Here we go again with JCF

Here we go again.

It is certainly not breaking news the John C. Fremont Healthcare District Board of Directors is in turmoil. That has been a pattern for years — likely decades if you talk to some of the old timers.

This time, board member Suzette Prue decided not only to basically unload on the new interim CEO of the hospital after a public meeting, she then promptly resigned last Friday.

But she didn’t just resign. She sent out a scathing letter to the board chair. In that letter, Prue heaped loads of praise upon herself while blasting the chair of the board, Wendy Ryder-Priola.

She is blaming the board chair for the hospital’s disastrous selections of CEOs over the past few years.

First of all, it was the entire board that made those selections, not just one. In fact, Prue was right in the thick of it all during this ongoing turmoil with CEOs.

And we can’t forget how Prue thought one-time CEO Lynn Buskill was the second coming. How did that work out for you — and the rest of us — Suzette?

We could go on and on about the revolving door at the CEO’s office at JCF. We’ve documented this for years and the finger pointing never stops.

But there is so much that is getting lost in all of this chaos around the JCF board.

First and foremost are the employees in the hospital district. These are our relatives, neighbors and friends who are simply trying to make a living in the medical field. They aren’t backstabbing and spewing hatred but when the board does that, it reflects on the entire system.

Second, and also foremost, are the patients who still trudge up the hill to JCF to seek medical care. The last time we checked, the mission of any medical facility is to care for patients in the best possible manner.

We all know the stories of phones not being answered, of referrals taking eons of a joke of a billing system the board has been “working on” for years.

But this is not the fault of the employees. Any good business owner will tell you that if you don’t give your employees the tools necessary to do their jobs, failure will ensue.

That is certainly the case with JCF.

It’s not just the revolving door of the CEO that has been the problem.

The root of the problem all along has been the board of directors itself. Though some of the names have changed, the results have not. The hospital district remains in turmoil.

Yet each month, the board gives its usual unicorns and butterflies storyline, though all of them know the truth.

They even are going so far as to talk about this new hospital that is coming to Mariposa. In her letter, Prue states flat-out the likelihood of getting a new hospital is slim to none.

And her actions over the years are part of the reason why.

Sure, it was great she worked on these groups to promote the hospital and even get a sales tax initiative passed. At least she credited one other person in her letter but it fell far short of the truth.

Many local people worked hard in getting that initiative passed but Prue must have amnesia when it comes to that fact.

The same is true for many things about JCF. Community members who care about having health care in Mariposa County have tried hard to make things better, but none of it has been successful for one reason: the lack of any competence from the board.

Board members run and say they are going to change the way things work. And then another CEO crisis arises. It’s hard to even grasp how many other crises have surfaced along the way.

The bottom line here is the elected board of directors, entrusted by the voters to do everything possible to make this district work, have failed.

And failed miserably.

Nobody knows what the future is going to hold. Should voters conduct recall elections and boot all of them off? Or at least the ones not up for reelection next June?

Should someone file a lawsuit targeting the board members who have failed so miserably in their duties, all the while approving millions of dollars in salaries for leadership that has also failed?

These are all legitimate questions.

But let’s be honest here. We’re four years away from being forced to either have a new hospital or watch the current one close its doors for good. That is the reality, folks.

Even that issue makes people scream because, as far as we can tell, nobody from within the administration or the board has ever made a pitch to the state to maybe get an extension.

It’s understandable because the people at the state would probably laugh hysterically and ask them to go back to Mariposa County and figure it out.

So here we go again.

But this time, the clock is ticking and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

It’s a sad time for our community, especially the loyal employees and the equally loyal patients who continue to ride the storm out.

That is unsustainable and many people are growing weary of seeing any improvement.

How it will end is unknown, but the chances grow by the minute it will not end well.