California Health Care Personnel News Update for April 2008
Ruthita Fike, CEO of Loma Linda University Medical Center and Behavioral Medicine Center, has been named to the board of directors of Adventist Health.
Fike will replace Lyn Behrens, who recently retired as president of Loma Linda's Adventist Health Sciences Center after serving on the board for eight years (Smith, Sacramento Bee, 4/24).
The California Dental Association has named Steve Hood as its president and CEO.
Hood was formerly the vice president of commercial placement for Networked Insurance Agents in Grass Valley. He replaces John Carothers, interim CEO since June 2007, who will return to his previous role as vice president of claims (Johnson, Sacramento Business Journal, 4/10).
The California Diabetes Program has named Dean Schillinger, associate professor of clinical medicine at UC-San Francisco, as its chief.
Schillinger will guide policy and serve as the state's head diabetes expert (UCSF press release, 4/7).
Ken Steele, president of St. Mary's Medical Center, has accepted a new role as vice president of managed care for Catholic Healthcare West.
CHW said Anne Cheung, chief operating officer of Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, will be St. Mary's interim president (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 4/14).
Kaiser Permanente has named Gregory Adams as president of its Northern California region.
Adams, who has served for the past year as the insurer's associate regional president and COO, will replace Mary Ann Thode. Thode, who had previously stated she would retire by the end of last year, is serving in a role in Kaiser's Labor Management Partnership (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 4/1).
Antionette Smith Epps resigned as CEO of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center on April 18.
The circumstances surrounding her resignation were unclear, according to the Los Angeles Times. Epps, who received a severance package of one year's pay, said in a statement that she wanted "to pursue other career opportunities"
Epps took over as CEO in October 2005, less than two years before it lost federal funding and was downscaled to an ambulatory care center (Renaud/Therolf, Los Angeles Times, 4/19).
Kathleen King, chair of the Silicon Valley Children's Hospital Foundation, was appointed as the executive director of the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation.
King is also a member of the Saratoga City Council (Vongsarath, San Jose Mercury News, 4/21).
Dean Stordahl, director of the Loma Linda Healthcare System, said he is retiring after 16 years in the system.
Officials are conducting a nationwide search for Stordahl's replacement and hope to select a replacement within three months (Vargo, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 4/4).