Write In

Don’t be a lemming. For goodness sake don’t give these sad sack unopposed, overfed and overpaid turds a free pass, write in a candidate! Your cat, your hamster, your husband your fish, your pet rock. Take charge and fight back.

Endorsed by The League of Pissed Off Voters

Gail Steele & Alice Lai-Bitker

The press is on it. The Super Chicks, Alice Lai-Bitker and Gail Steele each have a real race on their hands. Don't forget to tell a friend, vote Jim Price and Rich Valle and check it out:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/05/16/BAG88ISBVS1.DTL

Flag Waving

 

Democracy Starts with Democrats- Let’s Elect Some

I went to an orgy, I mean a candidate's night. My union hosted all the candidates for the county supervisors seats. The Democratic Party has real problems with quality control. First of all they obviously need some sort of litmus test to see if the candidate is a Democrat. Second, we need some kind of cognitive criteria, OK Skippy in the White House is a babbling idiot but do the Democrats plan to fight fire with fire by promoting and supporting our most feeble minded? What’s the plan here guys?

One candidate running for the District 3 Supervisor seat (the seat Alice Lai-Bitker is currently sleeping in), Sheila Young, sounds, acts and smells like a Republican or maybe a monarchist. She hates unions, doesn’t like working people and wants to privatize public services. If she had any talent, connections or money, the Republican Party would have given her work.

Then we have the incumbents, the Super Chicks: Alice Lai-Bitker and Gail Steele. In the right corner weeping onto her power suit we have Gail Steele still tearful from hormones, an earlier meeting or just a fit of emotion about her 25th term in the seat. I think she would have retired if it weren’t for the huge raise the Supervisors just gave themselves; she can’t walk away from easy money. In the other corner in a pink suit and accompanied by her over-caffinated chief of staff sits Alice Lai-Bikter. Alice concluded her tortured and defensive remarks with one frank and honest statement. I can’t do Alice speak but to paraphrase she said, you better support me cause I’m the favorite and I’m going to win. These gals really know how to kill a party.

See this endless incumbent stuff stinks: dumber and dumber Democrats get sucked up the political food chain and their chief’s of staff get sucked into the vacated seats. Then the county bureaucrats manage these ninnys without breaking a sweat and government becomes less and less effective and more and more expensive and everyone votes themselves huge raises. Both the county supervisor seats have talented candidates in the race, Jim Price for the District 3 seat and Richard Valle for District 2 seat. They both bring real world skills and experience to the job, and they both appear more knowledgeable about county problems than the incumbents. So what’s the hang up?

Why do we have such trouble getting leadership on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors? This cycle of endless incumbents kills interest, ideas, change and imagination. Anyone who actually pays attention to our emotionally and intellectually challenged elected officials dies slowly of boredom and frustration.

Voters don’t can’t stand the candidates, so how do incumbents get these lifetime appointments. Well, first the county big dogs, the bureaucrats: the Sheriff, the Assessor, the Controller, the Treasurer and various and sundry board members* support the incumbent because well, weak is good and they might get a raise out of it. Then local democrats, herd animals that they are, chase the bureaucrats to new heights of mediocrity, they make glowing endorsements and modest cash donations, words are cheap and so are politicians. Then one hears a chorus of praise about all the incumbent has done for puppies and sick children, and the campaign coffers fill up. That’s why Alameda County voters stay home and watch American Idol instead of humping out to a candidate’s night. Compared to Alameda County elections American Idol is refreshingly democratic.


*All the above-mentioned bureaucrats endorsed Alice Lai-Bitker again.

Richard Valle for County Supervisor

Budget Story

This is Jesse Allan Taylor's piece in the Planet.

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=05-12-06&storyID=24114

Highland Hospital

 

Layoffs, Leadership & Lack of Vision

The Alameda County Medical Center Board of Trustees meeting reminded me of Deep Space Nine, not the space bar scene, the scene where everyone is in suspended animation. At one point I counted two board members and nine managers, all-sleeping.

The meeting got moved to Fairmont to discourage attendance and two different versions of the Power Point presentation were provided: the complete detailed package for managers and the dumbed-down version for line staff. I tried to get the thick packet from a nurse executive but she got surely and I don’t mess with people in tight shoes.

There was lots brag and gag about money saved, but people came because of the layoffs. Sheriff Plummer looked absolutely festive with his two commanders and three deputies. He doesn’t go anywhere without a security perimeter. No wonder he’s 40 million short this year, talk about fat and waste. He’s not laying anyone off he’ll just shake down the supes for the cash up front. Like we should be doing. While the rest of the county’s “movers and shakers” are dividing up the county funds the Medical Center is busy cutting off its own fingers and toes.

So here’s the damages, 60 United Healthcare Workers West jobs, 1 SEIU 535 job and 31 SEIU 616 jobs. They also propose cutting 16 managers union and non-union. The talk was all about money-“green dollars”. Dollars and cents, this Board of Trustees is all about the budget. They didn’t ask any questions about care, about quality about how taking things apart affects patients or morale. It’s a one-dimensional picture, flat monochrome and poorly composed.

Charlie Ridgell (UHW), Kay Eisenhower (Vote Health) and Wayne Templeton (SEIU 616) all got up and spoke with insight about the hospital. The president of the Board, Ben Tate, was openly rude to Charlie Ridgell who represents the 60 workers about to loose their jobs. This Board has a shocking amount of distain for the people who provide the care in the county hospital. If they think so little of us, I hate to think what they think of our patients. This sorry collection of wannabes, never-weres and has-beens couldn’t build a sandcastle, we need to get out from under this dead weight or we’ll slip into an endless cycle of downsizing.

Have You Kissed a Nurse Today?

I love nurses and now is a great time to tell a nurse thanks, or to buy them lunch or flowers, or even give them cash. Nurses know what to do with cash.

So I hope all the nurses I work with know how much I love them. I need their help, their parenting advice, their homemade cookies and their support.

Highland Hospital Halls

 

Audit This

What’s the plan? What’s happening and to who. The Medical Center as a result of Cambio Healthcare Solution’s voodoo budget, mismanagement, excessive consulting fees and county payback faces a deficit. The new team just went through a “Margin Audit” process to try to identify fat, waste and new revenue. The massive ranks of middle management sat in hot rooms brainstorming. Sleepy, Dopey and Sneezey were out of the box and on the carpet trying to come up with millions in revenue. Most of us working stiffs haven’t heard a word about it from our supervisors although productivity in some areas did increase just by getting the supervisors out of people’s way.

So the results are in and the “Audit” is to be presented to the Trustees. Now’s your chance to get some information, insight and maybe a clue as to the plan.

Board of Trustees Meeting
Tuesday, May 9
Fairmont Cafeteria
3-5pm

This may change, so keep your eyes and ears open and if you need to call administration and ask.

Layoffs, Rumors and Still No Raise

Like the rest of the hired help at the Medical Center, I’m at home trying to figure out where I am on the seniority list and if I need to start looking for another job.

One friend said, “I’m gonna take a couple of days this week and start looking for a new job. I have a mortgage I can’t be unemployed.”

Another nurse said, “Oh, I’ll go work for Kaiser or something, I’m tired of this.”

Most people just said, “Again, didn’t we just do this?”

In an attempt to cheer my co-worker and myself up I called and asked when we would be seeing our raise on our checks. We negotiated it months ago. The COO’s assistant said they’d try to have it on the May19th check. I announced it at the nursing station thinking it might perk people up.

My friend didn’t even turn to look at me when she said, “Do you think they’ll try to lay us off first and save the cash.”

SEIU 616-the Team

These photos are of most of the members of the Tri-Local Negotiating Team. They negotiated the new contract, which will give all non-registered nurse union employees of the Medical Center a modest raise.

They’re my friends, my co-workers and my union representatives and they’re not a bad looking bunch.

United Healthcare Workers West- the Team

SEIU 535 & Company- the Team

Oversight of the Oversight.

Jesse Allan Taylor is a better man than me, he went to the Measure "A" oversight committee meeting, meeting mania. So here's the skinny on the committee, Dave Kears (Alameda County's Healthcare Czar) wants to tell the committee what to do and the committee actually wants to do the job. It's Dave Kears versus democracy, the saga continues.

Here's the news:
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=05-02-06&storyID=24024

Ron Dellums at Highland

While the Bay Area has produced many great leaders, recently in local politics there has been something of a drought. Many local Democrats can barely hold the public’s attention much less inspire their imagination. They don’t visit the County Hospital because there are too many problems and too few voters.

Today the County Hospital had a visit from Ron Dellums. Like many I had forgotten how real leaders make you feel. What most impresses about Ron Dellums is how firmly he believes in us. He truly believes he can make Oakland better for all of us because he knows that is what we want and that we are willing to work for it. He sees the value and the pain in what we do and wants to help us to do it better.

Ron Dellums and Highland Caregivers

 

Ron Dellums & Wright Lassiter III

 

Flea Season

I know I’ve been off my turf, out of my tree talking about teachers and politicos. It’s not my beat, I couldn’t help myself I’m a low budget lobbyist a social justice junky. You can take the blow-hard out of Berkeley but you can’t take the Berkeley out of the blow-hard.

