July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Doctor talks to commissioners again (7/12/04)
Veenendaal airs complaints about hospital board, administration
A former radiologist at Jay County Hospital got sympathy — but nothing else — on a return trip to Jay County Commissioners this morning.
Dr. Jay Veenendaal, a rural Redkey resident who first aired complaints about the Jay County Hospital board two weeks ago, gave the commissioners a list of questions and answers about issues he has with several recent actions by the hospital board.
Veenendaal, who was a former provider of radiology services at JCH, said today that as a county resident he wants a quality hospital in Jay County that is on sound financial footing. He said if the hospital becomes insolvent taxpayers could be asked to underwrite operations.
After discussing the matter for nearly 30 minutes with Veenendaal, commissioners’ president Milo Miller Jr. told him “We appreciate all your comments. We appoint the board, and they’re on there until they’re gone. There’s nothing that we can do. I’ve got enough faith in them that they can do the job or I wouldn’t have put them in there.”
Veenendaal first came to the commissioners June 28, less than a week after he was not allowed to speak at a public meeting of the hospital board because he was not on the agenda. He said today he has requested to be put on the agenda for the board’s July 28 meeting.
Although the commissioners have no direct say in governing the hospital’s operations, they do appoint its board. Veenendaal said today he had no other public venue to air his frustrations.
Commissioner Gary Theurer told Veenendaal this morning the commissioners will consider appointing a physician to the hospital board the next time a vacancy on the board occurs.
“We’re concerned about it as you are,” Theurer said to Veenendaal.
In Veenendaal’s written statement, he wrote that “there needs to be a change in the hospital board leadership. There have been too many executive sessions with uninformed/poor decisions being made behind closed doors without medical staff and their input. There needs to be a change in the hospital administration from the CEO and CFO down. These key individuals have consistently dropped the ball. The management has shunned the medical and hospital staff.”
Earlier this morning, while the commissioners were meeting as the county drainage board, Veenendaal asked the county and surveyor Brad Daniels to check if there are any county-owned/maintained drainage tiles on his property, which includes several hundred acres.
The property is in the Brooks Creek Watershed, on the north side of county road 500 South and south and east of Ind. 67.
Daniels said he would make an appointment to inspect Veenendaal’s property to see if there is county tile that is not recorded.
Veenendaal said a large amount of surface drains to the north from county road 500 South on his property. He estimated there is 15 to 18 feet of fall from the road to his home. The run-off floods a pond near his home, he said. The run-off also has washed out the dam of a pond owned by a neighbor, he said.
In other drainage business this morning, Commissioner Mike Leonhard, Theurer and Miller:
•Heard Daniels say the construction of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter west of Jay County Hospital will require re-routing a city combined sewer (McNeil). The sewer line, which currently heads northwest at the northwest corner of the condominiums at Heritage Commons, would be in the path of either a retention pond or the building, Daniels said today.
•Asked Daniels to investigate a request by a Pike Township farmer for funds to install a tile in the G. Hertzman Watershed. Robert Stump said the south end of farm ground on the south side of county road 800 South between county roads 300 and 400 East is serviced by a new tile. He said he plans to install a waterway on the north end of the ground and would also like to install new tile in the area.[[In-content Ad]]
Dr. Jay Veenendaal, a rural Redkey resident who first aired complaints about the Jay County Hospital board two weeks ago, gave the commissioners a list of questions and answers about issues he has with several recent actions by the hospital board.
Veenendaal, who was a former provider of radiology services at JCH, said today that as a county resident he wants a quality hospital in Jay County that is on sound financial footing. He said if the hospital becomes insolvent taxpayers could be asked to underwrite operations.
After discussing the matter for nearly 30 minutes with Veenendaal, commissioners’ president Milo Miller Jr. told him “We appreciate all your comments. We appoint the board, and they’re on there until they’re gone. There’s nothing that we can do. I’ve got enough faith in them that they can do the job or I wouldn’t have put them in there.”
Veenendaal first came to the commissioners June 28, less than a week after he was not allowed to speak at a public meeting of the hospital board because he was not on the agenda. He said today he has requested to be put on the agenda for the board’s July 28 meeting.
Although the commissioners have no direct say in governing the hospital’s operations, they do appoint its board. Veenendaal said today he had no other public venue to air his frustrations.
Commissioner Gary Theurer told Veenendaal this morning the commissioners will consider appointing a physician to the hospital board the next time a vacancy on the board occurs.
“We’re concerned about it as you are,” Theurer said to Veenendaal.
In Veenendaal’s written statement, he wrote that “there needs to be a change in the hospital board leadership. There have been too many executive sessions with uninformed/poor decisions being made behind closed doors without medical staff and their input. There needs to be a change in the hospital administration from the CEO and CFO down. These key individuals have consistently dropped the ball. The management has shunned the medical and hospital staff.”
Earlier this morning, while the commissioners were meeting as the county drainage board, Veenendaal asked the county and surveyor Brad Daniels to check if there are any county-owned/maintained drainage tiles on his property, which includes several hundred acres.
The property is in the Brooks Creek Watershed, on the north side of county road 500 South and south and east of Ind. 67.
Daniels said he would make an appointment to inspect Veenendaal’s property to see if there is county tile that is not recorded.
Veenendaal said a large amount of surface drains to the north from county road 500 South on his property. He estimated there is 15 to 18 feet of fall from the road to his home. The run-off floods a pond near his home, he said. The run-off also has washed out the dam of a pond owned by a neighbor, he said.
In other drainage business this morning, Commissioner Mike Leonhard, Theurer and Miller:
•Heard Daniels say the construction of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter west of Jay County Hospital will require re-routing a city combined sewer (McNeil). The sewer line, which currently heads northwest at the northwest corner of the condominiums at Heritage Commons, would be in the path of either a retention pond or the building, Daniels said today.
•Asked Daniels to investigate a request by a Pike Township farmer for funds to install a tile in the G. Hertzman Watershed. Robert Stump said the south end of farm ground on the south side of county road 800 South between county roads 300 and 400 East is serviced by a new tile. He said he plans to install a waterway on the north end of the ground and would also like to install new tile in the area.[[In-content Ad]]
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