The second largest non-profit organization in Western Kentucky is about to go under and possibly cost the lives of innocent people over hurt pride, Peyton Place-like scandals, and a bullshit popularity contest.

     Culminating with the recent resignation of the entire Board of Directors of Heartland CARES Foundation in protest and a huge wrongful termination lawsuit, this area’s once “model HIV clinic” is in serious danger of losing its $2.5 million dollar funding. Already personal conflicts are causing people to lose their life-sustaining prescription co-pays and housing funds, not to mention the devastation of morale to people who are already suffering though an unimaginable ordeal.

     Like most stories told on these pages, there’s so much more to it than we could ever possibly explain here. There are old grudges that go back years, snippets of conversation and hearsay that we know are true but probably couldn’t print without being sued, and an absolute snake’s nest of pride, egos and a lust to manipulate...to be the one to hold all the puppets’ strings.

     So we’ll try to make this complicated pile of shit as easy to understand as possible. I’ve been extremely hesitant to tell this story, and been warned that certain vindictive people will make me pay for this. However, the story needs to be told.

       The following story has been compiled from several formal complaints made to the Attorney General’s Office and personal emails and conversations with previous board and staff members.

     Heartland CARES, Inc (HCI) is a Paducah-based non-profit that receives federal and state funding to help provide medical care and support to HIV-infected patients, of which there are several hundred in Western Kentucky. They also help clients in Southern Illinois. There is the Heartland CARES Foundation, which is not a non-profit and actually owns the property and rents it to the non-profit. I was told they simply act as a landlord. In this article, when we refer to “the Board,” we are referring to the Heartland CARES, Inc Board of Directors. Otherwise we will state it is the foundation board.  However, to protect anonymity, the “former board members” referred to in this article refer to former members of both boards.

     The Executive Director for the past 10 years until April of this year was Krista Wood. She and several staff members under her handled the day-to-day operations of the clinic and reported to the Board of Directors on the non-profit end.

     On January 13^th of 2009, the Executive Staff (which included Wood, Dr. Michael Elliot, Director of Primary Care Services, and Terry Stallions, Director of Social and Support Services) of Heartland CARES submitted a written complaint to the Board of Directors. This complaint was compiled by several staff members, and included many allegations, such as the Board meetings not following Robert’s Rules of Order, the organization not performing in the clients’ best interests, and inappropriate comments made by board members to staff.

     Many have said that was the spark that led to the board focusing its sights on Wood, and in doing so put the clinic at risk of losing its funding.

     However, some have said that this all started long before that. Jayne Crisp is the President of the Board of Directors, and by many accounts has had a mutually professional and respectful relationship with Wood since she became president six years ago. However, Nick Coovert and Andrew Halford, also Board Members, have had personal problems with Wood from the beginning, to the point where other board members asked Crisp if it was a good idea to appoint people to the board who obviously had such a dislike of the Executive Director. Coovert, after his very first board meeting, even asked another board member what the terms of Wood’s contract were, and after being told, reportedly said, “Not if I have anything to do with it.”

     A source, who at one time was good friends with Crisp and a fellow Board member, said, “I think Nick and Andrew came along at a time in Jayne’s life when she was a little vulnerable, and they treated her like a queen. That’s the only reason I can think of that she would let herself be influenced by such mean-spirited and personal agendas.”

     In September of 2008, Coovert offered his restaurant at the time, Toucans, to be used to host a fundraiser for Heartland CARES. The original purpose of the fundraiser was reportedly to raise money for more people to be able to attend the African American conference held every year. Later discussions at board meetings centered on the money being used for “client services.” This money comes into play a little later.

     In January of 2009, the Executive Staff wrote the letter mentioned earlier to the Board of Directors. The part about inappropriate comments was directed at Nick Coovert, whom many staff members have claimed was very verbally abusive to them and notorious for, as one former board member put it, “treating people like pieces of shit.”

