By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
Sandra Fuentes, co-chair of The Border Organization, spoke about her organization’s relationship with the Val Verde Regional Medical Center during the regular hospital board meeting on July 31.
“Thank you, board members (Seferino) Gomez, (Javier) Calderon, Dr. (Daniel) Chartrand and Dr. (Lee) Keenen for meeting with us and having a dialogue about issues concerning our hospital and our community. Thank you for that,” Fuentes said.
After thanking the board members, Fuentes talked about the section of the agenda regarding the public comments. Fuentes said the board members will not engage in dialogue with citizens who speak during the “public comments” section of the meeting.
Fuentes said she spoke with board member Robin Palmer before the meeting and said Palmer said the hospital board’s attorney, Trent Kreinke, suggested Palmer not to speak with or meet individually with members of The Border Organization.
Fuentes said she would call Krienke for more details. In further conversation with The 830 Times, Fuentes said they had not received any answer from Krienke yet. Fuentes said several board members have met with The Border Organization in the past.
“Let’s continue having that relationship and having that conversation. This is for the betterment of this hospital and for you, the board members, to be aware of what the challenges are in the community pertaining to the hospital,” she said.
Fuentes finished her comments by thanking the board for speaking at the meeting and asking Palmer and board member Dr. Julio Otazo to inform Fuentes if they are able to meet with the Border Organization in the future or not.
