California Health Care Personnel News Update for December 2011
Adventist Health
Adventist Health has hired Dag Jakobsen as its new vice president and COO of physician services, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Jakobsen comes to Adventist from Tennessee-based PivotHealth, a medical group management company where he served as a senior vice president (Smith, Sacramento Bee, 12/20/11).
Arroyo Grande Community Hospital
Arroyo Grande Community Hospital, which is run by Catholic Healthcare West, has named Kenneth Dalebout its new chief administrative officer, Becker's Hospital Review reports.
Dalebout also has been named chief strategy officer for CHW Hospitals of the Central Coast, which includes the Arroyo Grande facility and other CHW hospitals in the region. Previously, Dalebout served as vice president of strategy and business development at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills (Oh, Becker's Hospital Review, 12/6/11).
California Association of Health Facilities
The California Association of Health Facilities, a trade group representing nursing homes, has named Calvin Callaway as its new chair, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
Callaway owns and manages Folsom Convalescent Hospital. He has worked at the family-owned care facility for his entire career (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 12/5/11).
California Board of Pharmacy
On Dec. 22, 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) appointed Randy Kajioka (D) and Stanley Weisser (R) to the state Board of Pharmacy.
Kajioka has served as a pharmacy project manager at Kaiser Permanente since 2000, and Weisser has served as an associate clinical professor of pharmacotherapy and outcomes science at Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy since 2006. The appointments do not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $100 per diem (Office of the Governor release, 12/22/11).
California Department of Developmental Services
On Dec. 16, 2011Â Brown appointed Hiren Patel (D) as chief counsel of the state Department of Developmental Services.
Patel has served as a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice since 1999. The position does not require Senate confirmation, and annual compensation is $132,012 (Office of the Governor release, 12/16/11).
California Department of Health Care Services
On Dec. 21, 2011, Brown appointed Margaret Tatar as chief of the Medi-Cal Managed Care Division at the state Department of Health Care Services. Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program.
Tatar has served as the executive director of public affairs at CalOptima -- Orange County's Medi-Cal managed care plan -- since 2003. The position does not require Senate confirmation, and annual compensation is $122,196 (Office of the Governor release, 12/21/11).
California Department of Public Health
On Dec. 16, 2011, Brown appointed Debby Rogers (R) as deputy director of the Center for Health Care Quality at the state Department of Public Health.
Rogers has served as vice president of quality and emergency services at the California Hospital Association since 2005. The position does not require Senate confirmation and annual compensation is $132,000 (Office of the Governor release, 12/16/11).
California Employment Development Department
On Dec. 21, 2011, Brown appointed Pamela Harris (D) as director of the California Employment Development Department, which manages disability and unemployment benefits, the Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports (Yamamura, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 12/21/11).
Harris has served as acting director of the agency since 2009. The position requires state Senate confirmation, and annual compensation is $142,965 (Office of the Governor release, 12/21/11).
California Health and Human Services Agency
On Dec. 16, 2011, Brown appointed Kiyomi Burchill (D) as assistant secretary at the California Health and Human Services Agency.
Burchill has served as a policy consultant in the office of Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) since 2008. The position does not require Senate confirmation, and annual compensation is $95,808 (Office of the Governor release, 12/16/11).
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Matthew Plunkett -- former CFO of stem cell research company iPierian -- has been hired as CFO of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the San Francisco Business Times reports (Leuty, San Francisco Business Times, 12/6/11).
At CIRM, Plunkett will oversee financial operations such as budgeting, financial reporting and implementing a loan award program. He also will work to strengthen relationships with California organizations involved in stem cell research (CIRM release, 12/6/11). Annual compensation for Plunkett's new position is $260,000 (San Francisco Business Times, 12/6/11).
First 5 California Children and Families Commission
On Dec. 28, 2011, Brown appointed Magdalena Carrasco (D) to the First 5 California Children and Families Commission.
Carrasco has served as a child development screening specialist at the Gardner Family Health Network since 2010. Her new position does not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $100 per diem (Office of the Governor release, 12/28/11).
Marin Healthcare District
Ann Sparkman -- deputy campus counsel for health affairs at UC-San Francisco -- has been appointed to the Marin Healthcare District board, which oversees Marin General Hospital, the Marin Independent Journal reports.
Sparkman replaces Sharon Jackson, who resigned from the board in September. Before joining UCSF, Sparkman was a partner at the San Francisco-based Hassard Bonnington law firm, where she worked on health care-related cases. She also has served in Kaiser Permanente's legal and compliance departments (Halstead, Marin Independent Journal, 12/6/11).
Medical Board of California
On Dec. 22, 2011, Brown appointed Dev GnanaDev (R) and Michael Bishop to the Medical Board of California.
GnanaDev has served as president of Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton since 2007 and has served as chair of the hospital's surgery department since 1989 (Office of the Governor release, 12/22/11). In 2008, GnanaDev was named president of the California Medical Association (Hines, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 12/23/11).
Bishop has served as director of anesthesia for same-day surgery at UC-San Diego Medical Center since 2008. The positions require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $100 per diem (Office of the Governor release, 12/22/11).
Mt. Diablo Health Care District
On Dec. 1, 2011, Mt. Diablo Health Care District hired Daymon Doss -- retired former CEO of Petaluma Health Care District -- as its first executive director in nearly 15 years, the Contra Costa Times reports.
The decision to hire Doss is part of the health care district board's attempt to stave off dissolution, according to the Times. In his new role, Doss will be tasked with developing a strategy to bolster support for the district. He also will oversee the district's finances.
Under the terms of the contract, Doss will receive $10,000 monthly for the next six months. His position could be extended if the district avoids dissolution (Vorderbrueggen, Contra Costa Times, 12/1/11).
Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency
Rama Khalsa has resigned from her position as director of the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency, a position she has held for more than 10 years, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports.
The county has tapped Giang Nguyen to replace Khalsa. Nguyen has served as the assistant director of the health services agency since April 2011. Nguyen also has served as the executive administrator for the state Department of Mental Health (Hoppin, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 12/17/11).
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