Browse archives: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995

Published on 07/03/1995 All articles from this issue

CEO Pettingill resigns from El Camino Hospital District board

printer friendly version

By Clyde Noel / Town Crier Staff Writer

Reacting to conflict of interest concerns, Richard Pettingill agreed to resign last week as chief executive officer of the El Camino Hospital District. However, Pettingill will continue as president and CEO of Camino Healthcare, which is responsible for day-to-day operations at El Camino Hospital.

At a recent subcommittee meeting, board members Dominick Curatola, Mark O'Connor and legal counsel Chip Leone agreed Pettingill should resign after concluding Camino Healthcare activities would take precedence over the Hospital Board activities if Pettingill continued to assume both positions.

"What Pettingill did was very altruistic. He stepped down to avoid any conflict," said board chairman Paul Hoar.

The action, announced at last Thursday's district board meeting, is the latest in a series of developments begun last March when El Camino Hosptial doctors and other personnel complained the Camino Healthcare system favored a minority of doctors at the expense of the majority through its merger with Sunnyvale and Shoreline medical clinics. Administrators argued the change was necessary for the survival of a hospital heavy on physicians and light on patients.

Under the new agreement, the district will continue to receive administrative and management support from several Camino Healthcare personnel in Pettingill's absence.

The agreement followed a special district board meeting May 16 when board member Mark O'Connor insisted Pettingill created a conflict of interest in his position as El Camino Hospital District CEO.

Other than a recent ruling by the California Fair Political Practices Commission, there is no law that prohibits Pettingill from remaining in his role as District Board CEO. He must however, refrain from participating in decisions involving both Camino Healthcare and the district.

The district board will now consider the costs of a reasonable change. Since Camino Healthcare rents the hospital from the district, the board discussed increasing the hospital rent from $50,000 to $100,000 a year to pay for any increased administrative costs if members got their own administrative staff.

The fact that Pettingill will no longer serve as district board CEO has no impact on his role as the president and CEO of Camino Healthcare and its board of directors. The District Board and the Camino Healthcare Board are separate legal entities with separate functions.

The district focuses on community benefit funding and administering tax dollars to community projects. The Camino Healthcare board is charged with the business affairs of Camino Healthcare, which include El Camino Hospital, Camino Medical Group and the subsidiary organizations.

Further discussion whether to use Camino Healthcare management services or to initiate the board's own administrative personnel will be discussed at the regular El Camino Hospital District Board meeting July 17.