Sage says SMHD Board needs Salcido

“The voters didn’t think very carefully about what they were doing.” -Don Sage

Shortly after the past election for the Southern Mono Hospital  District Board, Board Chairman Dr. Donald Sage abruptly resigned.

According to a press release issued by the hospital, Sage had served on the Board of Directors since 1997.

There were no reasons given for his resignation, so The Sheet called Sage this week to ask why.

“I’m 77 years old,” said Sage. “At this time of life, anybody’s entitled to retire who feels like it.”

Sage then offered two main reasons why he chose to step down.

1. He believes the hospital is in good shape with good administration headed by CEO Gary Boyd and an improving financial outlook. “I’d rather get out when things are good,” he said succinctly.

2. “I did not want to see Lynda [Salcido] lost from the Board.”

Salcido, a 12-year veteran of the Board, lost in her bid for reelection in November to incumbent Jack Copeland and challenger Dr. Dennis Crunk.

The tally was 1,728 for Crunk, 1,121 for Copeland and 845 for Salcido.

She is employed as the Director for the Mono County Public Health Department and was recently recognized for her 10 years of service.

Salcido holds a graduate degree in nursing administration, holds a registered nursing degree and public health nursing licensure for the State of California.

Sage insists that he did not conspire with his fellow Board members or vice versa to engineer his resignation and Salcido’s appointment.

However, he was voluble in his praise for Salcido, her institutional knowledge and her connections with the health department and larger community.

“I’ve seen Boards drive these things into the ditch,” he said. “Boards can’t make things a whole lot better, but they can sure make things a whole lot worse, especially if they have conflicts.

Dennis is an affable man and a good doctor, but he is deeply conflicted.

I respect the vox populi, but on the other hand, I don’t think the election was wise.”

Five candidates submitted applications for the Sage’s board seat. Along with Salcido, there was Richard Vroman, Jon King, Michelle Mather, and Kiara Raazi.

Some members of the vox populi suspect the Salcido appointment was an inside job.

Mather said she was informed the day before that there would be a meeting held the next morning where the Board appointment may or may not be discussed. She was told she didn’t need to attend.

As The Sheet’s Lara Kirkner reported last week, her non-attendance was then somewhat held against her during Board deliberations, as she didn’t have the same opportunity to state her case in person.

As for King, why is the spouse of a hospital contractor ineligible to serve while a contractor [Crunk] is eligible?

Sage would prefer to look at the bottom line. “From a purely political view, they appointed the best [candidate],” he said.