October 3, 2005

Fm: Joseph L. Puente
P.O. Box 262
Mt. Pleasant, UT 84647

To: Lawrence A. Biro
Network Director, VISN #19
Mountain Towers, Suite 510
4100 East Mississippi Avenue
Glendale, CO 80246

Dear Mr. Biro,

Thank you so much for acknowledging my letter to the editor in the Deseret Morning News. Until you wrote, I had no idea that it was printed in that paper.

I also appreciate your acknowledgment of the changes made in veteran eligibility procedures. As I stated in my letter, I have gone through the process to ensure that I am covered by the VA healthcare system, in fact I recently sent in my 10-10EZR to the nearest clinic.

I’m just one person in the system and I know that many other veterans and even V.A. personnel share my frustration with what the V.A. has become over the years. In fact, the day that my letter was published in a local weekly paper here in Sanpete County, I received a phone call from another veteran in my community who identified with what I had written and wanted to thank me.

Writing is my way of dealing with most of the problems I face. In fact, when I was a patient at the Salt Lake V.A. Medical Center in 2001, I had a concern about the way one of the social workers did his job. He had a nasty habit of discussing the cost of patient care WITH the patients. When I had requested to extend my stay at the hospital for an additional two days to resolve my medical concerns, he actually said to my doctor, right in front of me, “Why should we spend $2,000 a day for two days when we can just send him on his way for the cost of a couple of bus tokens.” The following monday, I had a relapse of the condition that had hospitalized me. When I was asked if I wanted to be taken to the V.A., I declined because I felt guilty over the cost of my care. It wasn’t until much later that I realized that the cost of my care wasn’t coming out of this social worker’s pocket and that I was entitled to that care. I brought the social worker’s comments to the attention of the department head but the next time I was an inpatient, over a year later, this particular social worker was behaving in exactly the same way. I don’t remember this individual’s name, but it doesn’t really matter because he isn’t the only person in the V.A. who’s preoccupied with the cost of care. It has become part of the V.A.’s corporate culture. Almost every V.A. employee that I’ve spoken with or even just observed, always has the cost of care on their minds and they don’t hesitate to relay this information to the patients which has the potential, as it did with me, to make them feel guilty about the cost of healthcare that they are entitled to.

The day I went to the V.A. Emergency Room, concerning the growth on my back, the head Nurse actually said to me, “I heard a rumor they might be opening another clinic.”

What good do rumors do for patients? Other than giving them false hope.

I know that it would take a legislative miracle to solve the budgetary problems of the V.A. (Frankly, I don’t expect to see it happen in my lifetime, and I’m a young man.) But I would like to make a request. Is it within your power as the Director of the V.A. Rocky Mountain Network to set a simple policy? That V.A. staff are not to discuss budget concerns, cost of care or rumors with patients? I think if this simple policy were instituted, it would relieve a great deal of pressure, unnecessary guilt and false hope in the minds of V.A. Patients. If it is within your power to do this, or perhaps put a bug in someone’s ear to make it happen, I would greatly appreciate it.

As long as I’m writing to you about this concern, I would like to bring another to your attention. I have already spoken with Elaine Davis at the A&MMS office at the Salt Lake Medical Center concerning this. I have also informed my state senator Darin Peterson and Senator Robert Bennett of the situation. I figure the more people who know, the more likely it is that the problem will be solved.

The V.A. has entered into a contract with the Central Valley Medical Center in Nephi, Utah to treat veterans locally (including Sanpete County, where I reside). The Central Valley Medical Center has a clinic in Fountain Green. That’s where I went for my medical checkups and prescription refills. I was very happy with the medical treatment I had received, however, I have repeatedly had some very negative experiences with one particular staff member at the Fountain Green Clinic, Angie Kaibetony. I have only seen her working at the reception desk. I am unaware of any other qualifications or duties she may have. All I do know is that she has a very hostile demeanor, at least toward me. Though I have talked to other Fountain Green patients who have had similar experiences.

I made an appointment with the Fountain Green Clinic for August 26 at 10:30 AM. When I arrived for the appointment, Ms. Kaibetony insisted that I did NOT have an appointment despite the fact that my name was clearly on the schedule.

The misunderstanding was around my status as a V.A. patient. I had not been to the clinic in about a year and I forgot that I had to make my appointment through the V.A.