     Other board members who witnessed the aftermath of the meeting where the letter was presented said that Crisp “had a tantrum, even threw a glass into the sink.” The entire Board was upset, but none as much as Crisp, who felt that because it had been put in writing, “it made it official” and she felt “ambushed.”

    The Board responded to the letter in a memorandum addressed to Wood, dated February 17, 2009, which stated, “The January 13^th letter setting forth complaints against the board bore your signature, denoting concurrence with the positions stated therein. The positions stated in the letter were disrespectful of the board’s authority, its efforts, and its motivations. Your contract states that you ‘will conduct (your) self with the expectation that the public will view (you) as a representative of the board and will conduct yourself accordingly.’ It is the opinion of this board that you have breached this contractual obligation.”

    As this was happening, in February of 2009, Dean Hart, who was the President of the Foundation Board but also acted as a volunteer consultant about building and maintenance issues, stated the facility needed a new heating and air-conditioning unit. Coovert suggested they use the money from the fundraiser that was held the previous fall at Toucans.

     This is the matter that has caused a huge amount of contention. Wood felt that the money was supposed to be used for client services, and stated so. She felt that there was money left over from the original mortgage loan that was earmarked for building and maintenance repairs. The CPA at the time, Becky Bondurant, agreed. She stated that it would not cost any more money in the monthly payments, as they were already paying the full amount on the loan, but that it may extend the terms of the loan if they had to borrow more money.

     At a regular monthly meeting in June of 2009, Debbie Ballowe presented a recommendation by the Finance Committee (headed by Coovert) that the fundraised monies be used to purchase the new HVAC units.

     Wood strongly disagreed, and said she thought this was “an illegal use of monies raised for clients,” and in September of 2009 filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office.

     Now, there has been a lot said about Krista Wood. When the Paducah Sun and WPSD ran their stories, people started bashing her like crazy in the comments. I agree to a certain extent that filing the complaint was a little nitpicky. For example, it’s not like the board members were using donated funds on hookers and steak dinners, they were used for the charity.

     When the Attorney General’s office stated their ruling in a letter written to the Board, they said, “...you provided a copy of a follow-up letter sent to donors after the fundraiser telling donors that the event raised ‘$8,850.00 for the continued support of client services that Heartland CARES provides for our community.’ That letter of gratitude certainly would suggest that the intention was to use the monies for providing client services as opposed to being used generally to support the Heartland CARES organization.”

     The letter went on to say that they take seriously any allegations that donors are misled about how donations are used, but that at the worst the funds were raised to maintain the building where services to clients were provided, and not for any non-organizational purpose. 

     They declined to take any action, but strongly suggested that the donors be sent a letter explaining how their donations were used, and that if the donors disagreed, that they should have their money refunded. (To date, donors have received no such letter.)

     They also said that with the many other complaints that have been received by the office, “perhaps the Board should evaluate whether it is in fact functioning at its best.”

     It had been decided in an executive session in October of 2009 that once the AG had returned its findings to the Board, Wood would be dismissed. The Board received the letter during the week of March 22^nd, 2010, and Krista Wood was fired on April 8^th, 2010.

     Many of the clients and staff were devastated. Though many will admit that Wood is not “perfect” and has her faults, they also said she was a champion for the people she worked so hard to help build a haven and refuge for. One former board member, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “I wouldn’t trust Krista 100%, because I don’t trust anyone 100%. But I can say this; she busted her ass for that place. She would go to the ends of the earth for the clients.”

     Here’s where it gets really interesting.

     The Board knew they were going to fire her six months before this, right? Yet they took absolutely no steps to put new leadership in place or to take the necessary precautions to secure the $2.5 million in funding they receive. They should have asked the organizations that grant their funds what they needed to do to make sure they didn’t lose their grants. Wood wrote many of the grants they receive, and her name was still on many documents (including as their Registered Agent) six weeks after she was fired. After Wood was terminated, Heartland CARES posted a job opening for Executive Director on several employment websites.

