Peace at Last at the Foundation?

Peace at Last at the Foundation?

By Judy Pavlak, Winsted

At the December 17 annual corporators' meeting, the Winsted Health Center Foundation got rid of the last few of the so-called rabble rouser corporators along with snubbing 37 who petitioned to be made new corporators. The petitioning group included many talented and enthusiastic people from the eight towns which form the Health Center's service area.

Now there is no one left willing or with the guts to oppose the all-mighty Nader circle of control. The situation reminds me of Genghis Khan, who left the lands he invaded barren and called that "peace."

Yes, the Naders can proclaim peace at last, but at what price? For a group that likes to think itself more intelligent than us grassroots folks, the Foundation leaders certainly pulled a boo-boo here. Each year the Foundation has been finding it more difficult to collect funds. Only a third of the present corporators have made contributions. Well, smarties, you just lost the contributions of 37 more people, along with their families and friends.

The Naders and their Foundation pouted and stamped their feet when they were found to be just landlords by Raymond Gorman, Commissioner of the Office of Health Care Access (OHCA). Since they are only landlords, he removed them as a party to the medical license authorizing Charlotte Hungerford Hospital to continue to operate the Health Center.

If the Naders expect their arrogant and ill-conceived actions to bring them peace as rulers of the Foundation, they are sadly mistaken. Haunting them and their board of trustees is their foolish decision to sue Commissioner Gorman and the OHCA. This action will be expensive for the Foundation, which is complaining now that its fund level is at a low ebb.

A second situation that will give them no peace is the suit that corporators and former corporators were forced to bring to Superior Court in search for justice. The issues include the Foundation having failed to follow the bylaws in governing the organization. Another major issue is the waste of funds and failure of the board of trustees and their former and present directors to use gifts, bequests and endowments properly.

No, there will be no peace for the Naders and the leaders of the Foundation in 2003. Do not weep for them, however, since they knowingly, brusquely and coldly rejected the olive branch offered them when they voted down every one of those members of the communities served by the Health Center who petitioned to be made corporators of the Foundation.

It is too bad that members of the Foundation did not accept the olive branch that was offered. It presented the opportunity to work cooperatively to establish a peace through dynamic diversity rather than a peace of stagnation resulting from a demand for conformity.

Happy New Year to all!