In The News: Assemblyman Alejo calls for SVMH audit
From The Monterey County Herald:
Criticizes executive salaries
By JIM JOHNSON
Herald Staff Writer
New state assemblyman Luis Alejo is calling for a state audit of the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System finances because of alleged mismanagement.
But hospital district administrators dismissed the allegations as part of a campaign by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which is in a pitched battle with hospital officials over layoffs and proposed pay concessions.
In a letter to the state assembly joint legislative audit committee chairman, Alejo said it “appears the hospital has been fiscally mismanaged by its Board of Directors,” who he accuses of prioritizing “executive benefits over patient care.”
Alejo, the 28th district assemblyman, criticized the hospital district’s executive salaries, particularly that of retired CEO Sam Downing who collected nearly $4 million in retirement benefits when he left last weekend.
Read the full article in The Monterey County Herald.