Rumor Walks Among Us…Old County Courthouse and HCH
Old County Courthouse
The other day the Mayor and Manager told a tenant at the old County Courthouse that the Mural Room had been closed. It’s not true. The County changed the locks, upon my advice, also a tenant, because the back door to the Mural Room had been found open on several occasions, contrary to the security policy. The Mural Room is open every day absolutely, even as I write this but from inside. The tenants guide tourists to the old jails and upstairs to the Mural room but need to monitor foot traffic due to security reasons.
When the building opens, generally at 10 am, the Mural Room and upstairs offices are accessible from Taos Plaza. If somebody, who is authorized, needs to get in at night, they can contact county staff or me at 776.4115.
Previous management was terminated due to a laxity in security and because unresponsive to administrative directives regarding a host of issues. If the Mayor and Manager want to make political hay out of something as simple as a “change in locks” due to security reasons, certainly they are entitled to their opinion. But they aren’t being helpful during this transition period.
Hospital Matters
Last week I attended the Citizens Committee on Healthcare at the Holy Cross Hospital. Commissioner/Mayor Barrone mentioned that he was pleased with the administrative staff’s “change in attitude” and saw a “new light” in the room. He said, however, that the county commission was ready to “pull the contract” (terminate the lease) if the staff and board didn’t move forward or “step up to the plate” or if the administration, board, and staff just continue to “kick the ball back and forth.”
County Commissioner Tom Blankenhorn conducted the meeting fairly and in search of answers. Taos Health Systems Board member Chris Stagg sat in and seemed attentive. Though the board seems like a secret society, Chris managed to indicate, without betraying board policy, that the board was considering its options, perhaps options to Quorum management. One can only speculate.
The HCH Chief Operating Officer, Spencer Hamons, was particularly forthcoming, saying, in his 18 years in health care, he had never been put in the position of having weekly meetings, where staff decided which hospital vendors to pay and now to avoid losing the good will of those put on hold. In other words, the meeting basically concerned, as the union’s accountant pointed out, that the hospital has been hemorrhaging millions of dollars, due to changes in the medical industry.
The Union presented a summary of its five-point plan: 1) Hold off choosing a CEO until the best interests of the community are analyzed; 2) Hold a series of forums with regard to the “broken trust” between the community and hospital; 3) Review the lease between County and Taos Health Systems; 4) Assess the relationships between Taos Health Systems and corporate agents, including Quorum et al; and 5) Investigate a potential relationship with University of New Mexico Hospital.
In summary, as I see it, some committee and board members ignore the history of poor relations between the hospital and the community. Whether due to medical malpractice, extreme union-busting tactics in the past, and the current hostility directed by management at doctors, nurses, and staff, HCH/THS has an “extreme” problem in terms of public relations. Currently, many Taosenos are voting with their gas cards and heading south for health care whether in Espanola, Los Alamos, Santa Fe, or Albuquerque. Headlines, last week, about the closure of the Midwifery Birthing Center and the absence of a pediatrician in the community, underscores the problem.
HCH, as the Union’s accountant hinted at, is in danger of failing as a corporate financial entity. It’s as plain as that. It might be time to think outside the corporate box and transform the hospital from a corporate entity into a true community hospital. For too long THS and the Quorum controlled corporate message has been one best described as using “smoke and mirrors.” Mr. Hamons himself expressed his trepidation in terms of facing the community at forums, which probably indicates that the hospital administration itself, understands the magnitude of its public relations problem.
It’s time for THS/HCH and the administration to step up to the plate and confront the fastballs being pitched by the Union. The County Commissioners are calling “balls and strikes.” And Commissioner Larry Sanchez is particularly upset when he hears how HCH has outsourced jobs, jobs like laundry services, etc. jobs that could be done by his laid-off miners and their family members from Questa.