"Commentary: The hospital's labscam scandal deepens"
In the fall of 2017 and spring of 2018, SWMC Inc. made likely illegal "kickback" payments as part of its ill-fated drug testing program with Aaron Durall and Reliance Labs. Certain Palm Drive District officials knew of the payments but never reported them to relevant authorities or informed the District Board or the hospital’s Governing Body of their magnitude and probable illegality.
You can read more here in a commentary I wrote that appears in this week's Sonoma West Times & News.
You can download emails that document these assertions in MSG format here or in PST format here.
You can also read a narrative summary about the program and the emails here.
Jim Horn
Director, Palm Drive Health Care District
Re: "Commentary: The hospital's labscam scandal deepens"
It’s all such a mess. Who do you recommend voting for?
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by JimHorn:
In the fall of 2017 and spring of 2018, SWMC Inc. made likely illegal "kickback" payments as part of its ill-fated drug testing program with Aaron Durall and Reliance Labs. Certain Palm Drive District officials knew of the payments but never reported them to relevant authorities or informed the District Board or the hospital’s Governing Body of their magnitude and probable illegality.
You can read more
here in a commentary I wrote that appears in this week's Sonoma West Times & News.
You can download emails that document these assertions in MSG format
here or in PST format
here.
You can also read a narrative summary about the program and the emails
here.
Jim Horn
Director, Palm Drive Health Care District
Re: "Commentary: The hospital's labscam scandal deepens"
I'm voting only for Richard Power, a local attorney who is very interested in and knowledgeable about our community and in the Palm Drive fiasco but doesn't have an axe to grind or past mistakes to cover up. I think he will be an honest and intelligent voice on the Palm Drive board.
Jim Horn
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by scamperwillow:
It’s all such a mess. Who do you recommend voting for?
Re: "Commentary: The hospital's labscam scandal deepens"
A vote for Richard Power alone is the best way to improve the chances of getting another responsible person on the PDHCD board. Voting for Power and one other lessens the chance he will be elected
Dan Smith says all the right things about dissolving the PDHCD but then turns around and buddies up on campaign signs with Dennis Colthurst who was deeply involved in getting us into this mess. And, to my knowledge, neither Smith or Colthurst has addressed Jim Horn's concerns and evidence.
How about it, Dan Smith and Dennis Colthurst? Let's hear from you two on Jim Horn's concerns.
Vote Colthurst & Smith After Looking at Power's Record of Opposing Hospital Opening Effort
For the many, many of us who prefer to see the Palm Drive Hospital taxes used to provide health services as we voted for, I recommend voting for Smith and Colthurst, who have worked tirelessly and without pay to reopen the hospital, which they succeeded at doing for two years, providing life-saving emergency room services for our families and community. They will work on a solution to retain services at the hospital in the future.
On the other hand, we have the leader of the Shut It Down contingent, Jom Horm, recommending a reliable Shut it Down activist, Richard Power.
For voters who have found it challenging to keep track of the cast of characters and issues, a republishing of a few of Mr. Power's letters tot he Sonoma West will allow you to hear, from his own words, evidence of his opposition to the Open Our Hosptial effort that Smith and Colthurst, and Dr. Richard Powers (a different man who actually cares about health services and not opposing them) has expressed in the Sonoma West. Here are two:
Last December 2018 read full letter by clicking here:
"The hospital site would be much better site for housing, than it has turned out to be for a hospital."
So Power's overall objective is to sell the hospital for housing and shut down ALL SERVICES THERE!
Going back a little further, Feb 12, 2015 see full letter here, Richard Power opposed using our tax money allocated for supporting an ER and hospital. For the thousands of us and our neighbors who benefitted from the energy and resources that OPENED THE HOSPITAL when the people behind Mr. Jim Horn wanted to close and keep it closed, energies and resources that Smith and Colthurst invested for years, had we made the mistake of listening to Power three years ago, that never would have happened.
Richard Power:
"It would be great if Palm Drive, and other hospitals like it, were economically viable in our current world. But they are not and continuing to throw good money after bad won’t change that.
