Broadlands Medical Facility

Sorry, I have to agree with Donna on this one. Cliff and Stacy are in the pro hospital commercial, with Cliff cited as being on the Board. I have always thought that was at least tacky, mostly inappropriate, and possibly wrong for them to have done. Cliff has also been quoted in Newspapers as a board member and spoken for the hospital.

As for the distribution list, if I didn't know how easy it is to get a location based list, I'd ask the same question of the pro-hospital group; because I certainly never gave them my name. besides which, if this HOA is the same as the one I used to be on, being a board member doesn't get you any access to funds or personal homeowner information.

 

Not to mention the fact that Cliff and Stacy did the appropriate thing by NOT mentioning the HOA so that it could not be construed that they were speaking on behalf of the HOA. Also, while I don’t recall having personally seen Stacy speaking in public about supporting BRMC, I can say that each time I’ve seen Cliff, he’s been CRYSTAL CLEAR as to what is his opinion, and what he’s saying as a member of the HOA.

 

Zansu and Donna-
Regarding my comments about supporting BRMC:
Although I have personally supported the project, my comments of support were always made in the context of a personal comment. I never claimed them as representative of the HOA as a whole. This was also accurately represented in the press.
When the hospital was approved by the state, I received more calls from the media asking what the opinion of the HOA Board was. I clearly stated the HOA Board had not issued an opinion on the issue. The HOA Board then had a vote on it and we unanimously supported it. That is what led to the article in the newsletter. The article represented the opinion of the HOA Board as a whole, not just Cliff.
Since the election of Neil and Donna, I have clearly stated that the current HOA Board has two resident members that support the hospital, and two that do not. I stated this at the public hearing a few weeks ago and you will see it in the next newsletter.

Regarding the commercial: there are numerous Broadlands residents in it. I only saw the first one, and it did NOT list my affiliation with the HOA. If the newer ones are trying to show that the HOA Board supports the hospital because I or Staci does, that would be inappropriate. Someone please let me know if that is the case.

And Donna, there is also one major difference between my doing the commercial and your letter: I receive absolutley NO compensation from HCA. You cannot say the same about LHC.

 

A number of the comments in Donna's letter are facts. For example:
1) A medical office building generates more trips than a general use office building. This is most likely true. What she doesn't point out is the fact the the hospital and medical office buildings will generate LESS overall traffic than the comparably sized office park. That is because the hospital itsself generates significantly less traffic trips than an office building of the same size. This fact was pointed out by county staff at the public hearing a few weeks ago.

2) HCA did pay a lot in fines. If that is the sole reason for not wanting HCA in Broadlands, then you can't argue with it. I look at the fact that they paid the fines instead of sticking it to the taxpayers, none of the issues occurred here in Virginia, and the quality of care they provide at their hospitals outweighs the issue with the fines.

3) The hospital WILL generate helicopter trips, even if it is only one to three trips a week. If that is enough to make someone oppose it, then you can't argue with it. It doesn't worry me because of the location of the helipad, the number of trips, and that little thing 5 miles to the southwest: The seventh busiest airport in the country!

 

Donna-
Regarding your comment "Recently, I have begun receiving "hate" calls on my home phone and nasty and belligerent emails. These are unfortunate tactics that HCA supporters are now employing, but they will not change the facts."

Don't confuse the acts of a few cowards with all of those who support the hospital. I received numerous personal threats on your old anti-hospital website. These people post them under the cloak of anonymity and only succeed in showing to everyone their childish and cowardly lack of maturity. I do not even begin to presume that this type of person represents all that oppose the hospital.

 

Let me make my position clear.

1. I support the building of another hospital in Loudoun County.
2. I do not believe that it, of necessity, has to be based in the Broadlands.

Simple, concise, to the point !!


Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

Cliff,

Are there any by-laws or written guidance as to the ethical requirements and/or conflict of interest concerns regarding HOA board members? If so, would you please email them to me or direct me to them. Thanks Ray ashburnray@aol.com

 

Anyone that reads these forums knows that I favor the hospital and that I believe much of the opposition to be based on rhetoric rather than fact. Having said that, I have respected Donna's persistance and her ability to get elected to our HOA board. A little dissention now and then is a good thing for democracy, even if the dissention is (in my opinion) unsound.

Nevertheless, I am deeply concerned as an ethical matter about where Donna got the mailing list for her letter. There are completely ethical ways to obtain such information without creating a conflict of interest. Direct mail companies and political propaganda firms can generate name/address lists based on ZIP codes, telephone exchanges, county property records, you name it. In fact, anyone who had the time could go through the Loudoun County property assessment website street-by-street, lot-by-lot, and develop a pretty accurate mailing list.

