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Hazel Hawkins Hospital is about to set a record for compensation of a single individual in public service in San Benito County. Upon their vote on Thursday, Mary Casillas, Interim CEO of Hazel Hawkins Hospital will earn $450,000 per year, plus bonuses, and, given the hospital has entered into letters of intent to be acquired, will be entitled to another $450,000.

Photo courtesy of Robert Bernosky.
Photo courtesy of Robert Bernosky.

This is for someone who has never been a CEO before, otherwise has an incredibly thin resume both in experience and education, is unremarkable in board meetings, and relies on consultants that we are paying millions for.

Worse, the entity that she was chief operating officer before she was named Interim CEO has petitioned the court for bankruptcy. That entity is Hazel Hawkins Hospital.

This action by the board, if approved, should make all San Benito County Residents angry. We have a hospital that the majority of residents choose to not use and instead have their babies and procedures out of the county because they do not trust Hazel Hawkins Hospital. What has Mary Casillas done to turn this around? Hazel Hawkins Hospital has not remitted payroll taxes due the IRS, reuses single-use surgical instruments (this is totally gross), and fires any employee who points out deficiencies in operations.

My guess is that in the next 12 months, the hospital will have paid over $1 million to Mary Casillas in salary and benefits. Does that sound right to you?

The County of San Benito is ready to come to the rescue of Hazel Hawkins Hospital with the formation of a partnership with it and injecting capital to stabilize the financial situation. The county then intends to engage operators that will grow Hazel Hawkins Hospital by increasing the number of doctors doing procedures, offering more of services the residents need, and overall improving its reputation. But if the current hospital board is going to saddle its partners with paying $1 million to an individual that would otherwise not ever be considered anywhere else to make that kind of money, well, you may have to say goodbye to Hazel Hawkins Hospital.