My Statement to the Hospital Board, That I Didn't Get to Read

 Our local hospital has been going through some struggles for the last few months. Well, a lot longer than that, but the last few months have been really bad. At the center of the struggle is our CEO. People have tried to talk to our hospital board, but so far nothing has happened. The management style of this CEO is to yell and belittle people. On July 17 there was a hospital board meeting which turned bad. I was there and recorded the uproar. Then I also wrote a story about it. It came out in the July 23 issue of The Syracuse Journal. Since then many other things have happened. 

On August 21 there was another board meeting. For the last month I had been working on a letter I wanted to read to the board, but the day of the meeting they enacted new rules. One of those was that you could not say anything about current employees. The following letter is one I had ready to read, but because of the new rules I couldn't say a lot of it. When I got shut down on using Bryan Coffey's name, I just went to the part about Duke Millard, Elaine Keeler and a supervisor I had one time who was not exactly nice to work for. 

My hope in doing that was that Bryan Coffey would see the difference in the two styles and that one was much better than the other. I hurt for the people who have been hurt by the words spoken towards them. Here is what one lady told me who recently became a former employee of the hospital. Her words are about all of the former employees of the hospital.

"He is telling everyone we are cancer. My mother died of cancer and it is a horrible thing. To be compared to that is just,...." At that point she just shook her head and had to choke back tears. 

I had sent a copy of this letter to others and they have encouraged me to post it publicly. After thinking about it and praying about it I have decided to do just that.

The following is the letter I had prepared.




First of all I want to make this very clear that I am voicing my concerns and opinions as a citizen of Hamilton County and NOT as an employee of The Syracuse Journal. Marcus nor the paper have anything to do with this so if you have a problem with what I say, come to me.

To the board: I appreciate the fact that you don’t want to face looking for another CEO because of the past track record. Kent, you made the statement that you didn’t want to go down that road again. Might I suggest you take a different road then? Sometimes you need to stop, ask directions and take a different route. Sometimes it may take you out of your way, but in the long run will be worth it.

Bryan, at the board meeting of July 17 you stood up here and yelled at everyone that you were not going to allow 50 people to sit around and take pot shots. You proved that at your so called Town Hall meeting on August 13. Which by the way, you need to read a definition of a town hall meeting.

“A town hall meeting is an informal public meeting that gives the members of a community an opportunity to get together to discuss emerging issues and to voice concerns and preferences for their community. A typical meeting is attended by both citizens and officials, giving everyone a chance to talk personally in a relaxed environment about the things which matter to them. Typically, the organization and leadership are minimal, encouraging people to settle their differences amicably and with help from friends.”

You would not allow anyone to speak except for you and your staff even putting out the threat that if anyone did speak out they would be escorted out. You did the same thing with Michele Boy when she tried to voice concerns about events at the hospital. Basically, you talk, we listen. We are to shut up and let you say whatever you want and WE have no voice.

Well, that needs to change. You don’t want anyone taking potshots at you, but every time I have listened to you that is exactly what you have done. I have heard you do it at Rotary meetings. I heard you do it at the July 17 meeting and at the August 13 meeting you did it numerous times. You took potshots at The Syracuse Journal, The HMCO Sheriff’s Department and me personally. And that brings me to a question for you.

Just what did you mean when you commented that if anyone had questions about the Kansas Open Meetings Act to talk to Carol Roberts because she seems to know everything about it? I am not an expert, but after the July 17 meeting I made phone calls and became much more informed. I also have this card from Kansas Press Association of which I am a member, which outlines the KOMA laws.

Your potshots at various people were uncalled for and very unprofessional. You owe this whole community an apology for your actions.

Bryan, I have heard so many stories about how you treat people from those you have victimized. I have even had people call me who worked for you several years ago and with emotions still in their voice tell me word for word things you said to them that should not be said to anyone. I have the notes from those phone calls right here.

You want to focus on how much money the hospital is making now and it is good that the hospital is turning a profit, but money is not everything. YOU need to learn how to treat people.

Bryan, I would rather see some changes in you as opposed to you being released from your contract. But if you can’t change, maybe a release needs to be considered.

And since you like to read your Bible, I would like to recommend you read and study James, Chapter 3.

I also want to tell you about two supervisors I have had that did things right.

One of those was the general manager of a beef processing plant in Moore County Texas. That plant employed 2500 people and was managed by Duke Millard. As part of my job I reported directly to Duke the head count of the cattle going across the kill floor which totaled 5,000 head a day. I also figured the amounts to pay the feedlots for the cattle and typed those checks which totaled several million dollars every day. If I made a mistake Duke would walk out of his office, which all the way across a building the size of the VIP center over to my desk whistling all the way. When he did that everyone knew I had made a mistake. One day when he walked up whistling I opened my desk drawer and pulled out a box a crackers and offered him one. He just looked at me and asked “Why would I want crackers?” My co-worker started laughing and told him that way he couldn’t whistle. He then asked if it bothered me when he did that. I told him it did and the other ladies agreed it bothered them when he did it to them. He just nodded and said OK, but he never did it again.

