Community Memorial Names D. A. to Its Board

In an effort at image-building and peacemaking, embattled Community Memorial Hospital on Tuesday appointed Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury as a hospital trustee--a move some rival county officials said is a step in the right direction.

Community Memorial’s announcement that the powerful veteran prosecutor has joined its Board of Trustees follows a bitter campaign where the private hospital spent at least $1.3 million to persuade voters to reject a proposed new wing at the nearby County Medical Center.

The $56-million wing was defeated handily in the March 26 election, but a Community Memorial representative acknowledged that the hospital’s once-sterling image had been tarnished.

“To have Bradbury come on is saying this institution is very important to this community, and we all need to try to work out a solution,” said Doug Dowie, spokesman for Community Memorial. “Because of his links to the Board of Supervisors, if you were looking for someone to help open the lines of communication, he’d be a perfect candidate.”

Bradbury said that is precisely his intention in becoming a volunteer trustee, a decision he said he delayed until after the election to avoid taking a position against a county project. He said he even arranged two secret meetings between feuding hospital officials late last year and early this year.

“I don’t see this as a situation where the hospitals are enemies,” he said. “After the last election, both sides were talking about finding mutual ground and working to try to resolve their concerns. That’s where I want to be of some help.”

County officials greeted the announcement with cautious optimism. They said it could only help cool the war that has flared over the last three years as competition between the two hospitals increased.

But most county supervisors said the reservoir of distrust is deep.

“I think we both need to start building a trust in each other, a belief that what we say to each other is real,” said Supervisor Judy Mikels, a political ally of the district attorney. “If Michael can in some way bridge that gap of trust, that’s fine.”

Supervisor Maggie Kildee, a political opponent of Bradbury, agreed: “I only hope that Mike does bring a county perspective to that board. If so, that could be good.”

Mikels, Kildee and Supervisor John K. Flynn said they see no conflict of interest for Bradbury in being both the director of a large county department and a trustee for a hospital battling the county’s health care efforts.

“I know that [Bradbury] had been asked seven months ago to be on their board, and he waited until after the elections,” Flynn said. “His motive is to try to bring the two parties together.

“However, I really wonder if the differences can be overcome,” he added. “That was a pretty dirty campaign conducted by CMH.”

The campaign was about construction of a five-story hospital wing the county supervisors approved to replace a hodgepodge of dilapidated, abandoned clinics. State and federal reimbursements were said to offer a onetime opportunity to cover at least half the costs.

But Community Memorial, claiming unfair competition for privately insured patients, blocked construction by qualifying a referendum for the ballot.

During the campaign, each side claimed that the other misrepresented facts.

In its final days, the campaign was marked by a Community Memorial advertisement that falsely listed the names of dozens of public officials and local opinion makers as opponents of the new wing.

Community Memorial officials issued a public apology for misuse of the names in what they described as an accident involving the merging of two computerized lists.

A few months ago, Bradbury’s appointment to Community Memorial’s board might have been seen as a negative by county health officials because of his comments last year during budget discussions.

“We should be talking about getting out of the hospital business,” Bradbury said in a 1995 interview. “It’s costing taxpayers more and more money. Private hospitals are willing and able to take over the responsibility of indigent health care.”

But Tuesday, he said he had a change of heart after talks with county hospital administrator Dr. Samuel Edwards and Pierre Durand, director of the county Health Care Agency.

“Since I made those comments, I’ve been able to spend time with both . . . and have a better appreciation for their point of view. . . . I think there’s a role for both hospitals in our community.”

Edwards and Durand said Bradbury should be a good addition to the Community Memorial board.

“He’s always been very fair and the type of individual who reviews the facts,” Durand said. “I’m optimistic about that.”

Aside from the political implications of his appointment, the district attorney said he has a personal reason to serve as a trustee for Community Memorial.

“My knees were injured from a skiing accident about 10 or 12 years ago,” he said. “I had an allergic reaction to the radiological dye. My heart stopped and the doctors saved my life. So I have a very warm place in my heart for that hospital.”