County questions group's funding.
Last month, a local nonprofit received $10,000 in public money for its Teen Parent Support Program, geared at mentoring teen parents.
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But Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners Chairman Jack Sullivan says the payment was never authorized and shouldn't have been sent.
The northern New Mexico branch of Catholic Charities is one of 17 health-related agencies that applied for the funding, and it was recommended for approval by the county's Health Policy and Planning Commission, which reviews the applicants through a special committee.
The BCC, however, tabled approval of Catholic Charities' money at its meeting in January. Sullivan says he was concerned that the group works with teenagers but does not include information about contraception as part of its program.
Catholic Charities did not return several phone calls to SFR.
When Sullivan learned that St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, which dispenses the funding, had sent the check to Catholic Charities, "I became extremely concerned," he says.
While Sullivan says St. Vincent wasn't authorized to cut the check, hospital officials disagree.
The skirmish is the latest sign of tension between the county and the hospital, following the latter's merger in April with CHRISTUS Health, a Catholic-based health provider.
County and state officials-as well as members of the public-have expressed concern about whether the hospital, under a Catholic-based entity, will change its availability of reproductive services. The hospital has said it will not change its practices.
In May, the BCC called for the hospital to open its board meetings to the public, citing its receipt of public funding.
Because St. Vincent is a "sole community provider" hospital-the only hospital providing coverage of a large geographic area-it is eligible for significant public funding.
While much of that sole-provider funding is federal, Santa Fe County also provides matching funds, approximately $10 million this fiscal year.
At the same time, the county and the hospital operate under what's called a "memorandum of understanding," which funds approximately $10 million worth of health-related county initiatives, everything from EMT programs to part of the salary for a physician at the county jail.
The $500,000 Community Benefits Fund falls under that MOA. In addition to Catholic Charities, groups funded include La Familia and the New Mexico Suicide Intervention Project.
In theory, the county and the hospital are supposed to agree on which projects are funded.
In the case of Catholic Charities, St. Vincent CEO Alex Valdez says he was aware the BCC had tabled its decision but "we felt very comfortable going with the funding to an entity that has contributed significantly to this community, so we went ahead and funded them," he says.
And, he adds, "Remember, we are talking about St. Vincent's resources here."
But Steve Shepherd, director of the county's Health and Human Services Division, says the hospital should acknowledge the county's directives.
"We tell them that, 'Because we're spending so much money on the hospital, we'd like you to do this,'" he says.
While the check to Catholic Charities-$10,000-isn't large, Shepherd says there is a larger issue at stake. Again: transparency.
Sullivan says the next step will likely be to have the county manager follow up with a letter to St. Vincent about the situation.