Duke never yelled or cussed at anyone that I heard of. Someone asked him one day why. He said because people listen better when you speak to them in a normal tone of voice and with respect. I did listen to him and I always respected him. And when I left that job I told him so.

After that I worked for the trucking company that hauled the cattle for the processing plant. My supervisor was Elaine Keeler. Elaine was a lady from head to toe, inside and out. If you got in trouble for something she would call you into her office and talk to you in a very calm tone. Never one foul word came out of her mouth, but when you left her office you knew you had been chewed out. You knew you had been in trouble, but you were never degraded, humiliated or treated with disrespect. I loved her and I loved working for her.

I also worked for someone in Texas who was just the opposite. He talked to me in ways I have never been talked to. After three months I walked out and swore I would never work for someone like that again. You never get over being treated that way. It is always with you in some way.

As our hospital board, you need to listen to what the people of Hamilton County are trying to tell you. There is a problem and you need to address it. You also need to keep in mind that all of these people sitting out here are the ones who voted for you. You have a responsibility to these people and not just to one person. I feel like the Re-Think Consortium is a good start and I have high hopes that they will help, but it will take some work.

Thank you for allowing me this time.

What We Feed Our Dogs

When people find out we don't feed our dogs commercial dog food, they naturally ask what we do feed them. I have also had a lot of people ask me to give them the directions on what we feed our dogs.

Now I am going to put a disclaimer right here. I am not a canine nutritionist. I don't claim this is the best diet for all dogs. This is one I have made up for our dogs and it works well. They love it and they are healthy. 

I started this several years ago when I found out through trial and error that my German shepherd, Jax was having an allergic reaction to the commercial dog food I was feeding him. He had huge lick sores on both front legs, yeast infections in his ears all the time, he was miserable and he smelled really bad! One vet told me he was a German shepherd and this was what they did. I did some research of my own and found out about the allergies. From there I found a commercial food that was rice and venison. He did great on that, but it was pricey and I had to get it in Amarillo. Then we moved to Kansas and there was no one close who carried that dog food. So, more research. We went to raw chicken and since then I have come up with the rice concoction I am going to tell you about. 

I start with a large bowl of cooked rice. This is probably about 5-6 cups of dry rice that has been cooked. I don't add any salt to it. If I have chicken broth I will use that for the liquid to cook it in. After it is cooked I dump it into my big bowl.

Now I start adding everything else. Since I was out of chicken broth I added some chicken bullion, about two tablespoons or so. Then two cups of whole wheat flour, a dozen or so eggs, about a half cup of honey. 

I usually try to add some veggies of some kind. I didn't have any leftovers, so I added a quart jar of yellow and zucchini squash that I had canned last year. 

Blueberries, green beans, pumpkin, squash, carrots are all good things to add. Don't use onions or garlic. They are not good for dogs.

All of this gets stirred up real good.

Now I divide it up into two cake pans that I have sprayed with a nonstick cooking spray. I forgot to add some coconut oil to the mixture so I just dolloped some on top. It will cook in. The coconut oil is really good for their skin. German shepherds are prone to dry skin and this helps. I've noticed since I started adding the coconut oil they are not scratching nearly as bad as they were.

Now bake it at 370 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until it is set and no liquid is evident.

After this is done, I let it cool and then it is ready for them to eat.

Each of the big dogs get one chicken leg quarter and a good helping of the rice mixture. The Corgi, Bates gets a chicken leg or thigh and some of the rice.

One question I get asked a lot is how much this cost and is it comparable to buying dog food. The price is about the same and maybe even cheaper. I buy the ten pound bags of leg quarters. Those go on sale a few times a year for $3.99 to $4.99 for a ten pound bag. I buy the rice in the big bags at Sam's. My eggs come from my chickens and the veggies are usually leftovers.

People are also concerned about feeding raw chicken for a variety of reasons. The first concern is the bones. A dog is designed to eat raw meat and bones. Their teeth are made for eating raw meat and bones and their digestive tract is also designed to digest the raw meat and bones. Think about wolves, foxes and coyotes. This is what they eat. Two times in the last six years I have had a dog get a piece of bone stuck in their teeth, but that is the only problem we have had. We have had pups as young as seven weeks old eat the raw chicken and bones.

Here are some advantages to the raw chicken. Eating the bones keeps their teeth clean. Also, being on the raw chicken and not eating commercial dog food your dog won't stink. Their feces also does not stink AND it will dry to a powder within a couple of days. No scooping poop!

