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July 31, 2008 – In response to the Inspector Generals' audit of Schneider Medical Center's Administrative Functions, Senator Louis Patrick Hill said it has vindicated his request for the investigation which he initiated as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance two years ago. Hill noted that at the time, he was roundly criticized by both members of the Legislature and within the community for requesting the audit, as the CEO of the hospital, Mr. Miller, was at that time very well-respected and appreciated by the community.
"The pressure to look the other way in cases like this bears heavily upon many senators but I am not one of them," stated Senator Hill. Hill also noted that his the Majority colleagues roundly endorsed his contention that certain budgetary requests made by Schneider Medical Center to the Committee on Finance, when he was the chairman, raised serious questions.
"Nagging questions continued to arise as numerous complaints came to my office from hospital employees, as well as from patients who felt they were over-billed. I was unsatisfied by the responses to my persistent inquiries, leading me to conclude that an in-depth audit was in order. In addition, my decision to request the audit was supported by my discussions with Governor Turnbull's Chief of Staff, Ms. Juel Molly, who then had oversight of the Schneider Center. I made my request to the Inspector General on July 18, 2006," said Senator Hill.
Hill noted that during the audit, the V.I. Inspector General indicated his dismay at his inability to ferret out pertinent information, faced as he was by an alarming degree of secrecy and deliberate concealment of financial records, delaying completion of the audit for over two years. Stated Senator Hill, "I well understood his frustration for I, as well as the Governor's Chief of Staff, was often faced by the same stonewalls in trying to obtain information."
Concluded Hill, "I am deeply saddened by the audit findings. However, this revelation of mismanagement of funds and the loss of public trust demands that all principles enthusiastically commit to enact the Inspector General's six recommendations, which have been supported by Governor de Jongh." "Among them," said Hill, "are measures which should vastly improve the transparency of the Medical Center's operations and provide for a more informed allocation of government revenues."