Regardless of that error on my part, I still had an appointment with the physician assistant and the details of who was going to pay for the visit was really none of Ms. Kaibetony’s concern. However, Ms. Kaibetony decided to make an issue of it and just kept saying over and over that I had no appointment. I was angered by this, I think justifiably so, and I told Ms. Kaibetony that I wanted to speak with the physician assistant about it. Ms. Kaibetony then threatened to call the police.

The physician assistant, Molly Brotherson, came out and spoke with me and resolved a concern I had over my prescription medication and I agreed to reschedule my yearly medical checkup appointment through the V.A. During this time, Ms. Kaibetony and another staff member, insisted on hovering around Mrs. Brotherson and myself which made me very uncomfortable.

On September 1, I called the Fountain Green Medical Clinic. My call was taken by Ms. Kaibetony and I told her that I just wanted to confirm the time of my appointment. she confirmed for me that my new appointment, made through the V.A., was at 9:00 AM.

Since mid July of 2005, my car has not been registered or insured due to my financial circumstances. On the morning of September 2, my friend and neighbor, Joseph Simpson, gave me a ride to the Fountain Green Clinic on his way to an appointment in Provo. Mr. Simpson’s appointment required him to leave Moroni at 8:00 AM so I arrived at the Fountain Green Clinic around 8:15 AM. I had my dog and a tote bag with me and at Mr. Simpson’s suggestion, I decided to take my dog for a walk to the nearby park since I had the time before my appointment. I decided to leave my tote bag by the door. It contained a magazine, some manuscripts and a camera. I placed a note on the bag that read “Back at 9:00 - Joe Puente.” Since I left a note with MY NAME and my return time, I figured there would be no problem.

I learned, through an affidavit by Ms. Kaibetony dated September 20, 2005, that she observed my arrival at the clinic as she was attending to a personal matter in the vicinity. Ms. Kaibetony then came to the clinic, saw my bag and read my note. She then called the police.

When I returned a few minutes before 9:00 AM, I found the staff, including Mrs. Brotherson and Ms. Kaibetony, outside of the building. I was told that the police were called. Mrs. Brotherson asked if the bag was mine. I said that it was and gladly showed her the harmless contents. She and I agreed that this was a simple mistake. I then asked her if she had not read my note. She said she hadn’t but Ms. Kaibetony HAD. I thought that bit of information was kind of suspicious. If Ms. Kaibetony read my note, she must have known the bag was mine. The fact that she saw me arrive earlier (as stated in her affidavit) would support that.

I went into the clinic and, in an attempt to inject some levity into an otherwise tense situation, I joked about my bag “not ticking.” I set it on a table. I then went into an examination room.

Ms. Kaibetony’s affidavit states that when the police arrived, they inspected my bag WITHOUT requesting permission from me to do so. My tote-bag is my personal and private property. They also did not have a warrant to inspect my bag. The fact that Mrs. Brotherson inspected the contents herself, with my permission, would have negated any “imminent threat” the police might have used to justify looking into my bag. If Mrs. brotherson had not inspected my bag, thus determining there was no threat, no one would have been permitted to enter the facility. The actions of the Sheriff’s department were in direct violation of my civil right to privacy.

When I came out from my checkup, I saw Sanpete County Sheriff Kay P. Larsen and a deputy waiting WITH Ms. Kaibetony. I did not see them enter the building and at the time, I was unaware that they had inspected my bag. They took me into an examination room and started berating and browbeating me over post 9/11 etiquette. I told them it was a mistake and that it wouldn’t be repeated. The officers then started lecturing and accusing me about the misunderstanding I had with Ms. Kaibetony the previous week.

I was not charged with any crime. Once the authorities knew that there was no bomb in my tote bag, that should have been the end of it. If no crime was committed, there was no need to talk to me, let alone harass and intimidate me and invade my privacy.

It is my belief that Ms. Kaibetony DELIBERATELY did not tell the Mrs. Brotherson that the note on my tote bag was from me and that she called 9-1-1 to try and get me into some kind of trouble in retribution for the problem we had at the time of my last appointment. Ms. Kaibetony did not call the police on August 26, despite her threat, nor did she call the police or file a formal complaint after I had left on the 26th. If she had, I would certainly have been notified. Obviously, as long as the Sheriff’s Department was at the clinic for an erroneous bomb-threat, Ms. Kaibetony took advantage of the opportunity to complain to them about the misunderstanding we had the week before. Of course, when the Sheriff and his deputy related her version of the events to me, she seemed to have embellished the story a bit.

