Five trustees quit hospital in power struggle
Medical Center members say they were 'intimidated' by Board of Supervisors
By Rebecca Vesely, STAFF WRITER, Oakland Tribune
Wednesday, September 24, 2003

"After intensive discussion, we trustees concluded we cannot continue to serve on a board that is routinely intimidated and hampered by a more powerful political body that appears unwilling to confront directly the issues that face this county," four of the five resigning trustees wrote in a letter to county Supervisor President Gail Steele.

The four who wrote the scathing four-page resignation letter were Board of Trustees President Maria Gallo, Secretary-Treasurer Robert Phillips, Robert Blackburn, and Barry B. Siegal.

Denise Martin also resigned, but wrote her own brief letter to Steele, citing a "serious breakdown in communication and trust between our respective boards." Phillips said recent correspondences between the trustees and the supervisors "crystallized" the move to resign now.

He declined to elaborate, except to say the trustees' decisions were being second-guessed.

"We've come to a point where we couldn't proceed," he said.

Steele denied any intimidation.

"They were totally dedicated," she said. "But philosophically we don't agree."

Blackburn, a longtime community leader and professor emeritus of education at California State University, Hayward, who served on the board of trustees for five months, said it was more than philosophy.

"I came in with no particular point of view," he said. "But when the county staff and supervisors are finally done with the gratuitous abuse and scapegoating, hard questions will remain."

Faced with a budget deficit of upwards of $56 million, the medical center is in dire financial straits and has already closed two outpatient clinics in Oakland and San Leandro. The medical center is composed of Highland and Fairmont hospitals, John George Psychiatric Pavilion and three remaining outpatient clinics in Oakland, Newark and Hayward.

The trustees and outgoing CEO Kenneth Cohen have repeatedly cited outside factors such as rising numbers of uninsured, combined with fewer federal and state funds for county hospitals as reasons for the ballooning budget deficit.

The supervisors, by contrast, contend that other forces are at work, and that the trustees -- as the governing financial body -- must find ways to balance their budget.

The 11 trustees are appointed by the supervisors. The positions are unpaid.

The supervisors removed CEO Cohen from his seat on the board of trustees and appointed three new members to the board two weeks ago -- one to Cohen's seat and two others to open seats.

Then, last week the board of trustees fired Cohen, citing the supervisors' recent actions as reasons why Cohen couldn't do his job.

The supervisors dispatched a team lead by the county auditor-controller to the medical center to review the books last month, and required Cohen to get approval for any large purchases. A final report on the audit is expected in several weeks.

"That's not intimidation," Steele said. "My goodness gracious, all we said is he had to get purchases approved."

Blackburn said no matter the disputes between the two boards, the financial situation is bleak.

"What, are we hiding something?" he asked rhetorically. "We hope they find a spare dime someplace."

Contact Rebecca Vesely at rvesely@angnewspapers.com.