Richard Power"
As for the allegations that Jim Horn and his Sonoma County style tea party detachers instigated, note that there are no allegations that anyone enriched themselves, or stole money, or cheated the public. This was a controversial attempt to keep the hospital open through high legal reimbursement rates for work actually done at the hospital.
As for the bullshit refrains of mismanagement and non-transparency: Every small community hospital in the country is struggling to stay open. The economies of scale mean that they cannot maintain larger, better-paid managers to conform with growing insurance bureaucracies. Meanwhile, health care especially hospitals is the ONLY industry in which the supplier of services have no idea how much they will be reimbursed until months later when they are reimbursed. Imagine providing financial reporting on that basis.
A group of hard-working people dedicated to sustaining a hospital that has served our community for 80 years have sacrificed and worked, many without pay, to keep the hospital open.
Another group, led by Jim Horn and now seeking aboard majority if Richard Power is elected, has attacked them, slandered them, lied about their efforts and worked to shut the facility down.
It takes a special sort of person to commit themselves to shutting down a hospital, and then ask you to vote for a public board created to provide this service. Sadly, Jom Horn and Richard Power are that kind of people.
That's why I recommend voting for Colthurst and Smith.
Re: Vote Colthurst & Smith After Looking at Power's Record of Opposing Hospital Opening Ef
I talked to people over the last years who have money. I mistook a guy for someone who I thought was part of reopening the hospital. I asked him things were going. He said "oh I'm not involved with that. I read all this negative stuff and am afraid to get involved." He said he would have been involved if not for that.
I have nothing but respect for the people who put their blood sweat tears, money and years of their lives in a valiant attempt to keep a life saving ER in Sebastopol. Those who chose to do nothing but throw rocks not so much.
It would be good to have some kind of hospital there. Though a small hospital with ER might not be able to make it now we don't know what the future holds In 30 years you might walk in lay on a table and a robot will do pretty much everything a Dr does today.
I'll be voting for my brother Dan Smith and Colhurst I know their hearts and minds are in the right place for our community. I'll take guys who try to build somthing over guys that throw rocks anyday.
Re: Vote Colthurst & Smith After Looking at Power's Record of Opposing Hospital Opening Ef
Oh, speaking of people who have donated money, your brother Dan Smith has gracefully contributed millions. I did vote for him already and I sure hope he wins and is able to save the ER which saves lives.
Lilith
Re: Vote Colthurst & Smith After Looking at Power's Record of Opposing Hospital Opening Ef
I'm one of the special people who is willing to shut down a hospital for housing. Wasting time and money does not make the world a better place, though defrauding insurance companies is ok with me, getting caught is bad management. Get real, the hospital is now a for profit bilking Medicare. Why should property owners continue to pay for this?
Re: Vote Colthurst & Smith After Looking at Power's Record of Opposing Hospital Opening Ef
To be clear I speak only for myself and not my brother Dan. I haven’t talked to him about the hospital in months.
Property owners shouldn’t pay for a hospital that doesn’t have an ER. That isn’t the plan as I understand it. The plan is to sell or lease the property to a private company. Use the proceeds to pay past employees and other debt. Then end the healthcare district and the tax as soon as possible. There will be decisions how to go about it and who to lease or sell to. It makes more sense to me to sell to a private medical company than to tear the building down and erect apartments, condos or whatever. To buldoze a medical facility in our community just seems crazy to me if a private company is willing to provide most medical services. A sale could have conditions, like new buyers must maintain outpatient surgeries for local MDs etc. I trust my brother to get the best deal for people living in The West County.
The property probably isn't zoned for apartments or condos. You don't just walk into the City or County and say hey I bought the old hospital building give me a permit to doze it. To rezone would likely be a whole other battle that could go on for years.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by rossmen:
I'm one of the special people who is willing to shut down a hospital for housing. Wasting time and money does not make the world a better place, though defrauding insurance companies is ok with me, getting caught is bad management. Get real, the hospital is now a for profit bilking Medicare. Why should property owners continue to pay for this?
