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Thank you for your diligent reporting. These may be small oversights however, there seems to be a trend of inaccurate information being reported by the HHMH leadership.

1. Mary did not serve as the interim CEO before October 2022. Before June 2022, she was employed by Dignity Health. She applied for the HHMH COO position while other qualified candidates were being interviewed. You may wish to secure the COO applicants’ credentials. I served on the interview panel for one candidate with the experience desperately needed to address the hospital’s outpatient clinic operational inefficiencies. (The COO is charged with clinic oversight.) The COO candidates were disqualified by members of the board, including Mary who was a member of the interview panel.

2. The information regarding Mary Casillas’ resignation from the board is also inaccurate. The date of her board resignation and her accepting the COO position are out of order. Mary interviewed for and subsequently accepted the COO position on March 28, 2022, while she was a member of the Board. Her board resignation is documented in the board meeting minutes as having occurred on April 18. Regardless of the timing, Steve Hannah committed to mentoring Mary to grow into the COO position. She had no hospital operations experience but was a lifelong member of the community, Mr. Hannah respected her community ties and was committed to mentoring her.

3. When the board prematurely released Steve from his contract, they appointed Mary as interim CEO without considering the competency of any other member of the executive leadership team. A review of the Chief Clinical Officer’s (CCO) qualifications reveals her experience as a qualified and highly competent nurse executive. The CCO was an obvious choice for interim CEO and would have positioned the hospital to be managed by a masters prepared and experienced clinical leader.

I trust this provides the community with clarity and you will be successful in validating the information through hospital documentation and community resources.