     The Board has basically gone batshit crazy. There is no leadership and no one knows how to do any of the important stuff. They will most likely lose a good chunk of their funding. Already they’ve tried to apply for two of their major grants, and even though they may get one because there’s really no one else to give it to, the other will most likely go to a non-profit in Henderson, KY. 

     That’s not even the biggest thing to happen. A letter of complaint sent to the Attorney General’s office on May 20^th, 2010, alleges many counts of gross negligence, including: that all of the Heartland CARES Foundation members have resigned, and at the May 18^th board meeting, it was the Heartland CARES, Inc. Board of Director’s intention to choose and appoint new members to the foundation board – which is quite possibly a conflict of interest; that the Client Advisory Board (which is a grant requirement) will no longer be able to vote and be kept on in an advisory capacity only, and will no longer be chosen by the clients but must be approved by the board; that after the termination of Wood the computer system was not secured and has resulted in client files being deleted and altered to show that the program does not have to pay monies rightfully due to them (not to mention that staff members sending client files to their home computers via personal email is a huge breach of privacy and HIPPA laws); that an employee/supervisor has been demoted due to writing up an employee who was not doing their job; that an employee who held a grant-required position was fired, which puts the program at risk for non-compliance; and about 20 more allegations that say clients have been discriminated against, their privacy has been compromised, they have been denied advocacy, their care has been compromised, and that grants have been lost and more are in jeopardy.

       The AmeriCorp grant has officially been lost. Currently, HCI has two people that work through Americorp that are counselors for housing and case management. So sometime in September, HCI will lose two counselors for case management and housing and will not have funding to replace these two employees.  A source said, “ I think the reason that AmeriCorp has said they will not be affiliated with HCI is because of the numerous complaints sent to them regarding the HCI supervisor in charge of them. The sad thing is, the HCI supervisor will stay at work at HCI, but the two AmeriCorp workers will be pulled.  I doubt very seriously that the Board even knows that the AmeriCorp grant has been lost nor do I think they have the realization of what it means to be so discredited by AmeriCorp.”

     Another complaint to the AG’s office alleges that a board member is having inappropriate physical contact with a staff member in the office. At one time the staff member complained about this, but at this point, it might be mutual.

     Everyone I’ve talked to says it’s just a huge mess. Most people don’t want to talk about it and they sure as hell don’t want to go on record, though they may be called to testify at some point.

     They’ve also said that even though there are some very good people who have volunteered their time for a good cause, there are a few people so hungry for power and influence or inclined to simple petty drama and flat-out cruelty it has caused many good people to resign.

     At a board retreat some time ago, the man who ran it told one of the board members that he had never seen a group so dysfunctional in his life. And that’s all he does - try to heal dysfunctional non-profit groups. That’s got to say something.

     One board member who recently resigned said, “The entire failure of this clinic is going to come down to personal, vindictive relationships. Nick, Jayne, and Andrew are going to destroy everything that’s been built over personal relationships.”

     And that’s what everyone seems to be forgetting about – the people they are supposed to be helping. They aren’t just “clients” – they are sisters, brothers, mothers, sons, and friends who are trying to deal with a disease that will not only kill them, but is also so stigmatized that for a long time patients refused to walk in the front door for fear of being seen.

     That’s one thing I keep hearing about Wood – she would do whatever she had to for the clients. If a client came in and the caseworker said, “We can’t help him, he has no proof of income.” Wood would say, “Well, lets put him in this life skills class so that we can help him figure out what he needs to do so that we can get him the care he needs.”

     A client is allowed to have any advocate they want to help them, and when clients tried to bring Krista in to help them as their advocate, they had her removed from the building.

    Rich Fortenbery, the man who founded Heartland CARES, and a few of the people who have resigned are taking the steps to form a new non-profit HIV clinic in the area should this one be dissolved. They hope to be able to pick up the pieces and funding when this thing implodes, so that the people who need help will still be able to receive it. So hopefully, one day, everything will be okay. But for the people already suffering, and not getting the medical care they need, it may be one day too late.