the $85 million bond, which was used to fund the first stage of construction of our vital new hospital tower.
Instead of using this information to help the Board and Tulare Regional Medical Center serve the public better, the grand jury’s foreman seems more interested in self-promotion and grandstanding. Why else would he violate state secrecy laws by repeatedly discussing confidential grand jury proceedings in public?
California law makes it a misdemeanor for grand jury members to publically discuss proceedings and evidence. Chuck White and John Hobbs, another member of the Grand Jury, have both repeatedly violated this law.
Every crime has a motive. Mr. White’s motive is very clear: He wants to promote himself and develop a reputation in the community.
This is unfortunate because he has undermined the work the grand jury has done and rendered as meaningless any of its findings. If the grand jury is not impartial, then its findings cannot be trusted.
TLHCD from the beginning has been willing to work closely with the grand jury to examine the expenditure of the first bond. Now, because of Mr. White’s actions, it is increasingly clear that he is motivated by only one thing – publicity – instead of his very important role as the leader of a body that is supposed to help improve local government.
Meanwhile, Tulare Regional Medical Center and its partner, HCCA, are continuing to work to finish the new hospital building and develop an integrated healthcare system that will serve this community for generations.