“This is a step in the right direction,” said Sandra Davis Hathaway, WIC Nutrition Assistant II/LCE at Watts Healthcare Corporation and a member of SEIU. “We need to make sure that money is wisely spent on health care services in communities like South Los Angeles where there aren’t a lot of options.” Local 721 also recommended that the Board take more time to investigate whether to continue to award public funding to Tarzana Treatment Center, following extensive reports on excessive executive salaries, benefits and fees at the behavioral health clinic. Following SEIU’s testimony, the Board announced it would delay its decision regarding future funding for Tarzana Treatment Center until at least next week, pending further investigation.
The transcript of SEIU 721’s statement follows:
“The Public-Private Partnership clinic expansion grants provide an opportunity to distinguish the partners with whom we should be working to expand access to quality healthcare services from the players whose track records demonstrate a lack of commitment to this mission.”
“The decision to award $11.2 million to South Central Family Health Center is a great step forward toward addressing disparities in funding and access to care in South L.A., particularly in the context of our work to open a new MLK hospital. And we welcome the provision of funding for Northeast Valley Health, where the frontline caregivers are represented by SEIU.”
“However, at this juncture, it seems inappropriate for the county to entrust the leaders of Tarzana Treatment Center with another $852,000 in public funds. Both the Los Angeles Times and our own Center for Public Accountability have reported extensively on the excessive salaries, benefits and fees Tarzana’s leaders pay themselves– in one case, $865,000 to one individual in a single year. And this doesn’t even count another $1.5 million in profits these leaders split annually, renting properties they own to the nonprofit they control.”
“The auditor-controller came up with the $1.5 million figure last August, citing a federal guideline that says these leaders aren’t supposed to make any profits renting to a nonprofit they control. They are supposed to rent to it at cost. The auditor controller is still trying to determine how much of that $1.5 million overcharge was paid for with county funds and therefore has to be repaid. Meanwhile, you are prepared to give them control of more county money? It doesn’t make sense.”
“We’re repeating our suggestion–made months ago in a letter to each of you–that the auditor-controller be instructed to look back at five years of rents, not just one. Five times $1.5 million would make $7.5 million–significant money that the county could surely find better ways to spend.”
“Finally, fiscal responsibility demands that, as we invest in new community health services to meet skyrocketing demand, we preserve successful existing programs. We therefore strongly recommend that the county abandon any plans to privatize its successful, culturally sensitive health services at Glendale Health Center, and use any available expansion money to instead provide new services.”
Note: The original testimony stated the amount of proposed funding for Tarzana Treatment Center is $852,000; it is actually $652,000.