The John C. Fremont Healthcare District held a Town Hall on Oct. 14. Despite giving lip service to ‘transparency,’ CEO Stacey Kuzak neglected to mention its Chief Financial Officer had left. A board member up for election was bailing too.
Stacey Kuzak has her hands full.
The CEO of the John C. Fremont Healthcare District is bobbing and weaving between state and federal regulators for loans and grants as the district burns through cash and tries to wrangle and unwieldy revenue cycle.
But Kuzak will be paid around $480,000 this year, so the pressure comes with the salary.
Kuzak says her goal is to be fully transparent, a sentiment echoed repeatedly by the district’s five-member board.
The Town Hall the district held on Oct. 14 would seem to call for that kind of moment. The vibes were chill, but candor was in short supply, from the CEO and the board.
Kuzak neglected to mention that Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Mitchell was no longer with the district as of six days earlier, Oct. 8. Mitchell, who worked remotely as CFO from Alaska, has also left the consulting group, ABW, that the hospital had enlisted for CFO services. Whether Mitchell quit or was fired is unclear. Messages to Mitchell and ABW were not returned. A less experienced ABW employee will now serve as interim CFO.
Board member Teresa Johnson also had a secret. Johnson, who signed up for reelection, neglected to mention that she is moving out of state. Johnson, whose home is up for sale, had declined to answer calls and queries about her move. At the Oct. 14 Town Hall, the California Free Agent teed up the issue, asking the three board members up for reelection if they would be able to fulfill their term. It was an opportunity for Johnson to come clean. The other two board members, Jon Wurl and Rob Fox, confirmed they expected to fulfill their terms.
Johnson sat there, ruminating in silence.
The Mariposa County Clerk of Elections, Courtney Morrow, confirmed for the California Free Agent that Johnson informed her she would not be able to take office. Because there were only three candidates for three open seats, the race won’t even appear on the November ballot. Johnson’s late withdrawal means that the JCF board will appoint someone to fulfill her term, depriving voters of the opportunity.
All this, as the district embarks on what Kuzak described as a ”crucial 60 day period.”
Kuzak is asking the hospital’s state regulator, HCAI, to change the terms of a $4 million loan designed for new business lines, to be used instead for operations. It amounts to forgiveness of a loan the district has essentially been sitting on, earning $1 million in interest, instead of putting to use. Kuzak said that decision was made by the board at the time, and that there “was no plan” previously. Meanwhile, the district is asking HCAI for a “distressed hospital” grant as it whittles its operating cash on hand down to 23 days, a third of the 60 day cushion that is recommended.
The district is also in the pre-application phase of a USDA construction loan of $75 million that will allow them to build a new hospital by 2030, to meet California earthquake standards. If the district doesn’t get the USDA loans, and its favorable terms, it will be looking at obtaining revenue bonds.
It is a mind dizzying, Rube Goldberg contraption of moving parts with no shortage of sharp objects. Mistakes will be made. People will leave. The best one can hope for is a little… transparency.
