On July 31, 2019, Dr. Conrado Bárzaga took over as chief executive officer of the Desert Healthcare District and Foundation. In the more than four years since, Bárzaga established himself as a respected leader in the Coachella Valley’s efforts to expand and equalize access to quality healthcare support for all valley residents.
He often championed emergency responses to aid the area’s underserved migrant and low-income populations. Less than a year into his tenure, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, and Bárzaga did not hesitate to take a strong stance in support of recommended federal health guidelines. He led the district’s involvement in funding COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites throughout the valley. As the country grappled with both the pandemic and upheaval following the death of George Floyd, Bárzaga spoke out, saying racism was a public health crisis.
Despite his record of positive contributions to the Coachella Valley, on Sept. 19, the DHCD board of directors announced a special meeting would be held the next day at their office in Palm Desert. The agenda released for the meeting contained only one specific item of business: to convene to closed session for a “Public Employee Performance Evaluation (Existing District Staff).”
During that meeting on Sept. 20, the board immediately went into closed session—and adjourned immediately after the closed session was over. It wasn’t until Sept. 25 that DHCD spokesperson Will Dean released a statement announcing that Bárzaga was leaving his position, and chief administration officer Chris Christensen would be named the interim CEO.
What transpired behind closed doors during the Sept. 20 special meeting? The Independent asked Dean that question via email, and we received a reply from Christensen, which said, in part: “Regarding your request of details of the vote: The report after closed session indicated that the board in closed session voted 4-3, with directors (Leticia) De Lara, (Carmina) Zavala and (Kimberly) Barraza in opposition, to direct counsel to take appropriate action concerning the confidential matter related to the CEO’s contract.”
That means that directors Les Zendle, Arthur Schorr, Carole Rogers and Evett PerezGil voted to approve the organization’s attorney taking such “appropriate action”—which led to Bárzaga’s dismissal.
On Sept. 29, KESQ News Channel 3 reported that Bárzaga was paid a severance of six month’s salary—almost $150,000—plus about $34,000 in vacation and other pay. KESQ noted the severance “is consistent with the terms of his last contract, which states that if released ‘without cause,’ he would be paid the six months of severance pay.”
So why was Bárzaga let go? As of this writing, nobody’s talking.
The Independent reached out to Bárzaga, but he declined to comment at this time. The Independent emailed DHCD board director Leticia De Lara with an interview request, but received no reply prior to this writing. When asked for details, both DHCD communications manager Dean and interim CEO Christensen said they couldn’t comment, because it involved private personnel matters.
When Bárzaga’s removal became public, both U.S. Rep. Dr. Raul Ruiz and Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez spoke out strongly.
“I am shocked and dismayed to hear of the sudden dismissal of Dr. Conrado Bárzaga as CEO of the Desert Healthcare District by the district’s board members,” Ruiz said in a statement. “Dr. Bárzaga has worked tirelessly for everyone in the Coachella Valley regardless of income or zip code and has brought incredible success to the district’s mission. He and I have worked together in collaboration with many organizations to protect our most vulnerable residents during the pandemic, and because of this work, many lives were saved. His leadership in this partnership gave the district national prominence for innovative and effective healthcare delivery and health educational outreach for the most vulnerable and hardest to reach communities. … His drive to serve the underserved is inspirational. We have worked together tirelessly to improve the public’s health, reduce health disparities, and improve access to affordable quality care for everyone, especially for those that have been left out for too long. For all of these reasons, I respectfully urge the board to reconsider.”
From Perez came this statement: “This was very shocking to learn of this morning, that Dr. Bárzaga, an experienced and capable administrator of the Desert Healthcare District, was suddenly removed from his position. … It doesn’t appear that there was any reason given for the change in Dr. Bárzaga’s employment with the Desert Healthcare District. We would have to gather information to make sure it was truly a matter of performance, and not on some unfair grounds. In my opinion, Dr Bárzaga was the best CEO and his positive impact on the district was noticeable. I am hoping the Desert Healthcare District Board will reverse this decision.”
“We have worked together tirelessly to improve the public’s health, reduce health disparities, and improve access to affordable quality care for everyone, especially for those that have been left out for too long.”
Rep. Raul Ruiz, on conrado Bárzaga
Ruiz and Perez are far from the only locals to speak out against Bárzaga’s removal. In public comments at the Sept. 26 DHCD board meeting, seven valley residents addressed the board regarding their displeasure.
One speaker was Heather Vaikona, president and CEO of local nonprofit Lift to Rise. “Many of you know … I almost died in January. I had a bilateral pulmonary embolism. I was in the resuscitation unit at Eisenhower for 36 hours before I was in ICU for a week. The first counterpart colleague to come to my bedside when I was not OK and almost didn’t make it was Dr. Bárzaga. A year earlier, my stepdad committed suicide, and the same week, my aunt died. In the same week, my children’s ancestral home was hit by a tsunami. I couldn’t get out of bed. … I didn’t want to go anywhere. The first person who came and got me and took me to their house and cooked paella, while I laid in their backyard on their couch and didn’t want to talk to anybody, was Dr. Bárzaga.”
She added: “Over the holiday break … we had 84 migrants that our dear friends at the Galilee Center and all the other shelters could not house. There was no room for them, and it was on Christmas Eve. Lift to Rise covered the expenses for all of those migrant families to stay in a hotel. But I had a pregnant woman in the backseat of my car. … Who came and was the first person who got the pregnant woman into the hospital at Desert Regional Medical so she could receive excellent care? It was Dr. Bárzaga.”
Vaikona concluded by saying: “What has shifted in our culture in the last four years when Dr. Bárzaga was the CEO is that grantees and partners and community residents from all walks of life were treated with dignity and respect. … I want to say that we’re all paying attention, that we hope leadership will choose someone with integrity and compassion the way that Dr. Bárzaga had that for constituents of this district.”
Greg Rodriguez, the deputy director of government affairs and community engagement for Riverside County’s Department of Housing and Workforce Solutions, worked frequently with Bárzaga. He told the board on Sept. 26 he was speaking strictly as a resident of Palm Springs and a DHCD constituent.
“To say that I’m saddened and shocked would be a real understatement by the actions that the board took,” Rodriguez said. “I, too, don’t know the particulars, per se, but I have been informed as to what some of the rationale might have been, and of allegations of undue influence or pushing an agenda. I don’t think it’s bad to push an agenda for testing and vaccinating under-privileged and underserved communities that literally saved lives. I don’t think it’s a bad agenda to push to decrease health disparities in the African-American community in Palm Springs. I don’t think it’s pushing an agenda to highlight the behavioral health needs of a community, and addressing homelessness and housing. And I also don’t think it’s pushing an agenda by actually recognizing a group of community health workers. I’d also like to address some of what seems to be a narrative out there about Dr. Bárzaga steering money toward favored organizations of his. … Over these last 10 years, I don’t think this district has ever had a better CEO, and I would really encourage you to reconsider this opinion.”
On Oct. 2, the DHCD announced the search for a new chief executive was under way.