I continue to be amazed at the disconnect between the ECH Board's public comments vs. its actions. The Board has repeatedly said that Los Gatos hospital is a small acquisition amounting to nothing more than 'another floor' of El Camino Hospital and therefore requiring no monthly/quarterly profit and loss reporting or financial tracking. Yet this 'other floor' operation requires an initial investment of over $100 million; a separate hospital name for the Los Gatos facility; a new "President" to run the Los Gatos operation; and a committment to support multiple medical specialities. Apparently the ECH Board believes it can dupe taxpayers and ignore its stakeholders' demands for transparent reporting by claiming that a $100 million investment is pocket change and by making optimistic forecasts - while refusing to track and report on the future financial results of the Los Gatos operation. Much of El Camino Hospital's $400 million cash reserve is a direct result of the non-profit hospital's tax-exempt status and the tax revenue it has collected over 40 years from District taxpayers. The ECH Board demonstrates a level of arrogance and fiscal irresponsibility that is unparalleled in the non-profit world.

Based on this example of the El Camino Hospital District buying a facility outside the district, I can't wait for the Mountain View Whisman School District to purchase a failing school in East Palo Alto to help serve that community.

If the El Camino Hospital District had enough money to purchase a hospital in Los Gatos, why were we asked to approve a bond measure a few years ago? Surely, El Camino's operating profit could have been used to build the new hospital building right here in Mountain View.

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?