Again, I was not charged with a crime. Ms. Kaibetony did not file a formal complaint, thus the Sheriff and his deputy had no genuine need to talk to me, let alone, as I have written above, to harass and intimidate me. I would not be surprised if Ms. Kaibetony had specifically asked them to do it.

This experience has had a physically negative effect on me. Since September 2, I have felt ill, had headaches and digestive problems. I have missed opportunities to attend church and a premiere event in Sandy I had been looking forward to for months. I have also been unable to effectively work with the my community non profit organization, The Central Utah Filmmakers Association. With the start of the new school year, when the C.U.F.A. is most active in the community, I’ve been forced to dial back my efforts to accommodate the illness and the stress of the situation that I have been dealing with. I was able to attend one engagement on September 15, but the rest of my day was spent at home feeling ill.

I tried to address these problems with The Central Valley Medical Center and with Ms. Kaibetony directly. On September 6, I wrote a letter to Patty Banks, the director of Human Resources for The CVMC, concerning Ms. Kaibetony and her unprofessional behavior. I asked that, as a professional courtesy, Ms. Kaibetony be counseled by her supervisor about her behavior.

I also wrote a letter to Ms. Kaibetony herself trying to explain to her how I felt about the way she treated me, apologizing to her for whatever her perceptions of me were on August 26 and asking her to acknowledge her role in the situation and for an apology. I have not heard back from her directly.

The following week, on September 14, I received a certified letter from the V.A. Medical Center in Salt Lake City. It contained a U.S. District Court Violation Notice charging me with Disorderly Conduct. The date of the alleged incident was August 26, 2005. The post mark on the envelope was September 12, more than two weeks after the alleged incident (my first appointment at the Fountain Green Clinic).

I called Officer William Lyzenga at the V.A. Police office at the Salt Lake Medical Center to find out more about the charge. Through him, I learned that the charge was filed on September 7. Mr. Lyzenga would not tell me who filed the report and that I would have to petition the court for that information. When I asked him for a copy of the report and the complaintant’s statement, he referred me to the Medical Information Release department of the V.A. (a bureaucratic monolith I’ve dealt with before that isn’t known for speedy service) and that they would have to request a copy of the report from the Chief of V.A. Police, Bill Cowley. It struck me as odd that I would be instructed to address my concerns with the medical records department only to ask them to speak with the Chief of V.A. Police. It seems an unnecessary and superfluous step.

I can only assume that Ms. Banks and Ms. Kaibetony received my letters on September 7 (I mailed them on September 6). If this is indeed the case and if Ms. Kaibetony is the one who filed the disorderly conduct charge with the V.A., it would appear that she did so in retaliation for my letter.

I called Mrs. Brotherson to tell her about the Disorderly Conduct charge and to ask her if she knew anything about it. She said she did not and suggested I talk with Ms. Kaibetony’s supervisor, Susan Graham. Mrs. Brotherson then gave me Ms. Graham’s office telephone number.

I tried to speak with Ms. Graham and Ms. Banks, on September 16 but I was only able to leave voicemail messages for them and none of my calls were returned. I tried speaking to different administrative personnel at the Central Valley Medical Center to make sure Ms. Graham or Ms. Banks were not on vacation or had the day off, (which might have explained my inability to reach them) and with the hope that someone would speak with Ms. Banks or Ms. Graham personally to let them know I needed to talk with them. I was then transferred to their respective voicemail systems again and was soon told (in the case of Ms. Graham) that she had left for the day (this was around 2:15 in the afternoon). Either my attempts to contact them were very poorly timed or they were specifically trying to avoid talking to me.

The following Monday, September 19, I tried one last time to reach Ms. Graham and left a voicemail message stating that I just wanted to confirm some dates with her and that if she didn’t want to speak with me, I would have to go forward with the information I had. I then wrote a letter to State Senator Darin Peterson requesting his assistance with this matter since my problems involved both a business and a law enforcement agency within his congressional district.

Two days after I mailed my letter to Senator Peterson, on September 21, a representative from the Sanpete County Sheriff’s department came to my home to serve me with a restraining order prohibiting me from contacting not only Ms. Kaibetony, but Ms. Graham, Ms. Banks and Mrs. Brotherson (I had been instructed not to talk to my own physician). The restraining order also prohibited me from going near Ms. Kaibetony’s home (which I have never been to. I don’t even know where it’s located) and The Fountain Green Medical Clinic “when Angie is there.” Though if I’m restricted from talking to my physician, what good would it do me to even bother going to the clinic?