Speaking of my hippie dippy roots I’ve reached that point in my mid-life crisis where liberals like myself start to wear only shades of purple. As a middle aged dumpy white woman I feel the need to express my interconnectedness to all the species of the planet and the rich native American tradition and culture which I have no real connection to but which I feel I can speak to anyway. Toward realizing my highly evolved and spiritual identity, I have been given an animal name, Pulex irritans, or just “flea” for those of you who don’t speak Latin.

You know the syndrome, I’ve heard Highland physician’s describe it: “Berkeleyitis.” It’s that overdeveloped since of self-importance and self-righteousness that can make us liberals less fun than a bar full of Mormons. See that’s the challenge with us liberals, we all agree but we can’t get along. That’s the great challenge of the Medical Center; with a bad budget we fight between ourselves about whose work is more important. What’s “non-essential” who’s “unproductive.”

As a whiny white woman I can blame and bicker with the poise and stamina of an Olympic athlete. Unfortunately, my self-righteous funk got rudely interrupted by the crisis that threatens to eat Oakland, murder city. We’re close to fifty murders this year and lots of other people shot up and coming to ACMC. At Highland my friends and co-workers have lost children, friends and family, it’s so sad. We have obituaries posted all over. You work with someone for over ten years and you don’t see a picture of their child until they’re gone. These are kids; we should be collecting money for Girl Scout cookies, not funerals. So if the Board of Supervisors, think now is the right time for the Medical Center to cut services and start giving the county money, they’re crazy! The Medical Center’s deficit is “debt” to the county and no one even showed us an IOU. Look you bloodsuckers we got a “situation” here, take it from me, I’m “the flea.”

Nurses Accept Contract

ACMC nurses and mid-level practitioners voted overwhelmingly ( over 80%) to accept a contract this week.

To read the details click here:

http://www.seiu616.org/docUploads/RN%20Sum_4.06vote.pdf

Chris Thompson Down & Out at Highland

Highland has attracted the sustained attention of the Bay Area's best journalists. Chris Thompson from the East Bay Express was hanging out in our ED. He's a blondish attractive thirty-something very serious. If you see him, ask him out or offer to buy him lunch, he's been good and honest to us. It's important to see our work through the eyes of real thinkers.

Click here to read his latest piece: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2006-04-19/news/cityofwarts.html

Jesse from the Planet

I know lots of people in Oakland think Berkeley is another planet, but the Berkeley Daily Planet does quite fine coverage of Oakland. This is Jesse Allan-Taylor's latest work:

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=04-18-06&storyID=23923

Thank You from an Oakland Teacher

Hi Ann –

This [the Petition to Support Oakland Teachers] is deeply, deepy appreciated. Healthcare workers, school teachers, firefighters we’re all in this to help people. And on a personal note, Highland’s ER/Trauma teamed helped save my 88 year old father’s life when he was run over in a crosswalk on Jan. 15th. Spent 4 days (!!) in the ER while we dickered with Kaiser—from what I was told at the time, 4 days is probably a record. We will always be grateful.

Bob Mandel
Adult English as a Second Language Teacher
Oakland Education Association (OEA) member

Mac Supports Oakland Teachers- You Should To

See the little green sign not the one that says, "Plant Sale" the one that says, "I Support Oakland Teachers." There's hundreds of these signs all over Oakland.

Oakland teachers have gotten caught in a Cambio Healthcare Solutions style re-organization with Randolf Ward as the Warden and resident Spin Master. He’s quite effectively confused and frustrated anyone paying attention. He spends lavishly on PR and strikebreakers and plans to recover the money by cutting the costs right out of the classroom.

I say stop blaming public employees for weak government and bad management decisions. Don’t punish our patients or our children!

Show your support for Oakland’s teacher’s, children and families, click here to sign the online petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/Educate/petition.html

Bad Budget News

It's so sad. To read it and weep, click here:

http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_3705481

Sykes and the Feeder

I really like this Express writer, Will Harper. Here's the latest, segment of the saga:

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2006-04-12/news/bottomfeeder.html

Don’t Litigate, Medicate!

I used to work for an entomologist. An insect guy, a doctor of Diptera, a mosquito expert, he actually had a mosquito named after him. Dr.Garcia was the hardest working straightest talking boss I’ll ever had, he was raised on a farm in Salinas. He just loved work. We’d get up at five a.m. and drive up to Lake County where we had experimental rice plots. One day as we drove north at dawn he pointed to the San Francisco skyline and said, “look at that, look at all those buildings: all that steel and concrete and waste and all the cars and people rushing over there just so they can push paper.”

Speaking of pointless paper pushing, Cambio Consultants and various and sundry ex-board members have dragged the Medical Center and the County of Alameda into the courthouse. What a waste. Anyway, the psychiatrists who went to arbitration over Cambio’s attempted union busting won, they got a decision in their favor and a judge threw the board member who sued the County over her removal from the Authority Board out of court. Justice has been served; too bad you can’t eat it. Hopefully we can stay in the hospital and out of the courthouse, with violent crime out of control in Oakland and the ranks of the aging and uninsured growing daily we’ve got plenty of real work.

Blogfesto

Ann on Oakland, in color, uncensored, unslept, unbathed and off her medication. Elected officials are taking Oakland on a wild ride without a Breathalyzer. Since we can’t get off the bus we might as well enjoy the scenery. You got to laugh at Oakland government, otherwise it’s just too sad and you’ll have to cry.

To get an eyeful (original art) and an earful of Oakland click here:

http://www.oakland911.blogspot.com/

Nurses to Vote on Contract

A contract offer for Medical Center nurses goes to vote this week. As I always say vote often, vote early and vote out loud.

To read a summary of the offer click here:

http://www.seiu616.org/docUploads/RN%20Sum_4.06vote.pdf

For voting times and locations click here:

http://www.seiu616.org/docUploads/4.06_NursNtsConVoteT&D.pdf

Kronos and Other Greek Tragedies

The Berkeley Daily Planet's saying what those of us who need our money already know. I think it's a little better, a little better all the time.

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=04-04-06&storyID=23808

A Fresh Look at Old Farts

My husband, ever eager to teach our children life skills, bent over to turn on the vacuum and farted audibly. He turned to our five and four year old children, James and Emma, who paid careful attention to the vacuum demonstration and said, “James farted.”

James looked indignant briefly and quickly countered, “Emma cut one.”

Emma gave her father a long steady look and said, “No, seriously James farted.”

My husband says he’s teaching important life lessons, political skills. I find this farfetched since Emma already exaggerates, embellishes and lies with the poise and spontaneity of a politician. As parents in Oakland we don’t get to play politics much, we’re too busy working two jobs to pay for the mortgage and the private schools.

Our family falls between the demographic cracks we get to check all the boxes for ethnicity and we earn enough live in Oakland, but not enough to buy political favors. My husband and I don’t matter and I don’t mind if we are left out of the discussion about Oakland’s future. Emma and James though they deserve a place at the table.

Here and now makes our children what they will become tomorrow and Mayor Brown and the Oakland City Council have failed Oakland’s children miserably. We had a youth and child sex industry blossom under the careful management of these “crime stoppers.” If you vilify minority youth for political gain, why should you be surprised when they are then exploited for profit? If you promise pork and cut deals to better serve voter rich affluent neighborhoods while schools and other city services disappear in poorer neighborhoods, how can you than be “shocked” when youth create their own entertainment by driving in cars.

I can’t bear to hear more promises of pork, police and bond initiatives. I want to hear an acceptance of failure and a sincere apology from Council President Ignacio De La Fuente to the children and parents of Oakland because his mistakes and mismanagement have cost our children their lives, their dreams and their futures. The Oakland City Council stinks up the council chambers with their sweet deals for developers, gaseous rhetoric, stupidity and arrogance then when bad things happen on their watch, they blame our kids. Come on Ignacio you farted, all we want is a simple, “excuse me.”

Money Money Money

Well, payroll's getting better but not fixed. Hospital employees aired their concerns with the Board and the Medical Center now has a real investigative reporter covering it. J. Douglas Allen-Taylor one of Oakland's best thinkers and writers has made us his beat. I may be out of business.

To read all about it click here:

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=03-24-06&storyID=23726

Where's Waldo?

Bad managers just keep leaving ACMC. They just slip away and disappear since we got the new executive team. Waldo who Cambio put in charge of John George Psychiatric Pavilion has slipped quietly away. To read all about it click here:

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_3639108

Ta Ta Waldo!

The Sykes Saga

Saga or a Soap Opera? Our ousted trustee continues to play to the press. Carson continues to act like a gentleman and well life goes on. The Authority Board Bylaws don't contemplate the possibility of a board member not acting in the best interest of the Medical Center or having a mental or emotional breakdown. Perhaps they will be modified to protect the Medical Center from villains, Sheriffs and opportunists who would like to loot Measure "A" and close the Medical Center from inside the Boardroom.