Donna's failure to provide her source of information would indicate that it was not proper. I realize this is "only" the HOA, but when it comes to political transgressions, the coverup is almost always worse than the crime. Donna, if you used the HOA records for your mailing against BRMC and supporting LHC, please admit it sooner rather than later. And if you did not use HOA records, why not just say so? The same logic applies to how it was funded.

 

jtarnow and others-
I seriously doubt Donna got the mailing list from the HOA.
First, the HOA mailing list is handled by Armstrong Management. A master list is in the HOA office, but I do not believe Wes would give it out to anyone, even a Board member.
Secondly, people outside of Broadlands received her letter.
Lastly, Donna sent out a mailer when she was running for the Board, prior to her having access to HOA information.

neilz-
A question for you. You state that you support another hospital in Loudoun, but not necessarily in Broadlands.
Since Broadlands is the only location any hospital organization wants to build one in Loudoun, and since it has been approved by the state of Virginia which has final approval authority over ANY hospital in the county, are you specifically against one in Broadlands?

 

A large, well funded organization like Loudoun Hospital, could easily purchase a list like this.

 

You're wasting your fingers typing, Donna is "on vacation" from this topic. She probably screening all of her "hate" calls and emails. I wonder if she knows "Chris"? Didn't she get hate mails to?

Eventually the truth will always come out. That's why it's better to be honest up front then to side step issues. JenTimC said it perfectly. Deflect and then retreat.

 

Cliff, that was basically my point but in hindsight I was probably too long-winded. The list is obviously available through means other than the HOA, which is what I tried to convey, and I personally suspect that nothing unethical or improper occurred here. But by dodging the question, instead of just responding truthfully, Donna creates the impression that she did something wrong. My suggestion to Donna is why damage your integrity unnecessarily if you did nothing improper? Why not just answer the question and move on? By taking the action she has, Donna has risked her integrity and (I believe) damaged the cause that she so strongly believes in (although you and I respectfully disagree with her cause).

 

I don't get all this Donna-bashing. What difference does it make where some mailing list came from? I get a lot more "junk mail" from BRMC than I care to get, but I don't see it as a big deal. Probably 90% of the mail that comes to my house is junk. So what? And this tactic of claiming to respect Donna's position, followed by the "but she is risking her own integrity" line is laughable. Save it for a political convention speech.

That May newsletter was a disgrace and should create an awful lot more anger than anything Donna has done (or even could do). I don't blame her for taking a vaction on this one.

 

Don't think it is bashing, it is an appropriate question to ask. It has nothing to do with the junk mail you get from all over the place, it has something to do with privacy rights. We still have some of them left, despite all efforts to change that.

M.
(with her political convention speech)

 

Sorry, I still don't get it. But maybe that's because I wasn't even aware that "all efforts" were underway to get rid of privacy rights. (Now there's one charge that could benefit from some actual evidence).

 

Wrong place for a political discussion, I only do those face to face. Can't stand the useless and faceless bashing and flaming on boards when it comes to politics. I should not even have added that little emotional comment, I apologize (slaps herself). If you want to know where to go for reading material on privacy issues feel free to message me privately, and I will be happy to point you in the right direction.

M.

 

What exactly do you think is a privacy right regarding unsolicited mail?

 

I think a full disclosure and clarification would remove the current accusations. Those accusations being that the list was either covertly aquired, or LHC paid for it.

I trust the HOA was not involved or exploited.

If it was paid for by LHC, either the mailing or the mailing list fee, it should be disclosed. The HOA reference is borderline deceiving, and if secretly funded by LHC, outright, unethnical.

In fact, without clarification, I would think this would be something a news outlet would be interested in investigating.

I doubt there is a cover-up here, and I truly think a more straight forward answer would erase this current notion.

This strategy of "deflecting and retreating" was the same unsuccessful strategy used before the admission of LHC employment. It took forever for that to be admitted to and disclosed. Frankly, now that everyone knows, it is accepted as it is. It would be better to come clean on this one as well.

 

I choose who I give my personal information to. The HOA has my information because I'm a member. That does not mean that anyone who is a boardmember of the HOA should be able to access that information for personal use. That is a breach of my right to privacy.

I don't know what happened and how the information was obtained, but I still think it is a legitimate question. And btw, I am not in support of the hospital at this time.

M.