That I am restrained from going to Ms. Kaibetony’s house I find ridiculous. As I’ve stated above, I am presently not driving. I can’t even leave the town of Moroni without making special travel arrangements and when I do it is only to attend church on Sunday in Ephraim and to do my volunteer work in Mt. Pleasant. The only thing that would require me to go to Fountain Green would be a medical appointment and it would appear I’m barred from even doing that. Considering what I have had to endure from Ms. Kaibetony and her employers I am afraid to even set foot in that facility.

I have read every word of the “Ex Parte Civil Stalking Injunction” that I received. It contains the aforementioned affidavit by Ms. Kaibetony that is not completely accurate, to say the least and slanderous to simply call it what it is.

If I may highlight a few sections of it here:

The packet includes a copy of an injunction dated September 20 that was notarized by Patricia E. Banks, the same Patty Banks who is the H.R. Director for The Central Valley Medical Center and is named in the “Restrain the Respondent from contacting” section of the order.

Apart from portions of the “Specific Acts Supporting Allegation of Stalking” whose details have been exaggerated or taken out of context, Ms. Kaibetony perjures herself in her own affidavit (which the “Specific Acts” document is based on).

Item 14 states: “He [Mr. Puente] called FGMC [Fountain Green Medical Clinic] that Thursday (“the day before his Friday appointment”). I answered his call and recognized his name on my office’s caller ID. He asked me what time the FGMC opens. I told him at 9:00.”

I did NOT ask her when the clinic opened. I called to confirm my appointment, which was at 9:00 AM on September 2. As I stated above, a friend drove me to the clinic but his appointment was earlier than mine, so I was about 45 minutes early. This was explained to Ms. Banks in my letter to her. Since that letter is included in the injunction paperwork I received, it would seem that Ms. Kaibetony was aware of the situation as well. However, in her affidavit, she writes in item 19: “Mr. Puente absolutely knew the time of his appointment and the time FGMC opened. It is my OPINION that he put his duffle bag on the doorsteps early just to harass me.” (emphasis added)

In fact, until September 2, I did NOT know that the clinic didn’t open until 9:00 AM. I had brought a magazine and some other reading material in my tote-bag (which is considerably smaller than and difficult to confuse with a duffle bag) to read in the waiting room. My friend, Joseph Simpson, who drove me to the appointment suggested that I take my dog for a walk to the nearby park. And that’s exactly what I did. Were I not limited to getting rides from my friends, I would have come to my appointment no more than five minutes or so early, not forty-five minutes.

I was concerned before about the actions of Sheriff Larsen and his deputy based simply on ethical grounds. As I have written above, I was not arrested, read my rights or even charged with a crime. I was just berated and intimidated. But Ms. Kaibetony’s affidavit shed some light on an action by the sheriff that was illegal.

Item 18 states: “The police finally showed up, INSPECTED THE BAG, and determined that it was safe.” (emphasis added)

I am not a lawyer, but when I was in the Navy, I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights which guarantees my rights to freedom of speech and to privacy. My civil rights were violated on September 2, 2005, by Sheriff Kay P. Larsen when he ignored my Fourth Amendment right to privacy and inspected my personal property WITHOUT due process.

I have petitioned the Sixth Judicial District Court for a hearing to contest the restraining order. I am also waiting to hear from the U.S. District Court for my erroneous Disorderly Conduct hearing, though I would prefer that the charge be dropped altogether.

When I wrote my letter to Ms. Banks, bringing Ms. Kaibetony’s professional deficiencies to her attention, I expected these deficiencies to be addressed so that situations like those that occurred on August 26 and September 2 would not be repeated. Instead of addressing the problem with Ms. Kaibetony, Ms. Banks and Ms. Graham appear to have allied themselves with her in an attempt to disparage my character and enter it into the public record.

I am very concerned that a civilian contractor of the V.A. would treat veterans the way that I have been treated. I think the V.A. should seriously reconsider their decision to enter into a contract for the C.V.M.C. to treat V.A. Patients. Frankly, I think the contract should be voided altogether.

At this time, I would like to request the assistance of you or someone on your staff in resolving this matter.

Sincerely,


Joseph L. Puente