For the latest installment in our own little daytime TV drama click here:

http://www.chicoer.com/news/bayarea/ci_3604177

Adios Chainsaw

So Sheriff Charles Plummer’s announced his retirement effective January 2007, promises promises. I went to look into the details of his departure and found this great link.

It turns out Charlie was in charge of the Berkeley Police in 1969 with the free speech movement. I was 5 but I remember the tanks in front of our house, the teargas and the police pushing my father. Charlie and I go way back, so I say, “Hasta la vista Chainsaw!” To check out a great link and add your own insights click here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Plummer_(sheriff))

SEIU Contract Approved

Unions members (all ACMC providers except the RNs) exhausted from endless inspection and negotiation voted three to one to accept a management settlement offer. To read the details on the SEIU website click here:

http://www.seiu616.org/docUploads/ACMC-Sum06.pdf

Medical Center Attacked by the Left

The Berkeley Daily Planet has printed two pieces on one Medical Center trustee. Man that’s cold when you can’t trust a trustee! She’s out trashing the Medical Center and Supervisor Keith Carson. She’s a doctor, but not a medical doctor so she didn’t have to take the Hippocratic oath, “first do no harm.”

See, that’s the job of a trustee advocate for the institution, particularly financially. It requires smarts, patience and well, discretion. Before Measure “A” bond monies the Medical Center couldn’t find people to serve on the Board. This predictable pre-fabricated scandal shows us the dark side of Measure “A”. See this trustee represents not an isolated incident but a growing trend, she like many “community leaders” works for an organization, which would like to get its hands on more Measure “A” monies.

Non-profits and private hospitals, which serve “niche” markets, could reap huge financial benefit from the closure of Medical Center services. So while these other healthcare providers continue to dump their unprofitable clients into the Medical Center, they have begun a cackling spiteful chorus of criticism. Hospital CEO’s show up at Board meetings and insist that the Medical Center accept their costly and difficult patients. Then they turn around and say, “what a dump they should be closed down.”

So with community based providers in economic competion with the Medical Center, why would Supervisor Carson appoint a trustee with a conflict of interest to the Board? That’s an easy one, Supervisor Carson believes that all healthcare providers in Alameda County want to cooperate to best serve the communities in need. Keith Carson’s commitment to accessible healthcare has kept the Medical Center open for years. He believes that partnerships and cooperation between community clinics, non-profits and the Medical Center can create a comprehensive and efficient healthcare system for all county residents. He believes in our better nature and he continues to believe in this trustee.

Supervisor Carson like most of the Medical Center staff did not anticipate the vicious attacks launched at the Medical Center since Measure “A”. Sheriff Plummer, other hospitals, a trustee and now the Berkeley Daily Planet have all attacked the Medical Center. That’s what’s wrong with liberals, we have a “progressive paper” an African American Community Leader and a “progressive reporter” all attacking a public hospital with the likely outcome being that, taxpayer monies go back to the county general fund and get spent on our prisons. Way to go team!


The Daily Dirt has published more than one viciously critical article about Supervisor Carson, to these attacks he and his staff have always responded, “That’s your job my friend, you are an advocate for the uninsured, keep it up.”

Happy Hedgehog Day!

“Mommy do you know what day it is?”
“Emma do you know what time it is? It’s still dark out.”
“ Mommy today is Hedgehog day!”
“The Hedgehog gets out of bed and looks for his shadow, then his mommy makes him breakfast.”

You know me, any excuse to talk about our fury friends. So what about our darling, Dave Kears, the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency Director? Well, he’s presiding over the Measure “A” Oversight Committee; mostly they’re supposed to fight about the 25% slush fund that Dave sucked off the top in exchange for not undermining the Measure. Apparently we got a greedy bunch of white guys. Over 20 members and only two women and one or two Latinos depending on how you choose to classify Charlie Ridgell from UHW. I don’t care what he says, he’s a Chilango-that’s a Mexico City, Mexican. So, basically Dave and some other white guys are in charge of Measure “A.”

The white guy factor explains how more than 3 million Measure “A” dollars went to Telecare for profit psychiatric services, they’re kind of the McDonalds of mental health. As an Oakland resident, I’m thrilled to be subsidizing them with my tax monies as well as putting up with their facilities and their under-medicated clients screaming on my corners and sleeping in my parks. Dave’s a real cash cow for Telecare and we foot the bill.

Apparently the committee members have their sights on the Medical Center monies as well. They have that sense of entitlement that privileged people have. So the oversight committee, like most committees under Dave will be a fight over cash, instead of a reasoned dialog about how to best serve the sick, but right now I don’t care. It’s been a long cold winter but I can finally smell the wet beginning of spring.

My People

“Yo, Annie come here!”

“I’m on the phone Frank! Wait!”

“OK, what?”

My uncle Frank had twelve bottles of pills open on the table, he meticulously counted and loaded his one-week pillbox, and halfway through he already had five or six pills in each cell. He picked up some small pink pills and handed them to me.

“You want me to take these?”

“ No, I want you to get me these cheaper. These pills cost six dollars a piece and I take three a day. Can you get them for two dollars?”

“Frank, I’m a physical therapist not a pharmacist.”

My uncles’ brag about how cheap they get things, my uncle Gene had a two hundred dollar set of dentures. When he was working on a Fire Department boat on lake Michigan, he sneezed and they flew out of his mouth into the lake. The cheap bastard sent the frogmen down to find his teeth.

We buried my uncle Frank with his clicker, his toothpicks, a deck of cards and a poker chip. Lots of things aged and killed my uncle, the Korean War, too many beef sandwiches, coffee cake, polish food, the clicker and the TV, but the cost of the pills put a price on his health. Frank spent thousands on us nieces and nephews and since he never married, had a job as a teamster and a degree in accounting, he left a pile of cash. Uncle Frank never thought of himself as an important person and with the cost of the pills, I guess it didn’t seem like a worth-wile investment.

OK, my family may not be the statistical norm, but I think there are a lot of old folks out there looking at those Medicare Part D forms, throwing up their hands in disgust and going out for a bacon cheeseburger.

Bow-wow!

Vote for Jim Price he’s the underdog, bow-wow!

Vote for Jim Price and your wildest dreams will come true!

Jim Price’s father worked at Highland as a Psychiatric Technician, Jim’s got public healthcare in his blood. A psych tech is real hands on in your face healthcare, it’s not some sissy ninny job that you can fake, half do or coast through. After a 30-year career as a psych tech daddy Price still has the energy to be Santa for the neighborhood kids. Alice Lai-Bitker, the incumbent county supervisor got her seat because she worked as Wilma Chan’s chief of staff. The Alameda County political machine made the decision not the voters.

Alice is “Chainsaw Charlie Plummer’s” gal. Actually I think the sheriff likes Gail Steele better, Gail’s positively passionate about prisons, but Alice is his type of chick too. Alice dresses nice and doesn’t make waves; in fact she hasn’t even made a ripple in years. She regularly gets the county supervisors Pet Rock award. The “big dog” county bureaucrats, Susan Muranishi, Dave Kears and Charlie Plummer, consider her the most easily influenced supervisor. She prefers to let them do her thinking.

So, I say cast a vote for change, leadership and the underdog, Jim Price. Hey, he could win and your wildest dreams could come true. Bow-wow!

Go Oakland Tribune!

The Oakland Tribune printed an editorial calling for support for the medical center and political accountability. They pointed out that Cambio Healthcare Solutions left a huge mess on the CEO’s plate. They rightly pointed out that to solve problems Mr. Lassiter needs the full support of the county supervisors.

http://insidebayarea.com/search/ci_3405220

Thank You Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

We need heroes and leaders and more importantly we need to live up to their hopes and dreams for us. The medical center has many people who fought with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to make this country a better place. Everyday those of us who work at the medical center benefit from their thoughtfulness, their compassion and their love. The African American, staff particularly the women, have a fierce commitment to caring and to the dream of a better country. It is their leadership and love that has taught me to be a better clinician, a better person and a better parent.

Head Games

Well, we’re in the news again. It’s a rehashing of old bad news about poor staffing at John George Psychiatric Pavilion, part of Cambio’s legacy of unsolved problems.

See, we have more seriously mentally ill patients than we are able to safely treat at John George. Dave Kears, Alameda County’s Healthcare Czar pays non-profits and the biggest for profit (not patients) mental health franchise, Telecare, to keep people sane and out of John George. When they fail they dump everyone back into the county hospital, the county supervisors then blame the medical center for not meeting their needs.

Sure, John George needs better management and more nurses, but it’s being overwhelmed because the county’s privatized mental health services are failing miserably.

We don’t have coordinated mental health services and private providers continue to fail in their mission and dump their problems into the medical center.

It is time for the county supervisors to step up to the plate and create a mental healthcare system that serves the mentally ill, as well as the corporations, which profit from their suffering.

To read the gory details click here:
http://insidebayarea.com/search/ci_3393136

The Year In Dirt (2005)

“Memories, like the corners of our mind, misty …”
-Some seventies song I hated

Like most medical center employees, I seldom have the time or energy for reflection but I’m told it helps, so here goes.

