(Riverside Co) BANNING: Response to grand jury report pending

COMPILED BY ERIN WALDNER - The Press Enterprise

SAN GORGONIO MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Grand jury report response pending

At the district’s board of directors meeting Tuesday, July 10, hospital CEO Mark Turner said he expects to have a written response to a recent grand jury report by the board’s next meeting, which is Tuesday, Aug. 7.

He said at that point, the board could vote on whether to approve the response, and if it does, he will forward the document to the grand jury.

The San Gorgonio Memorial Health Care District received a report in mid-June from the Riverside County civil grand jury that was critical of the district in some areas, including its handling of Measure A.

Revenues from the $108 million bond measure have gone toward several construction projects at the hospital, including a new intensive care unit and emergency department, but did not go far enough to cover the patient tower voters expected.

Turner said the grand jury’s findings “are all items we were aware of before their investigation” and that the district was already working on.

One recommendation from the grand jury was that the hospital CEO should be removed as a voting member of the board, as this gives the appearance of a conflict of interest. Turner said the board took action on this matter before the grand jury report was issued.

He also said the district is working on making its accounting practices more transparent, another suggestion from the grand jury.

Policy in works for Measure D panel

Pass-area voters recently gave the district permission to extend an existing parcel tax that helps pay for round-the-clock emergency medical care services at the hospital. This mail-in ballot measure was Measure D.

Hospital CEO Mark Turner and his assistant have drafted a policy and regulations for the Measure D oversight committee, which the board of directors reviewed Tuesday. Turner expects to have a final draft for the board to vote on at its Aug. 7 meeting.

Turner took board member Lynn Bogh Baldi’s suggestion to include a statement in the policy that the district will maintain a separate account for receiving Measure D parcel tax revenues, which the district promised to do when it floated the measure. Turner said the district has already set up the account.