HeartSafe - Saving Lives or Life Support for the Sequoia Healthcare District

Just for the record, I would like to make it perfectly clear that I do not question the value of placing AED's and automated CPR devices into the hands of first responders nor the placement of AED's in publicly accessible locations. They are a morale booster to those first responders. Nor do I question the value of Nurses Education. I do question the motive of my colleagues on the board, who constitute a 4/1 majority, in promoting these programs. In the case of Heartsafe, San Mateo County Emergency Medical Services, who are mandated by law to maintain a database of publically accessible AED's are the logical agency for distribution of those devices. Other counties are pursuing that. And, with the proliferation of GPS enabled Smart Phones, Apps have evolved to instantly connect CPR trained individuals with victims, precise AED device locations and first responders. When the Sequoia Healthcare District is dissolved, the county will receive a share of it's assets and tax allocation. Supervisors will have an obligation to pursue that course of action

Placing a $20,000 Code Blue AED Tower adjacent to the Woodside Firehouse was a waste of tax dollars. More than 20 individual AED devices could have been prochured with that money. That was strictly a promotional ploy to endear the Sequoia Healthcare District with a select segment of our population. One look at the space given to that project in the Report to the Community illustrates my point. More than twice as much space was given to Heartsafe content promoting the District than was given to financial content.

Activities engaged in by Sequoia Healthcare District's HeartSafe Program should be a function of county government.

Information on nationwide deployment of AED's copied from Web Link
Legislative Overview (California)
¡Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) 159 Declares September 12th Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Day
¡Assembly Bill (AB) 254 Extends Good Samaritan coverage to schools choosing to have an AED & staff that use an AED
¡ACR 57 Urges all public k-12 schools to implement AED programs
¡AEDs are mandated in schools in: Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia
¡AEDs are mandated in fitness facilities in: California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island
¡ Web Link : a detailed page on State Laws on Heart Attacks, Cardiac Arrest & Defibrillators on the National Conference of Sate Legislature website.

someone sure must of got their knickers in a twist, some time back

quite the grudge

every other post is hicky maoning about the health district

used to be useful, even interesting information on these forums

no longer

I have created many topics on the Almanac Town Square Forum to inform the public of taxpayer funded activities and expenditures of the Sequoia Healthcare District. Links to some of those topics are included below. These activities were unintended by voters when they established the Sequoia Hospital District in 1946. The original purpose of the District was to build, operate and maintain Sequoia Hospital. Property taxes were assessed for that purpose with the full intention that the hospital would eventually become self- supporting. On the verge of bankruptcy, the District relinquished ownership of Sequoia Hospital with voter approval in a 1996 election. Following that, the District ignored civil grand jury recommendations and continued collection of property taxes originally assessed for hospital related expenses. They now operate as a pseudo-philanthropic organization.

Sequoia Healthcare District gets Corporate Grant-Making award. Web Link
District listed as "Foundation donor" in Mission Hospice and Home Care 2011 annual report Web Link
$102,500 to Star Vista? Web Link

Here's a few more.
Sequoia Healthcare District Grant Applications oversubscribed Web Link
Sequoia Healthcare District continues support of Planned Parenthood Web Link
Sequoia Healthcare District and MTK Communications Web Link
Healthcare District's website deceiving Web Link
$10,000,000 Nursing Education Program Web Link

Again
Sequoia Healthcare District CEO gets 14 1/2% raise Web Link
Directors Health Insurance Web Link
Sequoia Healthcare District - Masters of Deceit Web Link
Sequoia HCD subsidy of Sequoia Hospital Web Link
HeartSafe - Saving Lives or Life Support for the Sequoia Healthcare District

More
Web Link
SHCD Workers Comp Web Link
Odd twist in Sequoia Healthcare District election Web Link
Viewpoint: Rogue board member roils health-care district Web Link

Final
Sequoia Healthcare District brochure coming Web Link
$1.27 returned for every tax dollar collected Web Link
Sequoia Healthcare District spends $25,000 for Membership in RWC 2020. Why? Web Link
Sequoia Healthcare District dissolution survey Web Link

Mona: ding, ding, ding; winner, winner, chicken dinner!

FLASH!
In his revised CEO Report for the next Sequoia Healthcare District Meeting Web Link, Lee Michelson says the following: “It is our belief that the placement of AED’s has been accomplished, the grantees understand that they are responsible for the annual maintenance, and that the program can move to the phaseout stage. As a result as of September 1st we will no longer employ a program manager. Former Atherton Chief of Police, Glenn Nielson, is the current program manager.

The District did a flip-flop on this, and is now spending >$90,000 on a classroom for CPR training. Seems to me they had CPR training when I went to school in the 1940's!

The Sequoia Healthcare District regular meeting at 4:30 on Wednesday, October 4, 2017, will consider the future of 2 programs which should be ended. Heartsafe should be handed off to San Mateo County EMS. The other one is the Little House LYFT subsidy program for seniors. See: Web Link