We started out 2005 with Cambio Healthcare Solutions at the helm of the ship (have you ever heard the expression, “ in a sinking ship with blind sailors.”) The turnaround team would fly in Tuesday through Thursday and not pay bills and attempt to cut or contract out services. They gave all the union psychiatrists at John George Pavilion two weeks notice; they had planned to contract out the mental health services to the Psychic Hotline. They implemented a 35-step process for approval of all purchase orders over fifty cents. Hospital vendors hounded department heads for unpaid bills and had begun to threaten to stop delivery on non-essential items like oxygen.

The county budget battles began early with Sheriff Plummer and the DA positioning themselves to gobble up any Measure “A” monies Plummer squeeze out of the medical center. In a well-orchestrated attempt to loot the medical center budget the sheriff, the county sups and their minions rolled out the plan. “Chainsaw” Charlie Plummer was nominated to be on the Hospital Authority Board, all of the county sups now vigorously deny having made the nomination but it happened with great fanfare and press coverage. Around the same time Grand Jury Foreman Keith Boyer, a retired Sheriff and congressman “ Pete” Stark’s son, baby Stark, released a scathing report on the medical center. The report read just like Sheriff Plummer’s many letters to the county sups about the medical center, light on facts and heavy on ideology. Coincidence or corruption, you be the judge?

Well, the unions and Vote Health couldn’t take this mess lying down. They pointed out that the appointment of the sheriff to the hospital authority was unwise, unethical and probably illegal. Politicians, especially county sups respond poorly to reason so Brad Cleveland, Kay Eisenhower and hospital employees created a flash mob. Hundreds of phone calls, faxes and emails later the sups saw the light and withdrew the nomination. Then the Hospital Authority Board in an impressive display of brains and balls wrote a response to the scathing grand jury report.

Cambio ever touting their successes spent their last months concocting a bogus budget; according to their beautifully typed presentations they had met their performance goals and cured the county hospital. The medical center even without Cambio’s lies, half-truths and excessive fees still has a much more stable future because of Measure “A” and toward the end of the year we got real executives. Wright Lassiter III has the poise and charisma of a Senator and Bill Manns doesn’t look old enough to drink but he’s super smart and he’s not work shy. He goes home from his twelve-hour days and fixes his own floors and gutters. He needs to stay off his roof in the rain; he really doesn’t want to end up in the emergency department with us cutting off his clothes.

Squirrels and Other Rodents

I have this Camellia I’ve pampered all year, it has dark green foliage and huge deep red flowers with yellow stamens. I have it in a pot in front of the living room window. I repotted it, fertilized it and loved it all year; it has huge buds, which promise to bloom in late winter early spring. The other day I looked out the living room window and the red of the petals had started to show. A squirrel ran down the Oak tree and up the camellia it pulled off a flower bud like it was picking an apple and sat on the edge of the terra cotta pot and took a huge bite. I started waving my hands and stomping my feet in the window. The squirrel turned his head slowly toward me and stuck up his middle finger.

So what about the medical center’s favorite fury friend, Dave Kears? Dave runs the Alameda County Healthcare Services Agency. So complex and confusing are the county’s budget battles and bureaucratic labyrinths that those charged with serving the county’s poor spend most of their time serving Dave Kears and fighting other organizations they should be working with, for cash and turf. Sure we have some great services but they all operate in a vacuum instead of cooperating to provide the best care. Closing the medical center and looting Measure “A” funds are top priorities for the secret squirrel: he needs more cash for brain-dead billboards, consultants and committees.

With winter here and the new executives distracted by operational issues and settling labor contracts, opportunity knocks. Kears can’t take money outright but he can attack the medical center’s credibility and bottom line. It’s a shell game; Alameda County Healthcare Services Agency makes consultants rich, gives fat contracts to political suck ups and leaves the poor, sick and confused. For years the agency has been trying and failing to get county residents enrolled in Healthy Families, a program which gives low-income families MediCal (state paid health insurance.) Tons of county residents qualify but don’t get the services because of the daunting and bureaucratic application process, and the complete and total ineptitude of Alameda County’s Health Care Service Agency.

So of course Healthy Families has flopped but Kears knows how to turn personal failure into opportunity! Kears has now mandated the cumbersome and overwhelming state application, the 1-E-Application for financial eligibility, be used at the medical center. This electronic application can then go directly to the state’s computer, decreasing the time needed to get MediCal. They haven’t worked out the technical details like software compatibility with the state, necessary middleware or how to convert all archived paper applications to the new electronic format, but in theory it’s a great idea. In practice in order for the medical center to get the MediCal a patient desperately needs and deserves, the medical center must get detailed information about the whole family. So Highland’s overworked, underpaid and under resourced eligibility clerks now have to get a translator to explain to the patient that they need their mother’s bank account records for the medical center to get them the coverage they need to get dialysis.

Imposing this application on the medical center increases the time and complexity of each financial screen and because of the huge amount of information required, it decreases the success rate for the same reason. Kears is no dummy he conceded this might be difficult so he threw the medical center some “chump change” for a couple extra, temporary, non-union clerks. See Dave’s not looking for success, he doesn’t care about the county’s poor or sick; he cares about his beloved bureaucracy. Kears plans to shift blame for Alameda County’s failure to get families the state health coverage they deserve, onto the medical center.

Celebrate

"My friend Daniel celebrates Hanukkah. I celebrate..... sea lions."

Emma Rose Nomura Fisher (4 years old)

Thanksgiving

‘Tis the season to withdraw from alcohol, overdose, breakdown, or my personal favorite overeat. Don’t laugh over eating, or dietary indiscretion as we call professionals call it, lands lots of people up in the hospital. It’s the fat and salt that tips you right over into heart failure.

Isn’t that a great emphismism, dietary indiscretion, it sounds like you slept with a Danish, when actually all you did is wake up late and finish off the left over turkey, dressing, and three pies. Americans have so much wealth and so little happiness. We have so much stuff and so little security; we all need a warm safe place to go where we can be cared for.

So the hospital has filled up with people, trying to get well, to get warm or to get the help they need to die with dignity and comfort. Fear of illness and the cost of illness has become a disease onto itself here in the U.S. So people come to the hospital so sick and so frightened, and so shocked and grateful for the care we give them. The holidays provides a huge opportunity to help to heal and to comfort, it also gives those of us lucky enough to work at the medical center an up close and personal view of how hard our country has become.

The medical center, in spite of staff shortages, broken equipment, consultants, turnarounds, somersaults and frontal attacks on revenue by the Sheriff and other sundry politicians, remains a warm place. We try to give patients what they need to get well and to care for each other and patients understand that we have very few resources with which to help them but that we will do all we can with what we have.

Lassiter Alert

That’s right, Wright’s out and about thanking staff for working so hard. He gets big points for noticing the hospital has filled up and backed up with really sick people. I appreciate the support, apparently he’s working days and nights while his dogs chew up his new California home. Wright Lassiter III comes from Texas where you can by a small town for what a two-bedroom house in Monclair costs you. Still, in the pit of my stomach I have a deep uneasy feeling about Mr. Lassiter. He’s nice, he’s smart he’s positive and hard working but he’s from Texas, which begs the inevitable and ominous question: is he a Dallas Cowboys fan? I can’t stand the Cowboys!

Poets, Philosophers and Politicians

So the medical center can’t decide what to pay healthcare providers because they have yet to develop a “compensation philosophy”.

I have a liberal arts education. I read Kant, Locke, Descartes but I never heard of a compensation philosopher. The management bargaining team assures us that the executive committee considers “compensation philosophy” a top priority. I imagine them all sitting around a steamy bathhouse in white towels contemplating different philosophical positions.

Maybe our compensation philosopher has a thick beard and an old pipe and is sitting out under tree somewhere vigorously contemplating. It is unclear to me which department ACMC’s philosopher would report to. I would suggest HR, that’s the department that seems most conducive to uninterrupted thought.

Still, one ponders, if we need a philosopher, shouldn’t we have a poet. You can get a good poet at a great price in the Bay Area but I think the poet should have union protections. Well, I find it comforting to know that our executive leaders have taken up the big philosophical questions and I’m eager to learn what all this deep thinking produces.

Ho Ho Ho

Here we go again. The medical center did get some good news, Kay Eisenhower the chair of Vote Health and Brad Cleveland (SEIU 616) both got appointed to the Measure “A” oversight committee. Supervisor Nate Miley in a fit of good judgment appointed Kay. This should slow any obvious looting and if there is any malfeasance, at least we’ll get to read about it in the Vote Health newsletter.

For anyone who doesn’t know about Vote Health they’re worth checking out, they’re a real grass roots community group. They give you big bangs for little bucks. We live in the era of polished plastic nonprofits, all fundraising all the time. Vote Health is an eclectic collection of healthcare policy super heroes. All advocacy all the time. Check them out http://www.votehealth.org/ or just send them a check.

So aside from that news about the committees, what’s happening back at the farm? Well, Wright Lassiter the 3rd, the new CEO, scored some big points with the little people for actually admitting that payroll is having some “difficulties” and saying he’d try to fix it.

