Mendocino Coast District Hospital OB Report Rife With Corruption

 MCDH Board Accepts Corrupted OB Report

Marianne McGee

Once again, Dr. Kevin Miller exhibited boorish behavior as he presented the OB (obstetrics) Ad Hoc Committee report at the March Mendocino Coast District Hospital (MCDH) board meeting. Stumbling through his report, trying to justify the fact that several committee members were not satisfied with the product or process, he concluded his remarks by saying he thinks that OB services at MCDH should be closed down.  The issue of OB closure, which supposedly was not a factor in the report research, was continually raised and ultimately corrupted both the committee’s mission and process.

Prior to listening to public comments, the MCDH Board voted 4-1 to accept the report, with no clear indication of any next steps.  Watch Dr. Peter Glusker, the lone no vote and who attended all the meetings; voice his rejection of the report.

It is almost comical as Miller struggles to remember the name of the one volunteer worth thanking, as he bounces back and forth between Kitty Bruning and Wade Sturgeon to get the name. It was sad to see the only personal recognition given was to Dr. Keevan Abramson, who brought no solutions. He caused chaos and confusion while only attending 2 meetings corrupting the purpose of the ad hoc committee.  Community members Carole White, Tanya Smart and Lucresha Renteria did a great deal of research and struggled to have their ideas discussed and included, but were forced to share their ideas and frustrations via addendums to the report.

After clarifying for three months the mission assigned to the OB Committee was fact gathering and problem solving watch President Lund as, before opening public input, he indicates closing it may be a consideration the board undertakes in the next few months, although reiterating it would involve soliciting public input.  He also made it clear that there will be a parcel tax proposal at some point in time. He did not indicate what was going to be done with the OB Report.

I think the public gave its input last summer at the OB community meeting, through the professional telephone survey where interviews strongly reiterated the top two services needed were Obstetrics care and Emergency Services as well as public comments at this latest board meeting.

While the original proposal called for the report to have a thorough vetting at the March Planning Committee meeting, to make recommendations to the entire MCDH Board, this discussion never occurred.

Watch their meeting where the OB Report was accepted without any further comments.

https://mendocinotv.com/2017/03/28/glossing-over-the-issues-at-mcdh-planning-committee/

The mission of the committee as originally outlined by the ‘MCDH Strategic Initiatives for 2017’, was to “Sustain and Improving OB Services”, something dissenting committee members and an angry community lamented was not considered. Given the huge rush that Dr. Miller pushed at all meetings (which can be seen on ‘Building Healthy Communities’, on Mendocino TV) it is no surprise the OB Report lacks depth, truth or potential solutions.

Watch the clip of the original discussion as the previous MCDH Board voted in July 2016 to send the OB issue to the Planning Committee under Ms. Kitty Bruning, who chaired the Planning Committee. Under her lack of leadership the Ad Hoc OB Committee languished under the guise of waiting for the new MCDH Board to be seated and Steve Lund make committee assignments.  New board member Dr. Kevin Miller was given the responsibility to chair both the Planning and OB Ad Hoc Committees.  Yet, as seen in the second clip Ms. Bruning made the motion to accept the OB Ad Hoc Committee Report.

As a previous Nurse Manager of the OB Department, the previous Planning Committee Chair, a previous concerned advocate for OB services and a member of the MCDH Board of Directors, who claimed last summer closing OB was off the table, she gave very little input into the entire process, betraying the trust of thousands of voters who thought she had their back.

Mendocino TV is organizing a response to this situation and are formulating next steps to involve the community to assure that Obstetrics (OB) care is continuing to be provided in our isolated area.  Please contact us and comment on this post to indicate your interest in pursuing this goal.