Late Thursday night, the Tulare Local Healthcare District responded to the Tulare County Grand Jury’s report released Thursday. The report was highly critical of the hospital and its handling of its $85 million in general obligation bonds.
The statement indicates the board takes the report seriously and will investigate further.
The statement:
“The Tulare Local Health Care District Board of Directors takes seriously the findings of the Tulare County Grand Jury’s preliminary report and investigation into the expenditure of the proceeds of the previous hospital bond. Our Board will conduct a thorough investigation and prepare a formal response to the report. It is important to note that the concerns raised by the Grand Jury pre-date our management agreement with HCCA (Healthcare Conglomerate Associates), which has completely turned around the hospital’s finances, finished construction of the outside of the tower and is developing a plan to complete the project and provide our community with the state of the art hospital it deserves.”
In its report titled “Tower of Shame,” the Grand Jury accused the hospital of not being forthright with how the bond money was spent. The report said the hospital withheld information from the bond oversight committee, and still has not fully explained why the tower under construction has not been completed.
Tulare District voters passed a $85 million bond measure in 2005, but today construction is at a virtual standstill and the project is less than two-thirds completed. The hospital, which says it has exhausted all of the $85 million, has indicated it will seek voter approval of another $55 million in bonds to complete the tower.
March 26, 2016
The Porterville Recorder
By Gina Kim
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