Wednesday’s meeting of the Tulare Local Healthcare District is set to be, at a minimum, confusing. That’s because two agendas have been released for the meeting — both set for the same time and location, but with different items for the board to consider.
One agenda was published Sunday by the hospital’s management company, Healthcare Conglomerate Associates (HCCA). Records on the hospital’s website show it was published at 3:46pm.
That agenda includes an item to “declare” Senovia Gutierrez a board member, a sticking point for the hospital’s administration and board members Linda Wilbourn and Richard Torrez, who claim that Gutierrez is not a seated board member until declared by the board.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3935831-HCCA-Aug-23-Agenda.html#document/p1/a369934
It also includes a quarterly financial update, originally scheduled for the scrapped July 26 board meeting, and accompanying financial reports.
Notably, it doesn’t include any items covered at meetings on July 27 or August 9, meetings which hospital administrators state are illegitimate as Gutierrez was not declared a board member July 26.
The management company’s agenda also omits Gutierrez’ name, instead leaving a blank space previously occupied by Dr. Parmod Kumar, who was recalled in a July 11 election.
Board member Kevin Northcraft distributed a competing agenda minutes earlier, via email to the Voice, the Fresno Bee, and the Visalia Times-Delta.
“I proposed a resolution to our impasse over recognizing the newly elected board member Senovia Gutierrez, to Dr. Benzeevi and Linda Wilbourn. As no response was received, I am distributing and posting this agenda,” Northcraft stated.
The agenda, sent at 3:35pm and apparently created by Northcraft, Gutierrez and Mike Jamaica, includes items to ratify the votes made at those two meetings.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3935832-Northcraft-Aug-23-Agenda.html#document/p1/a369944
Both agendas state that their meetings will be held at 4pm at Evolutions Fitness & Wellness Center in Tulare.
Dr. Benny Benzeevi, CEO of HCCA, states that only one will be followed.
“There is one agenda and that is the one that was officially posted by the hospital,” Benzeevi said. “I don’t know about what anyone else is doing, but I can only speak to what is official hospital business.”
http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3935832-Northcraft-Aug-23-Agenda.html
http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3935831-HCCA-Aug-23-Agenda.html