The embattled Health Care Agency that is still on probation with the federal government for past violations of Medicare billing fraud is once again faced with controversy.
The inept leader of Children and Youth Services (CYS a division of HCA), Patricia Rogers, has cut services to the most disturbed children and adolescents in Orange County Juvenile Hall; this has angered many staffers in the probation department.
The CYS leader has intentionally cut the weekend coverage as well as after-hours weekday coverage in an alleged attempt to save the county few pennies while she indirectly saves her own enhanced pension plan (8% enhanced pension) that KFI radio and Nick Berardino of the Orange County Employees Association have recently blown the whistle on.
According to my sources, Juvenile Hall would at least have 10 to 12 severe crisis calls per weekend day, in addition to the minors who are in desperate need for treatment.
Most of the suicides and riots in Juvenile Hall take place on the weekends. Meanwhile, Rogers is keeping her four psychiatrists who each make about $200,000 a year in salary and who work a fraction of their supposed 40 hours, and who bill (like every other psychiatrist in behavioral health) up to 3 or 4 hours for every 15 to 20 minutes assessment (per my sources), but the agency continues to ignore this fraud and abuse, and instead they cut services to the neediest!
Stay tuned!