California Health Care Personnel News Update for April 2011
Alameda County Medical Center, Oakland
Alameda County Medical Center recently announced that it has hired Warren Lyons as its chief strategy and integration officer, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
Andrea Breaux, spokesperson for the hospital, said Lyons actually started his position in late January, but the hospital only recently announced the appointment. Lyons previously served as a senior operations executive at Temple University Health System and Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 4/19).
Cal eConnect
Cal eConnect, a California-based health information exchange, recently hired several senior officials, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
The organization named:
- Melanie Allison -- former chief technology officer for CalRHIO -- as COO;
- Tom Groom -- former senior vice president of business development for RxHub -- as e-prescribing subject matter expert;
- Chris Kim -- former information systems manager of the California Immunization Registry -- as senior technical director; and
- Aaron Seib -- former interim CEO of the National eHealth Collaborative -- as director of health information exchange policy and programs (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 4/27).
California HealthCare Foundation
Elizabeth Hill, former legislative budget analyst, has been elected to serve on the California HealthCare Foundation's board of directors, the Modesto Bee reports. CHCF publishes California Healthline.
Hill served as chief of the Legislative Analyst's Office for 22 years before retiring in October 2008. She will serve a three-year term on CHCF's board (Modesto Bee, 4/24).
California Health Information Partnership and Services Organization
Priti Sahai has been named chief strategy officer for the California Health Information Partnership and Services Organization.
CalHIPSO is one of 62 regional extension centers established under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package to help health care providers adopt electronic health records. Previously, Sahai served as vice president of health informatics at Abraxis Health, a medical product development company. She also has served as vice president of product management at Velos, a health care software provider (CalHIPSO release, 4/13).
Catholic Healthcare West
On April 15, Ben Williams resigned from his post as CIO of Catholic Healthcare West after working for the health system for more than three years, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
The hospital system said Williams submitted his resignation in February but did not elaborate on why Williams was resigning. The departure comes as CHW works to implement EHR software in several of its hospitals (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 4/15).
Division of Occupational Safety and Health
Gov. Jerry Brown (D) recently announced appointments to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, also known as Cal-OSHA, the Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports.
The governor named Ellen Widess (D) chief of Cal-OSHA. Between 2000 and 2010, Widess worked for the Rosenberg Foundation, which advocates for immigrants and middle-income families. Annual compensation for her new role is $125,004.
Brown also named Art Carter (D) chair of the state's Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board. Carter served as chief of Cal-OSHA from 1976 to 1983, during Brown's first two terms as governor. Annual compensation for his new role is $115,913 (Siders, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 4/4).
In addition, Brown named Ed Lowry (D) to the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board. Lowry has served as the part-time hearing officer for the California Department of Pesticide Regulation since 2009. Annual compensation for his new role is $111,845 (Howard, Capitol Weekly, 4/7).
El Camino Hospital, Mountain View
El Camino Hospital recently announced that it has hired executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to find a new president and CEO, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reports.
The new chief will replace El Camino's current president and CEO Kenneth Graham after his contract ends June 30. The hospital also recently announced that John Zoglin, vice chair of El Camino's board, will become board chair in April (Sibley, Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, 4/1).
Feather River Hospital, Paradise
Wayne Ferch will step down from his position as president and CEO of Feather River Hospital sometime in May, the Chico Press-Enterprise reports.
Ferch is leaving his role at Feather River to become president and CEO of Adventist Health's Central Valley Network, which includes three hospitals in the Central Valley region. Adventist Health, which also owns Feather River Hospital, is seeking a new executive to replace Ferch (Mitchell, Chico Press-Enterprise, 4/6).
Medical Assistance Commission
The Senate Rules Committee recently appointed Fran Florez to the California Medical Assistance Commission, the Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports.
The commission oversees services in Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program. Florez recently lost a bid for an Assembly seat and previously served as mayor of Shafter. Annual compensation for her new position is $56,095, plus travel expenses (Van Oot, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 4/28).
Methodist Hospital of Sacramento
Tim Moran -- service area president for Catholic Healthcare West and president of Methodist Hospital of Sacramento -- resigned on April 15, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
Moran did not offer a reason for his resignation. He said, "I expect to continue to work in health care, which is what I enjoy" (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 4/7). Methodist Hospital has tapped Denny Powell -- president and CEO of Sacramento-based Mercy General Hospital -- to manage Methodist Hospital while CHW searches for an interim president (Smith, Sacramento Bee, 4/8).
Mission Hospital, Mission Viejo
On April 11, Peter Bastone announced that he will step down from his post as CEO of Mission Hospital on June 30, the Orange County Register reports.
According to St. Joseph Health System, which owns Mission Hospital, Bastone is resigning to "pursue other opportunities." Bastone has worked at the hospital since 1996 and has overseen the construction of a $153 million patient tower and the acquisition of the former South Coast Medical Center in Laguna Beach (Perkes, Orange County Register, 4/11).
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development
On April 12, David Carlisle announced that he will resign from his position as director of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development on June 1, the Sacramento Business Journal reports. OSHPD has yet to announce plans for his replacement.
Carlisle, who has been with OSHPD since 2000, said he is leaving the agency to take on a new role as president of Charles R. Drew University in Los Angeles. The university is known for its medical program and soon will open a new school of nursing (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 4/13).
Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System
On April 26, Lowell Johnson started a new role as interim CEO of Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, according to a hospital release, Becker's Hospital Review reports.
Johnson previously served as interim COO at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. His position with Salinas Valley will be his 30th interim hospital role. Johnson replaces Sam Downing, who retired on April 30 (Rodak, Becker's Hospital Review, 4/25).
San Antonio Community Hospital, San Diego
San Antonio Community Hospital recently announced that it has named Harris Koenig president and CEO, effective in June, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports.
Koenig replaces former CEO Steven Moreau, who left the position in December. Vince Leist -- San Antonio's senior vice president and COO -- has served as interim CEO since Moreau's departure. Koenig previously served as CEO of Alvarado Hospital in San Diego (Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 4/20).
San Joaquin General Hospital, French Camp
The interim board of trustees for San Joaquin General Hospital recently recommended that David Culberson continue serving as director of the hospital, the Stockton Record reports.
Culberson has served as acting director of the hospital since 2007. The interim board selected Culberson for the top hospital post after narrowing down a pool of 700 potential candidates. The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors will make the final decision on selecting a director for the hospital (Stockton Record, 4/14).
SCAN Health Plan
Raymond Chan has been named medical director for Long Beach-based SCAN Health Plan, the country's fourth largest not-for-profit Medicare Advantage plan.
In his new role, Chan will facilitate joint initiatives with SCAN's partner medical groups and provide clinical support for some of the health plan's internal departments. Chan previously served as director of clinical services and quality for Hill Physicians Medical Group/PRIMED in San Ramon (SCAN release, 4/19).
VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network
Stan Johnson has been named director of the Department of Veterans Affairs' Desert Pacific Healthcare Network, the North County Times reports.
The network is made up of five VA health organizations that serve 1.4 million veterans in Southern California and Southern Nevada. Johnson previously served as director of the VA San Diego Healthcare System. He also has led the Puget Sound VA Healthcare System in Washington state. VA San Diego Healthcare System now is seeking a new director to oversee more than 4,800 employees (Rogers, North County Times, 4/29).
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