Schmooze and Booze

We have a new dynamic duo, CEO and COO. Mostly it’s been palace politics and finger food: nervous executives, administrators, middle mismanagement all sucking up while sucking down refreshments. I can’t do small talk, so at the appropriate time the Dirt and the hired help plan to invite our new leadership team to the Bedpans and Barbeque welcome party, real food, real people and real information. Cambio executives managed to spend over a year at the medical center completely unbothered by facts or the operational realities of the ACMC. They had lots of meeting with middle management about what was really going on.

By all accounts Wright Lassiter, the new CEO is well, nice. Shocking absolutely shocking! Those with enough suction around the medical center to have actually met or talked to our new leader (doctors, executives and politicians) all agree he’s “nice.” Some see this as strength others as a weakness. Personally I see kindness as a plus not a minus. Besides only people who really love the work last around Highland Hospital, ACMC’s a love it or leave it kind of job.

So, nice is nice. So along with the open invitation to the Bedpans and Barbeque welcome, the Dirt would like to offer the honorable Mr. Lassiter some humble but practical advice. Payroll you see has begun to melt down: missed checks, errors, compounding errors, manual checks and ACMC’s very own direct withdrawal (the medical center actually sucks money in and out of employees accounts). Historically the medical center refuses to acknowledge or address such problems until a lawsuit is actually filed, so this problem probably won’t come up in any committees.

Mr. Lassiter as a new hire is at considerable risk of not getting paid, since we definitely want him to stay around we’d like to offer some survival tips for new hires who want to get paid. Do not use direct deposit (it’s too dangerous), know your payroll clerk’s name and telephone number, when you receive your check run to the bank and deposit it (you never know when the medical center is going to run out of money) and always check your leave balances and deductions.

Welcome to the medical center Mr. Lassiter we’re so happy to have you.

Vote Out Loud !

Call or come to the Oakland Alliance Headquarter
7992 Capwell Drive (to phone bank )
(510) 569-3655

Phone Bank Times
Friday Night, Saturday all day, Sunday all day after 11:00 and Monday all day

Precinct Walk
Oakland Teamsters
70 Hegenberger Rd Suite 150
All day everyday

If these times and places don’t work for you call 569-3655 and tell them what you can do and where and they’ll get you going

Vote!

Dear voting friends,

November 8th would be a good day to take off work and concentrate on getting out the vote--really! If the turnout for this all-referendum/no personalities election is as low as expected, every vote that does get cast counts double--does that make sense? It's what I've heard anyway: that a big turnout in San Francisco and Alameda counties could shut down the Schwarznegger machine. Other ways to get out the vote:

1) Email all your friends
2) Put a "Vote Nov 8" sign in your window (car or house--I used one of those glow-in-the-dark markers that they sell at Halloween supply stores for drawing spider webs)
3) Phone bank (call around for where to show up: I know the unions like SEIU and CLUW have organized different nights)
4) Pull a couple of neighbors with you when you go to vote
5) Vote absentee so you don't forget to vote yourself.

----Barbara, your vote-out-loud friend

Six NOs and Two YESes (in that order) -- Barbara Selfridge's crib sheet for Tues Nov 8, 2005

73--Kill Pregnant Teens in Dysfunctional Families--NO. Did you know that Right-to-Lifers pack schools' HIV education committees and preach abstinence, born-again virginity, and that saving just one girl from premarital sex is a victory? No to the unwanted births and back alley abortions they would wish on the unsaved.
74--Blame Teachers for Under-Funded Schools--NO. To have good schools, you have to have taxes, but rather than repeal the stupid stupid cap on property taxes, Schwartznegger et al want to make the teaching vocation even less viable.
75--Silence the Labor Movement--NO. Schwartznegger wants to stop the nurses, teachers and firefighters, etc, from insisting he enforce the laws that he'd just as soon break.
76--Less Money for Schools, More Power for Republican Governors--NO. Schwartznegger hates having to negotiate a budget with the majority-Democratic legislature the damn public keeps electing. And he hates having to abide by the school spending demands of that same populace.
77--Republican Power-Grab Through Redistricting--NO. A vote for this is a vote for Tom Delay and the pro-Republican redistricting he financed in Texas.
78--Phony Prescription Drug Reform--NO. This is the pharmaceutical giants insisting that all discounts programs be voluntary, nothing that could be enforced in a court of law. Because they hate "trial lawyers”!! Yeah, right.
79--Actual Prescription Drug Reform--YES. This is the plan that would MANDATE life-saving drug discounts.
80--Use the Public Utilities Commission to Prevent Future Enrons--YES. This is supported by TURN, the great pro-consumer anti-corporate-energy organization, and would undo some of the disastrous deregulation that undid California's energy grid five years ago.

I’m Back

Now I tried very hard to retire. I have a full time job and more kids and pets than I can handle but those gosh darn healthcare consultants just couldn’t stop causing problems. Cambio healthcare consulting’s overpaid under-worked executives already have their plane tickets to return to the red states they came from, permanently. The medical center hired a new CEO, Wright Lassiter, things kept hobbling along, they way they do with vacant executives, but no… consultants can’t even leave gracefully. The aggressive infighting over turf, titles and the spoils of Measure “A” threatens to disrupt patient care and undermine the new CEO before he even arrives in California.

Since the medical center got occupied by consultants it has experienced out of control executive titles and salaries. We now have multiple vice presidents, none of whom were elected. Why the human resources department has four heads, a VP, a consultant/chief negotiator, and two private contractors to handle union negotiations and still they come to the negotiating table and can’t find their own memos. Other feverish executives desperate to say they have done something began implementing time clocks. This fiasco resulted in so many errors and so much confusion that SEIU had to take legal action just to get the executives to figure out what they had done.

The most alarming consultant driven mental breakdown is the secretive and paranoid behavior the Authority Board is starting to display around money and labor unions. The finance committee, misled by Supervisor Alice-Lai-Bitker’s appointee, has begun hiding numbers, refusing to share and acting fearful and mistrusting of medical center employees and concerned community members. They have become secretive, paranoid and hostile to anyone trying to get information, there is some speculation that the data just got lost.

The grapevine also says the Board also plans to undermine the new CEO by not allowing him to deal with labor unions or contract issues. This would justify keeping the four heads of human resources employed but would completely discredit the new CEO before he walked in the door. So I guess my early retirement is on hold for now.

Go Team!

Sorry, I have been off my game. The Trustee's are on it though, they shot back at the grand jury for that bogus report on the medical center. Read all about it. Dr. Ted Rose gets the Dirt's balls and brains salute for leadership. Go team!

http://www.insidebayarea.com/searchresults/ci_2895388

Oakland 911

“911”
“Yes, please help me, a pit bull is eating my poodle.”
“Sir, you don’t really think this is a ‘police emergency’ do you?”
“Oh my God! He’s finished my poodle and is attacking the neighbor’s Labrador.”
“Sir, maybe you should call animal control or your neighborhood watch captain.”
“Please, just do something. What’s the animal control number?”
“Sir, this is 911, not 411. Click.”

“Hello, you’ve reached the City of Oakland’s animal control. We are unable to take your call at this time; if you need immediate assistance call the Oakland Police Department’s non-emergency number or you may leave a message after the sound of the beep. Beep. The voice mailbox you are trying to access is currently full. Click.”

“You have reached the Oakland Police Department’s non-emergency number all our operators are currently busy with other calls please stay on the line and your call will be answered in the order received. The current wait time is approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes.”

“Hello, you have reached the Oakland City Council.”
“There’s a marauding pit bull headed to a pre-school.”
“You know, we get so many calls about dogs and let me assure you that the councilperson strongly supports dogs and their owners. Let me suggest that you go to our website where you can see pictures of the councilperson and dogs and you can read about all that this district has done for dogs.”

“No! I need help, someone might get hurt.”
“Oh, I’m sorry we get so many calls about crime, there’s nothing we can do at this time. We did successfully pass Measures B and S and the new funding should be available in 2020.”

“No, my neighborhood is being terrorized by a marauding pit bull.”
“Well, I can advise you to join your neighborhood watch and get organized. If you can bring lots of people to meetings where the councilperson can talk about all they have done for your community, we might be able to help you more.”
“Please I just need one police officer.”
“Sir, this is a nuisance crime, if you give me your name and address I will send you a helpful brochure about policing yourself, home safety tips and 25 reasons to elect Jerry Brown as California Attorney General.”

Memo To Cambio Healthcare Solutions

Happy Holidays Homeless Shelter

Joe, “Hey Bob, you got mail from Highland.”
Bob, “Really, I didn’t think they sent mail to homeless shelters must be a bill. Open it for me.”
Joe, “Dude, it’s a bill for $190,000 dollars.”
Bob, “Wow, I hit the jackpot nobody’s ever thought I was worth that much.”
Joe, “You’re going to have to collect a lot of cans to pay that.”

Most healthcare consultants have problems with the fundamental premise of county hospitals, see the medical center’s mission statement says it will provide healthcare to the indigent and the uninsured. So let me introduce an important concept here, listen carefully and take notes fellas. Many of the medical center’s client’s are poor, by that I mean they have no money. Got it? Poor, no money. At the point that you’re sending out itemized bills to prisons, homeless shelters and freeway underpasses you got a problem.

