Dear Editor:
My name is Kathy Corral and I am the former Manager of the Dental Clinic at Anderson Valley Health Center. Due to an Executive Management and Board of Directors' decision my position was eliminated on July 26, 2013. I did not have any notice regarding this change therefore I was unable to thank the people of Anderson Valley for the last eleven years. I want everyone to know that I am so thankful for having the pleasure and privilege of serving you and your dental needs.
I will miss you all.
Most Sincerely,
Kathy Corral
Boonville
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Open letter to the Anderson Valley community and the Board of Directors of AVHC
Board of Directors Anderson Valley Health Center, 13500 Airport Road Boonville, CA 95415.
Dear Board Members,
I understand that Anderson Valley Health Center is once again struggling financially because the Bureau of Primary Health Care renewed the Federal Grant for a single year rather than the usual multi-year renewal. I was hoping that once AVHC received federal funding survival would be a past not present concern.
I was stunned to learn that Kathy Corral, Dental Program Manager at AVHC, was precipitously “let go” due to the financial situation. Kathy single-handedly shepherded the dental program since it began in 2002. Without her knowledge of all aspects of dental, AVHC would not have had a viable service. Since its inception Kathy was involved in all aspects customer service, billing, scheduling of patients and staff, hiring and supervision of staff, ordering of dental supplies and equipment, working with dental labs and writing policies and procedures. Without her able assistance, I, as the Executive Director would not have been able to establish a successful program.
I know that Kathy did nothing wrong, but firing her without warning at the end of the day on a Friday and taking her keys and escorting her out the door in front of staff and patients seems extreme. I know that this is the “corporate way,” but AVHC is part of a caring community and is kind to the people who live and work in that community. I also understand that the Medical Director, Mark Apfel, who is responsible for the quality of all service at AVHC, was neither consulted nor informed of the Board of Director’s decision about Kathy.
The list of Core Values for the health center states, “The staff of AVHC is one of our most valuable assets.”
I care deeply about the Health Center. I want to see it survive and thrive. I know that can be a challenge! I hope the community is actively involved in the health center becoming the outstanding health care venue that it is capable of being.
Sincerely,
Judith Dolan, AVHC Executive Director (2000-2011)
Boonville
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THE SUDDEN dismissal of long-time AV Health Center's Kathy Corral was carried out in such an indefensibly brutal fashion it has shocked us all. Here's a lady who served for 11 years in the Center's thriving dental adjunct, was instrumental in founding it in fact, and suddenly, at the end of a work day Friday, with no notice it was her last, Ms. Corral's office keys are taken from her and she's marched out the door like a criminal in front of fellow workers and patients. Wow! Even by the dependably crumb bum standards of Anderson Valley's Nice People, this treatment of Ms. Corral is low down. According to Judith Dolan's statement on this grim episode, Mark Apfel, who has overall responsibility for the medico-dental functioning of the place, was not aware that Ms. Corral had been laid off.
THE HEALTH CENTER'S board of directors: Ric Bonner; JR Collins; Wally Hopkins; Eric Labowitz; Yadira Mendoza; Sandy Parker; Lynne Sawyer; Gaile Wakeman. Administrators are Diane Agee and Dave Turner.
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