Communities speak out on the dissolution of the Heernan healthcare district
IMPERIAL VALLEY – “On July 25, the Imperial County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approved the dissolution of the Heffernan Memorial Healthcare District (HMHD) as stipulated in Assembly Bill (AB 918),” according to a press release from the Imperial Valley Healthcare District, but both former Heffernan district board members of Calexico and Pioneers Memorial Healthcare district board members in Brawley are adamantly disappointed and/or in opposition to the process of how it came to be.
The IVHD hopes to dissolve the Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District before December 31 of this year, according to an IVHD press release.
Former Heffernan board member Adriana Armendariz alleges that the new Imperial Valley Healthcare District (IVHD), LAFCO, the two Heffernan board members who represented Heffernan at the IVHD, and the former Heffernan CEO did not adequately inform the public of what would happen in the aftermath of the passing of AB 918, nor was the Heffernan board itself informed about the actions and the final decisions the new IVHD were making along the way, she said.
In addition, Armendariz said the Heffernan board was fed talk of threats of lawsuits by IVHD – against individual Heffernan board members rather than lawsuits against the entity itself – if the Heffernan board did not dissolve.
AB 918 AND HEFFERNAN
As AB 918 was announced as signed into California law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on October 8 of last year, the Heffernan Memorial Healthcare District discussed its dissolution that same month, Armendariz told IVP in an interview on Tuesday.
In an October 2023 meeting, the five – now former – Heffernan district board members voted 3-2 to dissolve the Heffernan district to be brought into the Imperial Valley Healthcare District, Armendariz said. In that meeting, Armendariz and HMHD treasurer Paloma Sanchez voted against the dissolution, while HMHD board members Raul Ureña Sr., HMHD President Sylvia Bernal, and the designee for the IVHD board from Heffernan, Rodolfo Valdez, voted for the dissolution.
Though the Heffernan board had been discussing the dissolution since then, according to HMHD meeting minutes from June 12 of this year, the Heffernan district had a recommended dissolution date by the IVHD of October 1, 2024. The Imperial Valley Healthcare District recommended this date to LAFCO, according to the document.
Even though the Heffernan dissolution discussion began in October 2023, Armendariz alleges the Heffernan board had been divided during her whole time on the board (the past year and half), not just on the dissolution itself, but more so on the fact that some board members did not want Heffernan funds fitting the new IVHD’s bills, nor did some want taxpayer monies going towards highly expensive meals after board or other HMHD business meetings.
Armendariz alleged the IVHD were utilizing Heffernan funds for legal fees regarding the Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District lawsuit, which, she said, took away from ‘what is needed for Calexico.’
“We had a lot of questions. We were meeting a lot,” Armendariz told IVP. “We met with Assemblyman (Eduardo) Garcia and there were a lot of questions about AB 918 and where its funding would come from. My main concern is the citizens’ taxes are going to increase. And he wasn’t able to give me that or a lot of other answers, and that’s basically why I didn’t want (the dissolution), because Heffernan is for the citizens of Calexico.
“People (of Calexico) would ask me, ‘are taxes going to increase/are they going to decrease?’ And honestly, I didn’t have that answer,” Armendariz said. “I remember that I asked Assemblyman Garcia and he didn’t have the answer, and I go, ‘how do you expect me to vote for something that is not clear?’ Because Calexico is still going to get taxed regardless what happens.”
According to the June 12 HMHD minutes, now former board member Paloma Sanchez made similar points to their own board before its eventual July 25 dissolution.
“Board Member Sanchez does not agree on this sudden move when we still have time, we still have programs and we can still implement towards the community before anything is dissolved,” the June 12 HMHD meeting minutes state.
“She thinks this is a big step of rush and maybe there is a reason behind it as to why but she does not agree with the board getting dissolved prior to the date while they are still going back and forth with
Pioneers. Pioneers are set to dissolve at a later date but she thinks why should we dissolve first and then Pioneers,” the minutes read. “Maybe it’s because we have the majority of the assets or the majority of the funds, but there are still things we as a board can do for the citizen of Calexico.”
