And quite frankly, MarillacHealth, you should demand it be put into your memorandum of understanding with Mesa County School District 51.

I could end this column with that sentence. But that’s not how things work with government nowadays. And before you say, “Craig, this has nothing to do with government,” kindly note the two entities embroiled in yet another mess pretty much get every penny they receive and operate on from the taxpayers. 

So you better believe whatever is screwing up our school based health centers (SBHC) has its roots in the one entity that screws up almost everything with zero accountability: the government.

Which is exactly the attitude and defense the chief executive officer of MarillacHealth uses to tell the taxpayers of Mesa County to sit down and shut up. Even sadder, the CEO is using sympathetic media to basically testify and answer questions deemed worthy of answers while never answering the first question. What is going on at the clinic at Central High School?

To be blunt, that question should be the easiest answer to give in detail to every aspect in the operation of Central’s clinic. But that’s not how public relations works nowadays, is it? No, public relations rarely has an attachment to the truth anymore. It’s become deflection, avoidance and giving prepared answers which do nothing to address the issues or questions at hand. Why publicly testify when you can use PR? Sadly, this is the direction the Marillac CEO and much of the local media has chosen related to our SBHCs. 

This first statement is the new Grand Junction High School SBHC would be funded and run by MarillacHealth. This is untrue. The funding comes via our tax dollars, and the operation of these clinics are under the direction of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Seriously, we’ve all lived with the CDPHE’s lust for control the past few years. This is what comes with the money Marillac uses to fund and operate clinics.

The second attempt to dismiss the whole affair is the “anonymous” email alleging there was a lawsuit over the misuse of grant money at the Central clinic. This is particularly rich considering much of front page news about local conservatives and ex-presidents the past few years is usually based on “anonymous tips.” That said, the lawsuits aren’t alleged, they’re ongoing. As a matter of fact, Marillac’s CEO used “ongoing lawsuits” as the reason to not answer probing questions from the Mesa County Liberty Report — the only local media asking the hard questions while actually posting the lawsuit paperwork. So much for “alleged.”

If one reads the letter to the editor from Marillac’s CEO published as a news story, you’d be led to believe this is an employment dispute with no merit as determined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, one which has already been settled after being “thoroughly investigated by EEOC and decided in Marillac’s favor.” This answer, while also avoiding the grant money misuse, is the opposite of the determination, which states: “The EEOC will not proceed further with its investigation and makes no determination about whether further investigation would establish violations of the statute. This does not mean the claims have no merit. This determination does not certify that the respondent is in compliance with the statutes.” Does that sound like a complete dismissal and vindication of MarillacHealth?

The local editorial goes on to dismiss the “public’s concerns” about “vague fears about parent’s rights” and exactly what care students are receiving at the Central Clinic, even stating, “…..though notably not abortion services since Marillac does not provide those.” The editorial also infers “these members of the community” have something against transgender youth. It then asserts three members of the board apparently allow politics to drive their voting. Just wow. Sorry, but nothing screams politics like inserting the left’s “go tos” like abortion, LGBTQ rights and “the children” into an editorial about questions of oversight of taxpayer dollars.

No one ever said Marillac provides abortions. But no one is dismissing the citizens asking questions as right wing, rogue, political activists like Marillac and the daily is attempting by bringing up, ironically, politics. 

All of this could have been avoided. First by never installing a clinic in a local school where the district and taxpaying public don’t have complete oversight. No, not of individual treatments or medical information. But certainly on what’s going on day to day or if a lawsuit comes up. Since we did place a clinic, it would be proper if Marillac’s CEO had actual answers to questions asked by the public and District 51 board, as should be expected from a local, trusted entity.

As the left used to say (in front page stories) about President Donald Trump, “If you have nothing to hide, what are you worried about?” Does Marillac have something to hide? Maybe. Maybe not. If I was Marillac, I’d be worried about public trust more than ever.

Craig Hall is owner and publisher of the Business Times. Reach him at 424-5133 or publisher@thebusinesstimes.com.