I hope this helps. I know our dogs do really well on this diet. They have shiny, clean coats. Their teeth are clean. They are full of energy. I haven't had one of our dogs to a vet in about three years. If you have any questions, just ask!

Ricka enjoying the deck in Colorado last month.

It's Canning Season Again

I haven't blogged in a long time because we opened a greenhouse and it has just taken all of my time. I had someone ask me recently if I had stopped blogging. I guess I need to get back at it.

So, my first blog back is about canning. I love to can. I have blogged about that subject before so I won't do it again. Canning season is in full swing for me. Since we now have the greenhouse I have LOTS of stuff growing and we also put in an outside garden. I have produce for sale, but sales have been slow. What doesn't sell within a reasonable length of time will be put up for this winter. I have already made salsa, pickled three different kinds of peppers, put up some green beans and I am canning more. And they will probably need to be picked again tomorrow.

Since I have talked about canning on Facebook and others know I can, people kept asking if I would do a class. I have done two of them now and we all had a good time. But here is a blogging version of that.

Tonight I am putting up green beans. I picked a bucket full on Friday and still had a LOT left. So I have the beans washed and cut.

I love Roma, or Italian green beans. A lady from our home town in Dumas, TX raised a huge garden every year and sold the products out of it. Her husband was a farmer and her garden was so big he plowed it with his tractor every year. She is the one who told me about the Romas and told me to try them. We have been hooked ever since. I don't like regular green beans anymore, just these.



So here they are washed and cut. Now if I were doing these to enter in the fair for next year each piece would be the same size, perfect shape, everything just right. But since these are for us it isn't as important. Canning instructions do recommend one inch pieces, so that is what I try to get. These are ready to go into the jars.

Your jars should be washed, checked for nicks on the top edge, and use ONLY jars designed for home canning. It is never recommended to use old spaghetti, mayonaise, mustard, etc. jars that you have emptied and washed. They are not designed for home canning. Every time I use my jars I check them for nicks and cracks. If I find one I usually toss it out.

I like to run my jars through the dishwasher. It gets them good and clean and the heat sterilizes them. 

I pack the products into the jars good and tight. You can add salt if you like. I add one teaspoon per quart jar. I use sea salt. Pickling or Canning salt is recommended, but the only reason is the pickling or canning salt does not leave a residue in the bottom of the jar. The residue doesn't affect the product, but just looks kind of bad. I have never noticed it in my jars.

Now fill them with hot water. Just fill to the bottom of the first ring on the jar.

Always use new lids, the flat part on top of the jar. Never use old ones or ones that have previously been used. Check the rings and make sure they are clean, not rusted or corroded. Place the rings on and just fingertip tighten them.

Next, I place them in the canner. I only have five quarts this time, but I can fit seven in here. There is about three to four quarts of water in the canner and the jars are placed on a rack. Never place the jars right on the bottom of the canner. Always use a rack.

I usually add a tablespoon or two of white distilled vinegar to the water. We have really hard water and the vinegar prevents the mineral deposits from forming on the jars. It doesn't affect your product, but the jars look a lot cleaner and nicer.

Now the lid is on and my canner is pressuring up. ALWAYS read the instructions for your canner before you start.

You can see the pressure it is at zero.

Start with the heat turned up on high. Once the gauge reaches the correct pressure you will turn it down to about medium. Each stove is different, so be sure to watch it.

After just a few minutes it is up to five pounds. For our altitude, my product will have to process at 12 pounds of pressure for 25 minutes. The time does not start until it reaches the correct pressure. If the pressure ever falls below the recommended amount you will need to get the canner back up to pressure and start the time over.


Once it has been at the correct pressure for the time recommended, turn off the burner. You can remove the canner from the burner but DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE LID! You will have to wait until it pressures down. This may take a couple of hours. Even then when you take the jars out use a jar lifter. The liquid in the jar will still be boiling.

Place the jars on a towel or some type of pad rather than the bare counter. I like to use one of those micro fiber covered dish mats. Now, just be patient and listen for the lids to seal. They will give off a little ting. I love that sound! When I hear that I know I did it right!

 

 Here are my five quarts of green beans out of the canner. They have sat for a while and all the lids are sealed. Even if you don't hear the ting or pop, if it is sealed properly the lid will be concave. After they cool down they will go in my hall closet for storage. One of these days when I have it organized and looking like something out of Homes & Gardens I will take a picture, LOL.

There are a couple of books I really recommend if you are just starting. One is the Ball Blue Book. Very simple and is about $7 at Walmart. You will find it in the section with the canning supplies.

The other book is the Complete Guide to Home Canning published by the USDA. You can get it from your local extension office. It is kind of pricey. Mine was $24, but it is well worth it.

Next blog, Basic Supplies. I know I kind of got the cart before the horse, but I figured since I was doing some green beans I would go ahead and blog about that tonight. I hope you enjoyed it!