Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital (SVMH) Officials Cleared By District Attorney

Another chapter closed in the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital (SVMH) saga when the Monterey County District Attorney released the results of its investigation of SVMH former CEO Sam Downing and two current board members (Harry Wardwell and Jim Gattis).  None of the three will face prosecution, the D.A. announced.  The trio had been investigated for having conflicts of interest regarding financial decisions made by the hospital after State Auditor Elaine Howell forwarded results of a state investigation of the hospitals finances and business practices to the D.A.  The audit was done at the request of Assemblyman Luis Alejo (Democrat, Watsonville).  Although there will be no criminal charges filed by the D.A., there is still an active investigation with the state Fair Political Practices Commission to see if there are any violations of the Political Reform Act.  Hopefully, this will be concluded quickly.  It's been sad to watch all of this drama play out which distracts management from important issues that need to be addressed in light of new rules being implemented under President Obama's Health Care Reform.