Tulare County DA serves search warrant at Tulare Regional Medical Center
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Tulare County District Attorney's Office confirms it served a search warrant today at Tulare Regional Medical Center, which is currently closed.
The hospital temporarily closed two and a half weeks ago when the new board of directors decided to pull the hospital's state license.
In a statement sent to Action News, Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward confirmed that there was a search warrant served at the hospital for business records and e-mails.
The statements says that the warrant included a court order to seize a variety of different things, including cell phones, computers, flash drives, payroll records, and all e-mails for seven separate e-mail addresses.
It is unknown at this point whose e-mails and property were seized. Thursday morning, the investigators were seen walking in and out of doors on the north side of the hospital--where the offices are for Healthcare Conglomerate Associates, or HCCA, the company that manages the hospital.
The hospital's new board of directors has been feuding with HCCA for months. Before the hospital closed, a judge granted a board request to reject the hospital's contract with HCCA, no later than November 27th.
The statement from the district attorney's continues to say:
"As there may be attorney-client, doctor-patient records contained in the seized items, the electronic data will be reviewed first by a court-appointed special master who will then provide all non-privileged information to the investigators of the district attorney for a thorough search for any and all relevant evidence. The Tulare Police Department provided assistance in the service of this search warrant."
While the search warrant was being served, the battle for control of the hospital was back in a courtroom today.
Board representatives say a judge moved up the HCCA termination date by five days.
