Healthcare board elects Nixon; Conklin's 10-year presidency ends

In its annual election of officers Jan. 29 in the crowded hospital conference room, the five-member Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District Board of Directors elected Mike Nixon, its newest member, to the position of president. The action ends the 10-year presidency of Dr. Sam Conklin, who will now serve as second vice president.

"I've had it for a long time," Conklin said in response to Director Henry Schaeffer's comment that "Dr. Conklin has done a hell of a good job."

The board appointed Nixon on Nov. 20, 2013 to fill the seat of Dr. Gary Olsen, who retired to Utah. Nixon, who owns Vintage V-12s – a company that rebuilds military aircraft engines – served previously as a member of the board.

The board elected Schaeffer to be first vice president, Dr. Kim Horowitz to be secretary and Duane Moats to be treasurer.

Nixon's election came after the board declined to vote on a slate nominated by Horowitz with Conklin as president, after which Schaeffer nominated Nixon, with Moats offering the second. Horowitz subsequently nominated Conklin as president. On a roll call vote on Nixon, all were ayes but for Horowitz, who voted no "because I had nominated Sam."

Nixon thanked Conklin – who has been at the helm through tumultuous times and the complicated replacement hospital construction project – for providing the district with "an incredible vision for the future."

In other business, the board declined to approve an agreement with Healthland (electronic medical records company) that would have triggered the timeline for Phase Two federal requirements. The directors expressed misgivings about the current performance of Healthland and the abruptness of their contract request, which carried a Jan. 31 deadline. The board voted 5-0 on a motion by Horowitz that instructed legal counsel and the CEO to enter negotiations with Healthland "to indicate our concern and displeasure, that we need time to consider the contract and (that they) come back with a higher level of confidence."

The board approved a change in the monthly board meeting date to the last Wednesday (not fourth) of the month instead of the third, to enable the financial reports to be more complete.

Schaeffer said he would like to see changes in the by-laws. He said it takes two directors to add an item to the agenda and that he has not been told of certain committee meetings. "I have learned what it means to be a minority and be discriminated against, " he said, adding "I think the president has too much power."