“There are things that we can still do in 2-3 months that could benefit the community rather than being dissolved for x-y reason,” the document continues to Sanchez’s point. “[Sanchez] thinks that [the Heffernan board] have been open with the new [IVHD] board and we have made invitations through our CEO to see if we can come together, or communicate, meet, talk ideas whatsoever we are being told that they do not want to, so she does not see why the rush and why the sudden change to make our board dissolve prior to [the] date [as] things are going and does not know the legal aspect where does Pioneers stand. …[Sanchez] would like to meet with the new district.”
According to the meeting minutes – a meeting where board Chairwoman Bernal and CEO Tomás Virgen were not present – HMHD board member Ureña “informed the board that in the resolution it says that it was discussed with some of the board members of the Heffernan District,” but within the minutes themselves and also according to Armendariz, not all board members were present in these alleged discussions between HMHD and the Imperial Valley Healthcare District.
“Board Member Valdez informed the board that just like Mr. Ureña mentioned that they mentioned that representatives have discussed in good faith [with] representatives from Heffernan Memorial Healthcare District that proposed dates for dissolving Heffernan Memorial Healthcare District in the manner least disruptive to the provision of healthcare services in the community,” per the meeting minutes.
“…we do not have a funding mechanism in place for IVHD so if they dissolve Heffernan we do not know if IVHD will function without a funding mechanism or if they just want our assets or our money as a funding mechanism,” the minutes read.
“The third thing is that Pioneers we do not know if they are going to (have) success with their lawsuit or not and it seems like they are not and they should be dissolved at the same time as we and [Valdez] does not agree with the resolution and he is not going to support [it].,” the meeting notes read.
In that June meeting, the Heffernan district approved “creating by legal an opposition letter stating that Heffernan opposes due to the false information of this dissolution and reject resolution 2024-03,” to which the four Heffernan board members voted yes.
“We don’t know how long (the restructuring of the health care districts) is going to take, but in the meantime, Calexico is going to be taxed, and they’re taking all our assets, which is fine,” Armendariz said. “I understand why they want it to happen, but the citizens of Calexico are not aware.”
“I think the bill itself is not bad because you’re going to be under one umbrella,” Armendariz said of AB 918. “Yes, I do agree that we have to bail out El Centro Regional, but I don’t think that the residents of Calexico should be responsible for that.
“Calexico taxpayers are paying, paying everything,” she said. “We already had spent a lot of money on attorney fees, and on personnel on all these reports that (IVHD) were using, taking the money directly out of Heffernan, because that’s what the bill said. Brawley also needed to help out, but due to their lawsuit, they didn’t.”
Armendariz also said that the CEO of El Centro Regional Medical Center publicly promised a $150,000 loan to the Heffernan district at some point since October 2023, which she alleges never materialized.
This is one reason the Heffernan district worked towards dissolution, she said, because of ‘the money on the table.’
“So in that special meeting (in late June 2024)…we as a board suspended any funds going out from Heffernan,” Armendariz said, “and we also suspended our staff to be their staff in all this transition, because we were paying our CEO $8,000 a month and he was also getting paid through the new district. And yes, from the beginning I said this is double dipping.”
“So there, there’s a lot of stuff that wasn’t communicated to us,” Armendariz said. ‘ They never wrote the (AB 918) bill clearly about where the money is going to come out from, you know, for clerical, for attorneys, for set up fees. “Nothing was done, it was just ‘we’re using Heffernan’s money’ – that was the bottom line,” she said, “and that’s what that’s what happened.” “Heffernan was not transparent – I asked for a forensic audit and it didn’t go through,” Armendariz said. “When I came into this board, there was already a lot of miscommunication. We couldn’t work as a team, I’m just being honest. I tried to do my best. I came in with ideas, things like that. I saw things that were not correct and I was trying to do my best to change it, but like I said, the majority of the board voted. At least I could say we pushed for the $150,000.”
IVHD’S STATEMENT ON THE DISSOLUTION OF HEFFERNAN
On the other side of the coin, the new health care district was happy to report the dissolution, according to a press release from the Imperial Valley Healthcare District.
