Friday, December 17, 2010

Yes This is a Public Blog

Welcome new readers!

Board President, Jordan Battani, has seen this blog and been so kind as to let my fellow Board members know of its existence.  Of course, this blog is no secret and will be mixture of facts and opinions.  I hope that it will be useful in communicating what's going on at the Hospital Board even if you don't always agree with my editorial additions.  I know that I click on Mike McMahon's blog regularly and wish he would write more, not less.  Discussion in the comments section of this blog, we have been advised could constitute a violation of the Brown Act if it involves more than one other Board member so I expect that any involvement they have will have to remain passive. 

FYI.  I have asked Jordan and Deborah Stebbins to add a separate agenda item for the next meeting on the wisdom of pursuing Primary Stroke Certification (PSC).  The President of the Board controls the agenda according to the District bylaws with the caveat that any item endorsed by at least 2 members of the Board must be placed on the agenda.  I hope people find this blog useful and I plan on reading all the comments. (I hardly expect to be overwhelmed given how much people have paid attention to the Hospital in the past.)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

First Meeting - 12/13/2010 - Quick Notes

The agenda and materials are found on the the Alameda Hospital website.

1.  Swearing in was done one at at time with Stewart Chen going first.  I neither looked right nor left focusing on Mayor Beverly Johnson and trying to make sure I stumbled over the words as little as possible.  It definitely was more solemn than the swearing in in my living room when I received the Board packet last Friday.

2.  Special Recognition was delayed until Rob Bonta arrived since he was stuck in traffic.  Leah Williams was "too busy with her new job" to attend and be recognized.

3.  The District Board Orientation was boring.  I hope they eliminate that part in the future.  Luckily I had my laptop to do research and find additional information.    Could not find the total number of SNF beds in Alameda, but will continue to look.

4.  The consent agenda was approved unchanged with the exception that I asked for the October 2010 financial statements to be pulled out as a separate item because of the critically low cash on hand as of 10/31 which was only $72,000.  The Hospital has a line of credit with Bank of Alameda which is large enough to cover any shortfall but it requires Board approval to draw down.  That would have had to be an emergency meeting probably and, I imagine, the terms are egregious.

5.  I voted against the resolution asking everyone to play nice.  When I first saw it on the agenda I thought it was aimed at me, but the Association of California Health Care Districts sent it out to all Boards.  ACHD is the lobbying arm for Districts in the state.  I don't know what we pay to be a member, but it is probably nominal (thousands or tens of thousands) and still too much.  Playing nice and supporting the Mission sounds nice until you realize that there are things you can't be civil about.  (I was probably too civil during Stebbins stroke update last night.  The Hospital is just wrong about seeking stroke certification and is clearly putting revenue over patient safety in my opinion.)

6.  Lease terms and project build-out budget for the wound care center were deferred.  There was an official motion and vote which I did not vote against, but all that vote was for was to tell management that the Board saw nothing wrong with management continuing to pursue this opportunity.  My thoughts in no particularly articulate and organized manner.

a.  Don't bring a letter of intent for a lease of over 10,000 sf of space when the wound care center needs only 4600 sf unless you state the discrepancy squarely up-front.
b.  Explain your rent dollar numbers in your financials.  Get them right.  Know them inside and out.  Don't use the absolute smallest number you think you can get away with.
c.  Know what the insurance implications are for adding oxygen to a building.
d.  Don't label something "contribtution margin" when that is not what it is.  I'm sure that most people in the room thought Stebbins was right and I was wrong (I admit I was somewhat confused about the meaning because of how stupidly it was being used), but she was totally incorrect about the term AND the way it was used in that particular financial spreadsheet was seriously flawed.

7.  President's and CEO Report - More sick people in November so probably didn't lose money.  I feel sorry for the sick people who had to come to Alameda Hospital for more reasons than one.  The effort to continue to treat stroke patients sub-optimally in order to retain revenue continues.  IT apparently was a mess as far as Stebbins was concerned so she reorganized the team and now has them reporting directly to her.

8.  Nothing more of note happened in the meeting that I can comment on.


Overall, fairly civil in my opinion.  Nothing changed relative to my opinion of the Hospital  although I continue to develop my opinions of the people involved.

Elliott Gorelick