California Health Care Personnel News Roundup for March 2014
California Association of Physician Groups
On March 20, Amy Nguyen Howell was named chief medical officer at the California Association of Physician Groups.
Nguyen Howell previously served as state medical director at Easy Choice Health Plan in Long Beach (Payers & Providers, 3/20).
California Board of Occupational Therapy
On March 6, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) appointed Richard Bookwalter (D) to the state Board of Occupational Therapy.
The position does not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $100 per diem (Office of the Governor release, 3/6).
California HealthCare Foundation
Sam Karp, vice president of programs for the California HealthCare Foundation in Oakland, is departing after 17 years with the organization. CHCF publishes California Healthline.
At various times, Karp served as CHCF's chief information officer and director of health information technology. For the past nine years, he was vice president of programs.
Karp is credited with being an innovative grant maker and a national leader in the effective use of new technologies.
California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission
On March 5, Brown appointed Ann MacKenzie (D) to the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission.
This position does not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $100 per diem (Office of the Governor release, 3/5).
California State Council on Developmental Disabilities
On March 7, Brown made two appointments to the State Council on Developmental Disabilities:
- Neil Folsom (D); and
- Sandra Yi (D).
The positions do not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation (Office of the Governor release, 3/7).
Connect, San Diego
On March 4, Greg McKee was named CEO of Connect, a San Diego-based technology and life sciences not-for-profit firm.
McKee previously co-founded Global Bio Link, a specialty drug company, and was chair and CEO of Akela Pharma (Fikes, U-T San Diego, 3/4).
Desert Valley Hospital, Victorville
On March 19, Margaret Peterson resigned from her position as CEO of Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville.
Peterson has accepted a position at California Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles (Jayanthi, Becker's Hospital Review, 3/19).
El Camino Hospital
On March 3, Iftikhar Hussain was named CFO of El Camino Hospital, effective in April.
Hussain previously served as CEO of Mills-Peninsula Health Services in Burlingame (Jayanthi, Becker's Hospital Review, 3/3).
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan
On March 27, Patrick Courneya was named CMO and executive vice president of the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, effective in May.
Courneya previously served as medical director of HealthPartners Health Plan (Rauber, "Bay Area BizTalk," San Francisco Business Times, 3/27).
Kaiser Permanente
On March 31, Janet Liang was appointed COO of Kaiser's Northern California region. She previously served as director of Kaiser Permanente's Hawaii region.
Mary Ann Barnes, who previously served as senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser in San Diego, was appointed director of Kaiser's Hawaii region.
The appointments will take effect in June, but Liang and Barnes will immediately begin transitioning (Rauber, "Bay Area BizTalk," San Francisco Business Times, 3/31).
Kaiser Permanente Medical Group
On March 1, Chris Palkowski was named chair of the board of Kaiser Permanente Medical Group.
Palkowski currently serves as physician-in-chief at Kaiser Permanente's Roseville Medical Center (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 3/4).
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
On March 27, Jonathan Fielding announced that he will retire as director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
He will remain director until a replacement is found (Sewell, Los Angeles Times, 3/27).
USC Keck Medical Center
On Feb. 28, Robert Allen was named CFO of Keck Medical Center at the University of Southern California.
Allen previously served as CFO of California Hospital Medical Center (Jayanthi, Becker's Hospital Review, 2/28).
UC-San Francisco
On April 1, Sam Hawgood was named interim chancellor at UC-San Francisco.
Hawgood previously served as dean of the UCSF School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs at UCSF (UCSF release, 4/1).
UC-San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
On March 17, Alan Ashworth was appointed director of UC-San Francisco's Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Ashworth currently serves as CEO of the Institute of Cancer Research in London and will assume the new position in January 2015 (Fernandez, UCSF release, 3/17).
ValleyCare Health System
On March 31, Scott Gregerson was named CEO of ValleyCare Health System.
Gregerson has been serving as ValleyCare's interim CEO since February (Tsai, Contra Costa Times, 3/31).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.