“IVHD is unwavering in its commitment to improving healthcare services in Calexico and meeting the community’s needs,” the release reads. “The urgent care center in Calexico is a crucial project that will provide accessible healthcare to Calexico residents and efficiently address their immediate health needs. Recognizing its importance, IVHD is fully committed to seeing this project through to completion. The IVHD Board of Directors is determined to prioritize and execute the urgent care project efficiently to help meet the Calexico community’s healthcare needs.”
“It is IVHD’s intent, like the transition with HMHD, that healthcare services remain uninterrupted when Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District is dissolved by LAFCO and absorbed into IVHD later this year,” it reads. “The only change will be in governance, which will transition to IVHD, ensuring that the community continues to receive uninterrupted healthcare services at both hospitals. This seamless transition underscores our unwavering commitment to meeting the healthcare needs of our community.”
In the release, the IVHD called the dissolution of Heffernan “a significant step toward fulfilling all requirements of AB 918 to improve healthcare services and stabilize our regional healthcare system,” adding that the IVHD “assures Calexico residents that expanding and increasing healthcare services in the area is our top priority.”
“As we implement AB 918, IVHD is dedicated to facilitating a seamless transition of healthcare services and driving projects that will bring positive changes to Calexico,” IVHD board President, Katie Burnworth, said in the release. “We are unwavering in our commitment to establishing a healthcare system that delivers the necessary and deserved services to our residents.
“We commend Imperial County LAFCO for their decisive action and dedication to the health and well-being of our community,” Burnworth said. “Their dedication to this process has laid the groundwork for completing the remaining tasks of the bill, contributing to a more efficient and effective healthcare system.”
“With the community’s support, IVHD has achieved significant milestones, including dividing the district into seven voting zones, initiating terms for ECRMC’s acquisition, dissolving Heffernan Memorial Healthcare District, and recommending a dissolution date for Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District before December 31, 2024,” the release reads. “Join us in this transformative journey as we work together to build a healthier, brighter future for Calexico and the entire Imperial Valley.”
BRAWLEY’S RESPONSE
Brawley residents and Pioneers Memorial district board members were not candid with their reactions.
“I was correct when I said that IVHD would be broken on the very first day that AB 918 passed, and here we are. IVHD is using Calexico’s taxpayers’ money to form IVHD. Calexico’s taxes were never intended for that,” Rachel Fonseca, PMHD secretary and the City of Brawley’s Parks and Recreation Director, wrote on Facebook.
“Now IVHD wants PMH to contribute $150,000 to help IVHD pay for the mounting attorney fees associated with forming IVHD, and to give the new IVHD board a stipend for the work they’re doing? PMH’s money is not meant for that, and I will not agree to that,” the lifelong Brawley resident wrote.
“Go find your own money IVHD and quit stealing money from taxpayers that was never intended for forming IVHD,” she wrote.
In an email to IVP, Brawley resident Linda Moiola had similar sentiment.
“I am writing this to the voters in Brawley: Do not let El Centro hospital pass on their debt to Pioneers! We have always had a profitable and good hospital in Brawley and because Calexico and now El Centro are bankrupt they want us to absorb their multi-million debt.”
“Please don’t let them do this,” Moiola continued. “Go to Pioneers and sign the petition to stop this! Seriously these cities build and build and they get all ‘the good stuff’ but now they want us to bail them out. We can’t let them damage our medical care. Please we are running out of time. We have to stop it!”
LOCAL OPTIMISM
While Heffernan is now a thing of the past, Armendariz is still optimistic, hoping that the new IVHD will use their funds wisely and for the benefit of the public, including Calexico residents.
“I really hope that the new district, now that has all the monies and assets of Heffernan, do a forensic audit (since) they already took over, so people can know where they stand,” she said.
“If this was the change that Calexico needs, I really hope it’s for the best. I really honestly do,” she said.
The Imperial Valley Healthcare District meets on the second Thursday of every month at 6 p.m. at El Centro’s City Hall, located at 1275 Main Street, in El Centro.