California Health Care Personnel News Roundup for May 2014
California Commission on Emergency Medical Services
On May 7, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) appointed Dan Burch (R) to the state Commission on Emergency Medical Services.
The position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation (Office of the Governor release, 5/7).
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
On May 13, Brown appointed Diana Toche as the undersecretary of health care services at the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The position requires Senate confirmation, and compensation is $237,868 annually (Office of the Governor release, 5/13).
California Department of Veterans Affairs
On May 28, Brown appointed Paul Sullivan (D) as deputy secretary of communications at the state Department of Veterans Affairs.
The position does not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $120,000 annually.
California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission
On May 28, Brown appointed Karyn Karp (D) to the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission.
The position does not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $100 per diem (Office of the Governor release, 5/28)
California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
On May 7, Brown appointed John Buck (D) and David Gordon (D) to the state Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.
The positions do not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation (Office of the Governor release, 5/7).
California Naturopathic Medicine Committee
On May 1, Brown appointed Michael Hirt (D) to the state Naturopathic Medicine Committee.
The position does not require Senate approval, and compensation is $100 per diem (Office of the Governor release, 5/1).
California State Council on Developmental Disabilities
In May, Brown made several appointments to the state Council on Developmental Disabilities, including:
- David Forderer (D), who was appointed to Area Board VII; and
- Steven Kaap.
Kaap and Forderer's positions do not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $100 per diem (Office of the Governor release, 5/1).
In addition, Brown appointed:
- Nicole Adler (D) to Area Board V (Office of the Governor release, 5/22);
- Carmela Garnica (D) to Area Board XII;
- Martha Johnson (R) to Area Board VII;
- Marria Jones (R) to Area Board VIII;
- Elaine Linn (R) (Office of the Governor release, 5/1);
- Jonine Biesman (D) to Area Board X;
- Marilyn Patterson (D) to Area Board XII;
- Michael Rillera (R) to Area Board XI;
- Chad Skopp (D) to Area Board IX (Office of the Governor release, 5/2); and
- Rosanna Johansen (D) to Area Board II.
The positions do not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation (Office of the Governor release, 5/7).
Cesca Therapeutics, Rancho Cordova
Solomon Hamburg has been named to the clinical and scientific advisory board of Rancho Cordova-based Cesca Therapeutics.
Hamburg is a professor at the UCLA School of Medicine, a partner at Cedars Sinai Medical Center's Tower Hematology Oncology Medical Group and CEO of the Tower Cancer Research Foundation (Anderson, Sacramento Business Journal, 5/19).
City of Pasadena
City of Pasadena Public Health Director Eric Walsh has resigned. The move comes after he was placed on temporary leave when city officials found videos online in which Walsh criticized homosexuality. Pasadena spokesperson William Boyer said the city will launch a countrywide search for a replacement (Ramirez, "KPCC News," KPCC, 5/15).
Department of Veterans Affairs, Oakland Regional Benefit Office
The Department of Veterans Affairs has hired Julianna Boor as the new director of its Oakland Regional Benefit Office, which has been without a director since former director Douglas Bragg retired in January.
Boor has worked as an assistant director in VA's Seattle Regional Benefits Office since February 2012 (Emmons, Contra Costa Times/Inside Bay Area News, 5/6).
El Centro Regional Medical Center, Imperial Valley
On May 2, El Centro Regional Medical Center CEO David Green announced he will retire in July.
Green has served as the center's CEO since 2003 (Jayanthi, Becker's Hospital Review, 5/5).
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
On April 30, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research announced that Anne Soon Choi and David Zingmond have joined the center as faculty associates.
Soon Choi previously was an assistant professor at California State University-Dominguez Hill's Department of Interdisciplinary Studies. Zingmond previously was an associate professor in residence at UCLA's Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research release, 4/30).
Veterans Home of California, Los Angeles
On May 28, Brown appointed Nancy Bien as skilled nursing facility administrator at the Veteran Home of California in West Los Angeles.
The position does not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $106,716 annually (Office of the Governor release, 5/28).
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.