Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Former Kern Valley Healthcare District CEO, Pam Ott, asking for a dismissal

Elder abuse has no excuses or exceptions

May 17, 2011

Bakersfield, CA

It will be a very interesting day at the Kern County Superior Court as a former CEO, Pamela Ott, charged with eight counts of elder abuse surrounding her employment with the Kern Valley Healthcare District in Lake Isabella, CA, in 2006-7, has filed a motion PC 995 to have all charges dismissed.

The case that captured the attention of now Governor Jerry Brown, surrounding the complaints of chemically restraining elderly patients in the Kern Valley hospitals' distinctive nursing center may have lead to their early demise.

Ott, who has plead "not guilty" along with co-defendants, Dr. Hoshang Pormir, and Director of Nursing, Gwenneth Hughes, is the only defendant taking this course of action as her attorney, Jim Faulkner will try to prove that the pretrial somehow her rights were violated during the course of charging her in court or that there was no probable cause.

Dr. Pormir, who had two attorneys working on his behalf, Donald Etra and William Howard Ginsburg, both political figures as Ginsburg was the attorney for Monica Lewinsky in one of our country's worst political brawls, that of the President Bill Clinton.

Etra, is known for his high profile Hollywood type cases, and was a guest of President Bush at the White House.

Under all these heavyweight names you will find a small hospital, with names you don't know, but people such as Phyllis Peters, whose mother died in the hospital's skilled nursing facility.

"I want to go to court and look them in the eyes, that is all I want," the elderly woman said in a recent interview.

Peters is waiting to see if the criminal trial will move forward as there will also be civil cases that follow, but she said she wants "justice."

There has been speculation that the board of directors and other administrators may also be liable as Ott was a CEO, but her credentials are what is in question. On the blog, KVHD under Fire, Ott's whole resume is shown, however, other clouds trail the white collar defendant.

She was alleged to have moved on to Sierra Kings District Hospital in Reedley California, which bankrupted one month after she was charged with eight counts of elder abuse, and records were to have shown Ott was moving money from protected property tax dollars, GOB, and employee pension funds.

Some Reedley employees will never see their pensions due to conflicts with the bankruptcy, Ott has yet to be charged in that case.

It's a political battle on the inside of the hospital as board meetings have become more contentious as big money was spent to hire a new CEO, the third since Ott left in May of 2007. The hospital, struggling financially, could be pushed into bankruptcy if the trial goes and the state prevails that no matter who you are, there are no excuses for elder abuse.

The CEO, may use her position as undereducated to her advantage today in court, as her credentials come from an Internet college once called Kennedy/Western University.

But the question remains to be seen if a CEO who shares a workspace and work place, could miss such things as a particularly violent act against an elderly woman given an antipsychotic called Risperdal against her will.

Records show that several nurses had to hold her down, and those nurses, as well as other administrators, or board members, have not been charged.

The selectivity of the defendants in the case makes it unusual as this could be the benchmark case, where it reaches those who should have done their jobs, but also, reported the crimes as well. It may well send a message to those who don't report crimes that they will be held responsible too.

Does that include the board of directors? The state and county could argue they had no medical training therefore no ability to know. What if they were told though? Could they then become liable?

This case may open up doors for more laws regarding vigilance and responsibility concerning care of the elderly if it goes to trial and wins. But it could leave scars in the small valley if the Governor and now Attorney General Kamala Harris, cannot finish what they started.

The hospital stands to lose millions of dollars it cannot afford in legal expenses should these cases become successful, which could cause the eventual bankruptcy of the district and possible repossession by a state office which insures the hospital's 20 million dollar debt, Cal Mtg.

It could also lead to more charges with Ott regarding her tenure with Sierra Kings District Hospital in Reedley.

"It's definitely not over, people are fighting for their jobs, money, it's ugly," said one hospital employee who chose not to be quoted.

The case is scheduled for trial in September, but the Ott camp is going for a full dismissal. More on this motion later today.