Parmod Kumar’s “apology” statement does not meet the criteria for an apology. An apology is defined as a regretful acknowledgment of an offense or failure. Regret is what is missing. In fact, Dr. Kumar would still be on the hospital district board, if not for his recall led by Citizens for Hospital Accountability. He fought against his recall even after the results were resoundingly and overwhelmingly in favor of his recall (80.6%). Dr. Kumar had been a board member for twenty years. His only regret would be that all of this happened to him and his power was diminished. His statement reads like a victim’s statement, when in reality, many patients and employees were the actual victims. Dr. Kumar falsely states that he was merely on the board for “part” of the time HCCA managed the hospital. He was on the board the entire time HCCA was allowed to extract every dime possible from the hospital without any pushback from the board. It wasn’t until he relinquished his stranglehold on the board, that HCCA no longer was allowed to continue its fleecing of the district.
As outlined in the hospital district’s press release, there were so many “offenses and failures.” Dr. Kumar’s offenses, while using his position as a trusted medical professional, were not “omissions,” but were commissions. It appears there were plenty of quid pro quos. Kumar signed off on a promissory note (IOU) attesting that the district had no funds, which indebted the district to Benzeevi. Kumar aided Benzeevi, and so in turn, Kumar held a very lucrative position at Southern Inyo Hospital as medical director, while also concurrently holding a 24/7 on-call position at Tulare hospital. In addition, by multiple accounts, including the Tulare County District Attorney’s office and the New Yorker magazine, HCCA paid former Israeli spies to attempt to smear Kumar’s recall replacement candidate Senovia Gutierrez’s name, and there were multiple attempts to impede and derail Kumar’s recall election, including a recount of that 80.6% vote. It seems as if Kumar and Benzeevi worked in concert quite often, rather than being distanced from one another.
Dr. Kumar is now attempting to change the narrative and revise history. He claims to apologize for being corrupt-adjacent. Who knew what Benzeevi was capable of doing? Kumar knew before anyone. From newspaper articles at the time, Dr. Kumar was a supporter of Benzeevi’s selection as CEO and manager. Many employees reported late night meetings in the parking lot of the hospital between the two prior to their affiliation. Benzeevi had no prior management experience, yet board members unanimously voted for his company which didn’t exist and hadn’t been registered with the State of California. If this board was an orchestra, Kumar would have been the virtuoso conductor.
Prior to the board selecting HCCA, some former board members realized what was happening. From the Visalia Times Delta on August 5, 2016:
When Kumar asked him (Kamboj) to join the TRMC board in 2006, Kamboj said he wanted something in return. “(Dr. Lonnie Smith and I) asked him to take an oath,” he said, “take an oath saying everything will be ethical, above the board, no closed door deals. He took an oath on his father’s name. Then we started seeing things after a year on the board. Things started to happen behind closed doors.” Smith confirmed the meeting. Kumar doesn’t remember taking an oath in Kamboj’s office.
Ultimately, this is a tragic betrayal of trust. This “apology” as part of his settlement included a mandatory apology with no regrets, not even feigning sincerity. It is a slap in the face to the citizens of Tulare Local Healthcare District, and also re-opens old, traumatic wounds for the victims in its wake.
Medical professionals are supposed to be compassionate healers who exhibit a call to service. Many are esteemed and elevated as community leaders. When the hospital opened in 1951, there were such healers who were doctors of distinction: doctors who treated all patients with reverence and equal importance. How would these doctors view what has happened to the once-great hospital that they founded? The golden age of Tulare healthcare will forever be tarnished by those who abused trust and misused authority – violating “to whom much is given, much will be required.”
Kumar apology or lack of apology is unfortunate but , it’s ridiculous to include a demand of apology in a lawsuit settlement and then expect you’re going to get it. Of course he agreed to it, what choice did he have if he wanted to settle? When are people going to understand that regardless if what someone does is wrong, or whether you deserve an apology because some kind of damage done, you cannot make someone who is not sorry, be sorry.