Now that we have introduced the concept of poor, sick and homeless people being unlikely to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in hospital bills, lets apply these concepts to hospital management. See the medical center has services that assist clients in getting functional enough to work or in getting disability benefits, they’re called rehabilitation services. I know it’s tiresome listening to hospital employees who keep saying you need to help the patients more. Still, the medical center has to get patients well enough to work or get them the disability benefits, it’s the only way to get paid.

The medical center has a whole rehabilitation center so people can get intensive therapy to return to their lives and assistance in getting disability benefits if they are permanently disabled. This keeps people out of the emergency room, gets them back at work or at least gets them some income and medical coverage so the medical center can get paid for the services they provide.

So, when you consultant dudes wrote this year’s budget you looked at rehabilitation services and chop, chop, chop! You looked at the data and correctly concluded that the uninsured get therapy. Then you cut the funding for about a third of the therapists because they mostly serve the poor. The problem is if you want medical center clients to get unpoor enough to pay these huge consultant generated bills you have to get them well enough to work. Denying cheap appropriate care just frustrates patients and drives them back to the emergency room.

I know this is lots of new information and you consultant types probably never met any poor people, but most poor people want to get well. They work hard, expect little and want to be healthy. Cutting the services that patients need to return to work and manage their illnesses and injuries is unlikely to improve the medical center’s overall fiscal health, but I’m sure it looked good in your report!

Money Money Money…

It’s big money and bad idea time again. County and medical center budget time. The good news is the medical center is in decent financial shape; the bad news is Cambio Healthcare Solutions wrote the budget. They froze the hiring of caregivers again, so we’ll be using overtime and travelers in the many short-staffed departments. They need to keep cash available so they can hire more friends into fat executive positions and for legal fees.

Cambio got the medical center into what looks like a very long, very expensive legal battle with the psychiatrists and their union. The private contractor who wants the contract, the shrinks, and many of our temporary executives will all be deposing each other, meeting and conferring and generally building up more bad feelings and legal fees. Meanwhile, back at John George Psychiatric Pavilion, patients continue to back up in the psychiatric emergency area to dangerous levels and we don’t have enough permanent or temporary staff to care for them. Way to go Cambio!

So, this budget undoubtedly hides more than it reveals and the more eyes on it and our trusty trustees the better.

So the big budget meeting’s Tuesday, June 28th in Classroom A, Highland Hospital. They won’t tell us the time yet, but I’m sure the Sheriff knows. Just give the Sheriff a call or show up around 5:30 and wait with the rest of us.

The Jolly Jury and The Sweet Smell of Snark

Here we go again. The Grand Jury is putting out its final report on the medical center this week. Will they correct all the factual errors? Will they tone down the anti-union rhetoric? And will they give Sheriff Plummer the credit he deserves for doing most of the thinking for the jury?

No, I doubt it, you see most people don’t get to be grand jurors; these are rich people, political players. These are insiders in the Alameda County Democratic machine. They hire lots of non-union workers to take care of their kids, their kitchens and their cats, and then they complain about the poor quality of hired help. They support civil rights, workers rights and a service or two for the poor, but in tough economic times their inner Republican comes out. They want to close the hospitals, beef up the prisons and grease the right palms. So, expect more of the same, sloppy thinking, right wing ideological rant, and pointless prose.

Imperial Cheese

This is the most embarrassing use of public funds that I’ll ever seen. Did they get Carmela Soprano to design this website? Be sure you have the sound on your computer turned on, you need the music to get the full effect.

Click here to see you tax dollars at work:
Imperial Cheese

The Dirt Stands Corrected

County Supervisor Nate Miley’s charming staff pointed out that their violence prevention program will not be overseen by the Sheriff and that it is a sincere attempt to consolidate and coordinate these services in order to make them more accessible to county residents. The Sheriff just gave his enthusiastic and heartfelt support, he won’t be gaining turf or influence through this proposal. In fairness, Supervisor Miley has strongly supported the medical center since he came into office. He championed Measure “A”, he appointed Dr. Floyd Huen to the Authority Board (Dr. Huen and Dr. Rose are often the lone voices of reason) and he visits the medical center and talks to patients and staff.

Historically Supervisor Carson has been the main supporter of coordinated and compassionate healthcare on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. Carson’s leadership helped get the new clinic and critical care building funded and built. Supervisor Haggerty, the only Republican on the Board, has also supported sane and sensible healthcare policy in Alameda County. He remains one of the most reasonable, honest and balanced voices on the Board.

The super chicks, Alice Lai-Bitker and Gail Steele have been the worst. Gail Steele because of her tireless passion for punishment. Gail promotes herself as a child advocate, she just, sniff sniff, wants to do something for our kids. That’s why she’s fought tirelessly and ferociously for a bigger better juvenile prison. It’s her legacy, a huge kiddy-jail, way to go Gail! I know my children are excited about it. The Supes are so invested in prisons they even have a web cam so you can check the prison construction progress at any time day or night:
http://www.co.alameda.ca.us/gsa/juvenile/.

If we could only get the Supes as excited about libraries, schools or hospitals. As for Alice well, who knows, does she care about anything? Is she an empty power suit, nylons and pumps? And when Alice and Gail get together to discuss healthcare what do they talk about, pedicures?

Mr. Scambio: A Poem

Mister Cambio? He’s a Scambio!

He came here 18 months ago,
But little did we know,
That Mr. Cambio was a Scambio!

He came to help us ‘turn around’,
But put us deeper in the ground!
That Mister Cambio, what a Scambio!

They said he was a real smart dude,
But it just seems we’re getting screwed
By that Scambio, Mr. Cambio!

Like a used car salesman he smiles,
Racking up the frequent-flyer miles!
That traveling Scambio, Mr. Cambio!

He stole our money and he lied,
Now he’s going to run and hide!
What a Scambio, Mr. Cambio!

He’s runnin’ back to Tennessee,
Fooled nobody but the B-O-T!
That sneaky Scambio, Mr. Cambio!

If our Sheriff’s worth the tax we pay,
He’d arrest Mr. Cambio and lock him away!
No bail for Scambios, Mr. Cambio!

And after all is said and done,
We’ll be right back where we started from!
So where’s the ‘Cambio’, Mr. Scambio?

An SEIU UHW member.

Follow the Money

I’m talking here about the County money, not the Measure A money. It’s Alameda County budget time; get ready for some fancy footwork, excuses, hand wringing, charts, huge stacks of unreadable reports and self-important bureaucrats acting officious.

So get involved, its gonna be fun, you got to keep your eye on these guys or they’ll close all the schools, hospitals and libraries and build huge multi-use prisons. They don’t call it prisons, courts and cops; they call it “public safety” it’s great spin. Investing heavily in crime and punishment does not make us safer.

Shoot, Supervisor Miley’s pushing to put the Sheriff in charge of violence prevention. Yeah, why pay experts who work for lean focused non-profits, when you can pay prison guards. If current trends continue all county services will be offered out of Santa Rita Prison. Prisons have the infrastructure, the money and the political support.

Don’t give up, politicians are wimps, weenies and whiners, they’ll do the right thing if you make them.

So here’s the link to a site with a budget overview, and stay tuned, low-budget lobbying is my specialty.

http://eastbayliving.org/mediaroom/newsline.asp?ID=278

Everybody’s a Winner

Who is Alameda County’s number one public health enemy, do you think you know? Have a good idea? Now’s your chance, the Dirt is currently accepting nominations for the Alameda County Enemies of Public Health Competition. All companies, boards, juries, persons, and politicians working in Alameda County are eligible, locals only. State and federal officials are being omitted, the Dirt recognizes that the Governor’s a public health menace and that State Senator Perata is probably dirtier than Delay, but this contest will focus locally on Alameda County and highlight the good, the bad and the ugly. Get your nominations in now!

Help Wanted – (Part II of Our Continuing Report on the Grand Jury, the DA, the Sheriff and other Snark)

“The medical center is not an employment agency for SEIU (healthcare unions).”
-Sheriff Charles Chainsaw Plummer

The Sheriff did most of the thinking for the Grand Jury report that slams the medical center. Chainsaw Charlie and Deputy DA Stark, use union bashing as sort of a literary theme to hold the report together. The report concludes that the medical center should fire hundreds of lazy union workers, give millions back to the county and thus “save healthcare.”

Chainsaw Charlie and DA Tom Orloff want that Measure " A" money; they feel they’ve earned it. Chainsaw endorsed Measure “A” and Orloff was the Treasurer. That much cash doesn’t come to the county without Tom and Chuck taking a piece. They’ve already cut a deal with the Supes; any cash they squeeze out of other county agencies goes right to them, for “public safety.” This has made libraries; schools and hospitals feel decidedly “unsafe.”

Besides, union bashing, the Grand Jury’s report is remarkable for its uncritical praise for Cambio Healthcare Solutions; in fact the Grand Jury and the Sheriff are the only people in Alameda County who haven’t declared the Cambio consulting deal a complete and expensive failure.

