April 14, 2009 — The Senate Committee on Rules and the Judiciary Tuesday approved the nomination of Kye Walker to the board of the St. Croix Hospital and Health Facilities.
Walker's nomination now goes to the full Senate.
The board is the governing body for the Juan F. Luis Memorial Hospital.
Walker, who was nominated by Gov. John deJongh Jr., is a St. Croix native who attended Florida A&M University and then got her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked for law firms, was the managing counsel for the 26th Legislature and worked recently for the Stanford Group.
The association with Stanford prompted Sen. Sammuel Sanes to ask if the connection would come back to haunt the committee in the future. Absolutely not, Walker replied, saying she had no involvement in any of the financial transactions which led to the company being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the filing of charges against the company's founder, Allan Stanford. Her duties in the company's St. Croix office involved mostly review of contracts for services and projects, and office management, she said.
"When the company was first taken over by the receiver, they questioned almost all the employees," she said. "I have not been questioned since then, have not been asked to appear since then. All the documents in the office are in the possession of the receiver."
Asked how the board can help keep down the cost of health care, Walker replied that the board's job is primarily policymaking. But within that limited purview, she suggested there were some actions the board can take, including exploring cost sharing where feasible with the health facilities on St. Thomas, and reexamining existing contracts for possible savings.
The hospital has made strides in meeting its goal of reducing the wait time, Walker said, but she thought further progress could be made with additional personnel.
"When you have more staff, services can be provided more quickly," she said.
The vote in favor of the nomination was 6-0. Voting in favor were Sens. Michael Thurland, Patrick Sprauve, Sammuel Sanes, Neville A. James, Carlton Dowe and Usie R. Richards. Senator Alvin L. Williams Jr. was absent.
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