Hillcrest Facility Psychologist Reinstated

A county mental health hospital psychologist fired last month because she was not licensed in California was reinstated Wednesday by the San Diego County Civil Service Commission.

But the commission said the Department of Health Services could proceed through other channels with its effort to fire Palma Cabiles, whose case was among those cited in a litany of allegations of mental health program mismanagement released by a state legislator earlier this month.

As a result, Health Department personnel officer Ann Hohmeyer said, the county will charge Cabiles with a disciplinary violation under civil service rules, even though officials have already said in writing that Cabiles was not being “considered for termination for any disciplinary reasons.”

“This decision means we will have to manipulate the system,” Hohmeyer said in an interview.

Hohmeyer said Cabiles, who was fired April 19, will officially be returned to her position as the Hillcrest Mental Health Facility’s inpatient program manager. But Hohmeyer said Cabiles will not actually return to that job. Instead, she will be assigned administrative duties in the office of Kathy Wachter-Poynor, deputy director of the department.

The handling of Cabiles’ hiring and firing was one of dozens of allegations of mismanagement leveled against the Department of Health Services in documents released May 3 by Assemblyman Larry Stirling (R-San Diego).

Among the documents was an anonymous listing of incidents and policy decisions that were said to be questionable. That listing said Cabiles’ credentials were not checked at the time she was hired.

“Why would Deputy Director Poynor permit program manager (Cabiles) to work three months beyond the mandatory requirement of licensing and only fire her when the grand jury found out about this cover-up?” the letter asked.

A report issued by the county Tuesday in response to the allegations said Cabiles was informed when she applied and shortly after she was hired in early 1984 that she would have to be a state-licensed psychologist within a year.

The report said that Cabiles’ supervisor inadvertently let that deadline slip by. Hohmeyer would not comment Wednesday on how the department came to realize that Cabiles had not obtained the license.

Cabiles’ labor union representative, Dee Contreras, said the union would fight Cabiles’ dismissal on grounds that the psychologist need not have the state license because, as a supervisor, she does not have direct contact with the hospital’s patients.