Suppose the hospital implemented the huge service cuts recommended by the Grand Jury, who stands to benefit from the cuts and closures at the medical center: Cambio Healthcare Solutions, the Sheriff and the District Attorney. What’s the common denominator here, clout: they all have so much political clout; they don’t have to worry about facts or public opinion.

The Sheriff has 1,500 employees most of them armed; an ex-sheriff is the Chief of Police for Oakland and the Foreman of the Grand Jury. Retired Deputy Boyer, Grand Jury Foreman is a friend of Deputy DA Stark’s daddy congressman “Pete” Stark.

What about the consultants, well, Cambio’s the ERON of Tennessee. Cambio’s Susan Crutchfield CEO for a second of the medical center sure looks like she’s related to Tennessee’s Senator Crutchfield (he’s getting a lot of attention from the FBI lately).

District Attorney Orloff’s real job is preserving his job; he’s a professional career preservationist. The DA hired Congressman Stark’s son and daughter-in-law, Attorney General Lockyer’s daughter, Congressman Leon Panetta’s kin and many of the sons and daughters of judges in his courts. He’s got so much political capital he’ll be dead and buried and still holding that office.

This is politics after all, its not what you know; its who you know or more precisely, who you hire. The Sheriff is right if the medical center continues to hire people based on their qualifications rather than their “relations” they’re sunk. That’s why the medical center has to begin an aggressive recruitment effort to hire close friends and relatives of important politicians. They need a Senator’s kid or better. If the medical center can bag a Rockefeller or a Kennedy, money might actually flow out of the prisons and into healthcare.

A Friend Remembered- Memorial Day

Working at the county hospital you don’t expect to meet veterans. Born and raised in Berkeley, I’m against war and afraid of guns. My father served briefly between wars but mostly uniforms, tanks, guns and soldiers frighten me. This county put my father in a camp during the World War II and I still haven’t forgiven us.

I never knew soldiers and I certainly didn’t expect to meet so many. I met John teaching swimming to disabled students in Berkeley. John, a former Marine had a huge brain tumor, the bad kind. He worked in construction when he started to have headaches and mood swings. His first doc thought, young healthy former Marine must be post-traumatic stress, PTSD. He got some mood meds. His balance got really bad and he looked drunk when he walked, he lost his job. He started living in his car and trying to get more pain meds, the headaches got unbearable. The police arrested John; they thought he was drunk but when he didn’t dry up the sent him to psychiatric hospital. The psych hospital sent him to the county hospital.

I never met a Marine before. John knew he wasn’t going to live and probably wouldn’t walk again. That’s why he wanted to smoke, laugh and be outside. He didn’t have any family and not many regrets; he was one of the strongest and kindest people I’ve ever met.

People don’t think of Highland Hospital as serving veterans but it does. I have worked with veterans from, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War I and I’m sure we’ll be seeing veterans from Iraq soon. They are some of the medical center’s most gracious and likable clients.

County Supes Union Busting for Fun and Profit

The county supes are starting to sound just like Arnold, they’re blaming all healthcare problems and shortages on the “special interests:” nurses, housekeepers, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, radiology technicians and their unions. They all parrot the sheriff’s mantra “ the problem with the medical center is that the unions have too much power.” What does that mean? If the unions and the employees had any clout or power they would fix the medical center’s billing department. Many supervisors refuse to meet with union representatives and hospital employees, the Grand Jury and consultants’ slander them, they have little or no access to the hospital authority board and the sheriffs outnumber and intimidate them at all public meetings.

So, why do county supervisors keep blaming everything from world hunger to the rising cost of pharmaceuticals on the healthcare unions? Well, it’s a bad budget year and they’re looking for easy money. You break a few unions, contract out a few services, and dump people off those county pensions, you cash in. Then the supes reap the added benefit of giving fat contracts to big campaign donors. Union busting for fun and profit, it’s not very original.

So the hospital authority is leading the charge, impervious to reason, due process and bad press. They forged ahead and contracted out the entire psychiatry staff. They were so eager to attack a union that they didn’t bother with the necessary negotiating steps or even the price tag. The authority board’s contract actually increases the cost of services, but the private contractor has lots of political suction, she makes regular thousand-dollar donations to county supervisors and initiative campaigns. The private contractor gets a huge return on investment, the supervisors get to bust a union and the medical center gets a bigger bill for the same services, and a costly lawsuit. It’s just the kind of lose lose deal the hospital authority board has become famous for.

Jim Price Talking Sense

Comments from the Hospital Authority Board Meeting Monday, May 23rd

Ladies and gentlemen my name is Jim Price and I represent members of
EastBayLiving. We're a local advocacy group whose members all have one thing in common. We want to see the communities in our county thrive. My father worked at the medical center for over 30 years, which really meant that this hospital was part of my family for over 30 years. I grew up concerned about our patients, their care and our hospital.

I'm here tonight to suggest that with the addition of our new board members, that this is as good a time as any to begin to create a new environment of trust and open honest communication between the board, the administration, the employees and unions leaders. I've been talking and mostly listening to all of you for a while now and the one thing that concerns me the most is the lack of trust that exists. The internal bickering, lack of focus and a unified vision results in bad press and misrepresentation of the exceptional work that is done here every day.

Lack of trust and communication prevents caregivers, administrators, trustees and unions from focusing on the real work of building operational infrastructure. This Board should ask the consultants, the managers, the doctors, all the employees and their unions representatives to work with them to make this hospital better.

If the trustees lead the hospital on a comprehensive campaign to fix the billing department and took the time to educate and involve everyone, they could improve revenue and morale. Hospital workers and their unions want to help, doctors want to help, community members want to help. The trustees as leaders must provide the leadership and vision we all need to work together.

Knowing the medical center is under such tremendous financial pressure. We must all focus on improving revenue, which will create job security, good press and good relationships with the Board of Supervisors and other county agencies. We want to work on positive change, like making county debt repayment based on a percentage of net revenue. This will create an incentive for success. The county will profit from our success, instead of from service cuts.

This Board must work to create a culture of trust and cooperation. It must develop policies, which encourage cooperation and mutual respect between the County Hospital and other county agencies. In this way the medical center can lead the county, toward more cost effective and caring service for all residents who need county care.

Doctors, nurses, caregivers, staff, their union leaders, administrators, patients, community members and the voters of Alameda County all want the medical center to thrive. We want to help you to make this hospital better, please give us the opportunity.

Banana Board

The Dirt’s report on the “new and improved” Alameda County
Medical Center Board of Trustees.

The small narrow room filled quickly, the air thick with tension; staff set up fans and the door and the windows were opened, but it kept getting hotter and hotter. The air just stopped moving. Hoards of sober dark suits milled around trying to stay cool. Most of the guests had more enemies than friends in the room and armed sheriff’s stood guard and flanked El Generalissimo. As usual the meeting was delayed. No one wanted to come to this meeting. Union busting, lawsuits, lay-offs, all bad news that would result in more bad feelings and bad press.

Afghanistan? Columbia? Guatemala during the seventies? Nope, the left coast, the liberal heartland, the democratic machine, the Alameda County public hospital. The County Supervisor’s own little banana republic complete with El Generalissimo Plummer and puppet appointees who take orders from the county supervisors who feign ignorance and indifference.

El Generalissimo and his command captains take copious notes on luxurious sheriff’s letterhead and send copies to all the politicians, grand juries and commanders so they know what to think. The supes insist Generalissimo Plummer is really “a great guy” and “he’s just trying to be helpful.” El Generalissimo Plummer wants attendees to kiss his ring.

Wake Up and Smell The Snark (Part I)

Yes, I’m slipping into bloglish. So you say what’s snark? Well, it’s that smell emanating from the President’s kill Social Security campaign, or Swartzenegger’s border bashing plan or the Grand Jury’s interim report on the medical center. In fact the smell of that report was so bad the Dirt convened a task force. If the odor doesn’t let up we’ll have to create committees and focus groups. There are so many factual errors, offensive statements, and poorly reasoned conclusions; we’ve had to divide up the work. We’ll be doing a series on the Grand Jury’s interim snark report.

So, who wrote the snark report? The Grand Jury is overseen by political wannabe, Jeff Stark, congressman “Pete” Stark’s son. I thought these guys we’re democrats, but what do I know. Jeff’s helper was the Foreman of the Grand Jury, Keith Boyer. Mr. Boyer was a Captain in the Sheriff’s department for 27 years and he’s a perennial appointee to county commissions. He’s friends with Gail Steele, “Chainsaw” Charlie Plummer and “Pete.” It really helps to have friends on the Grand Jury. The 2003-2004 Grand Jury Report on the Sheriff’s Department reads like a budget request.

“ The Grand Jury urges future grand juries to closely monitor the sheriff’s on-going planning process, paying close attention to the ability to provide a funding source for this sorely needed project [replacement of Eden Township Substation]. “

The conclusion was: “All three facilities, Eden Township Substation, the coroner’s bureau, and the communications center-are all in need of replacement as soon as possible.“

The Grand Jury walked through Highland and didn’t even offer to get us more toilet paper. No, they focused on attacking the unions, the trustees and glorifying consultants. Measure “A” monies must have looked like that “funding source” the Sheriff sorely needed.

Stay tuned for Part II: The Jolly Jury and the Sweet Smell of Snark

Community Support Growing- Thanks Jim!

The medical center has always enjoyed a huge amount of community support and trust. Jim Price a member of East Bay Living and a community leader has taken a welcome and personal interest in the medical center.

Many people have misconceptions and prejudices about public hospitals; Jim Price is part of the medical center’s family, his father worked at Highland for more than 30 years; he grew up worrying about our patients, their care and our hospital.

Check out East Bay Living’s report on the medical center:
http://eastbayliving.blogspot.com/

Hasta La Vista Chainsaw

The good people of Alameda County sent Chainsaw Charlie Plummer packing. They told the Board of Supervisors in no uncertain terms that they do not want the Sheriff in charge of the hospitals. After hundreds of instructive phone calls, letters, and faxes the Board of Supervisors realized his appointment to the Hospital Authority Board was unwise, unethical and probably illegal. In fact all of the Supervisors deny nominating him for the Board, they don’t know how it happened.

Ever concerned about the proper functioning of the County government, they went right to work concocting a plan that would allow Sheriff Plummer to “save face.” They replaced him with another nominee and attempted move the meeting along as quickly as possible. Old Chainsaw Charlie, never one to pass up an audience, even gave a concession speech.

Stop Chainsaw Charlie

It’s time for everyone to have a heart-to-heart discussion with the Alameda County Supervisors. Putting the Sheriff on the Hospital Authority Board to cut services, to close hospitals and to break unions is a mean and ugly idea. He has a huge conflict of interest and hundreds of community members, patients, physicians, nurses and caregivers have already called, faxed and written to express their shock and outrage at the proposal.

The Medical Center and local elected officials should be building bridges; not blowing them up. The hospital has nearly balanced the budget, there is no financial crisis; there is a crisis of leadership. We need hospital trustees who want to work with the community, the unions, the physicians, and the patients to make the hospital better.

Please call right now:
President of the Board Supervisor
Keith Carson (510) 272-6695
Tell him:
I oppose the appointment of Sheriff Plummer to the Hospital Authority Board because of his conflict of interest.”

Please Come to the
Board of Supervisors Meeting:
Tuesday May 17th 10:00 am
1221 Oak Street, 5th Floor
Oakland, CA

Chainsaw Charlie Plummer

The Tribune’s been covering Sheriff Charlie Plummer’s coup of the Medical Center with uncritical awe and adoration. Awhile ago it looked like they were interested in doing some real reporting, now it looks like they’re back to doing PR work for the prison industrial complex. I think they’re letting the Sheriff write the articles himself to save on labor costs.

According to the Tribune the unions “said” there is a conflict of interest in putting the Sheriff on the Alameda County Hospital Authority Board. I guess nobody had time to read the bylaws of the Hospital Authority Board, which specifically prohibit contractors from sitting on the Hospital Authority Board. You see the Medical Center contracts with the Sheriff for security and the Sheriff contracts with the Medical Center for healthcare for prisoners. The Sheriff and the Medical Center also compete for county funding from the County General Fund. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Alameda County with more conflict of interest than the Sheriff.

The Medical Center has nearly balanced the budget; if the Sheriff stopped billing so much overtime for security and started paying the bills for health services provided to prisoners, the Medical Center might be at break even. That’s not really the point though is it, Supervisor Carson wants lay-offs, the Sheriff wants money and all the Supes want land. They brought in Chainsaw Charlie to close Fairmont Hospital and disperse the patients and caregivers in an orderly fashion. Throwing out all those patients will save millions, that money will go back to the County and the Sheriff will get it, the land will go to the Supes.

Fairmont’s a choice piece of real estate, why the Supes will make a mint with lots of developer friends chopping up that land. It’s a politician’s wet dream, make rich friends and do them big favors. What do you think they’ll put at Fairmont, Keith Carson’s Casino and Western Grill?

How Low Can the County Go?

Well, it’s a race for the bottom. County government hits a new low. The Grand Jury wrote a scathing, completely biased and often inaccurate report on the Medical Center. The authors clearly hate unions, love consultants and didn’t bother to talk to the workers they were so willing to slander. At first I thought it read like something Arnold Schwarzenegger would write, pissed off at nurses and not thinking clearly.

Then it hit me, many of the statements sounded like quotes of things Sheriff Plummer has said at Authority Board meetings. According to some sources Sheriff Plummer and the Civil Grand Jury are pen pals; he writes them little notes. The Sheriff sure must be mad that the Grand Jury report uses lots of his exotic ideas and even some of his language and doesn’t give him credit anywhere, they didn’t even say they spoke to him.

Then the same day the Grand Jury Report comes out slamming the Medical Center, we learn that the Board of Supes plans to appoint Sheriff Plummer to the Hospital Authority Board; corruption or coincidence, you be the judge.

Vote Health Alert

Supporters of access to quality health care for the most vulnerable of Alameda County's residents need to protest the plan of the County Board of Supervisors to appoint Sheriff Charles Plummer to the Alameda County Medical Center (ACMC) Board of Trustees. Why is this a problem?

ACMC trustees have a legal fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of the Medical Center. Plummer cannot fulfill this responsibility because as elected sheriff he has advocated against the Medical Center getting adequate funding from the County's General Fund, which is also the source of Sheriff's Dept. funding. In other words, he would have a conflict of interest if he served on the ACMC Board, which he insists competes for public funding that he wants for his own department. His public solution to budget problems at ACMC is to cut services to the poor.

There is no financial crisis at the Medical Center. There is a crisis of leadership. ACMC needs an experienced CEO with the vision to move the Medical Center forward. Plummer's appointment is the "nuclear option" which sabotages the current effort to hire a new CEO - his many attacks on the Medical Center have included criticism of their efforts to build a working relationship with labor and community groups like Vote Health.

Please call your Supervisor to vote against the appointment of Sheriff Plummer to the ACMC Board of Trustees:

Trustees have a legal fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of the Medical Center, and Plummer cannot fulfill this charge due to his conflict of interest as Sheriff.
ACMC faces a leadership crisis, not a financial crisis. Plummer's appointment will sabotage current efforts to hire a new CEO.
Here are phone numbers, faxes and email address for the four supervisors who support the appointment of Plummer to the Board of Trustees:

President Keith Carson
dist5@acgov.org
510/272-6695
510/271-5151

Vice President Scott Haggerty
district1@acgov.org
510/272-6691
510/208-3910

Supervisor Gail Steele
dist2@acgov.org
510/272-6692
510/271-5115

Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker
BOSDist3@acgov.org510/272-6693
510/268-8004

Please note that the appointment has been buried in the consent calendar (item #39) for Tuesday at 10am,
May 17th's meeting of the Board of Supervisors
at 1221 Oak St., Oakland
Fifth floor.

Circle Time

Some time ago my friend Allan‘s truck got stolen. Allan worked as an electrician but he was really a musician. He wanted to play music all the time and resented everything that kept him from it, like work. He needed the old pick-up truck for work and play, to carry his bass and his tools. The police called when they found the truck, the thieves left some women’s lingerie, an empty Whisky Bottle and two packages of condoms in the cab. Allan said the most troubling part about the crime was that the thieves had had more fun in his truck in two weeks than he had in two years. Allan had a sense of cosmic harmony, karma and all that.

Allan and I grew up in Berkeley so we had lots of exposure to all manner of enlightenment and spirituality. I guess I’m less fertile soil, than my friend. When I started looking for schools for my little McNuggets (Blot and Og are 3 and 4 years old). I discovered hippie practices have been integrated into the Montessori curriculum, circle time. The whole school does sort of a feel good group hug and sing along. Cum ba ya, it its like the seventies without the pot.

Highland needs a big circle time. Trust has decayed, and blame and paranoia have taken root. Consultants have perfected the fine art of hiding; the only indication we now have that they exist is the unwanted appearance of time clocks replacing pay phones on nursing floors. They bear an unfortunate likeness to ATMs and patients have already been sighted trying to pry cash out of them.

I hate to get “Berkeley” on you, but it’s a crisis of confidence. It’s an opportunity to lead, somebody please take the county healthcare challenge and put forth a plan and a vision, not just another bogus budget.

Vote Health

Vote Health is a cool organization, they do real grassroots healthcare advocacy, policy watch and single payer work. They are the medical center’s fairy godparents. Check them out at: www.votehealth.net

The Con is On

Here we go Sheriff Plummer is getting ready for the big shake down. He’s balking at taking budget cuts. Orloff our incompetent DA is balking with him and they’re balking right to the press. Yeah, the Sheriff is hurting so bad they have four officers guarding one patient with twenty-five tubes and enough meds on board to take out a bull elephant. If current trends continue we’ll have more sheriff’s than nurses on the hospital floors.

Besides, the supes fell all over themselves at the budget meetings to give the Sheriff more money, and have already promised any “additional funds” which magically appear in the budget would go the Sheriff.

So if the Sheriff and DA can balk for bucks, how come no one’s out balking for healthcare, where’s the Authority Board, where’s Dave Kears, where’s the leadership?