California Health Care Personnel News Update for July 2010
Board of Behavioral Sciences
On July 8, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) reappointed Elise Froistad (R) and Renee Lonner (D) to the Board of Behavioral Sciences.
The positions require Senate confirmation and compensation is $100 per diem (Office of the Governor release, 7/8).
Brown & Toland Physicians, San Francisco
On July 22, Brown & Toland Physicians announced that Michael Gam will serve as CFO of the independent physicians' association, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
Previously, Gam served as CEO of the Talbert Medical Group in Southern California. He also has worked as director of finance at City of Hope Hospital in Duarte and as a controller for MedPartners (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 7/22).
Board of Occupational Therapy
On July 20, Schwarzenegger appointed Linda Florey (D) to the Board of Occupational Therapy. Florey is chief of rehabilitation services at the UCLA's Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital. She also is president of the California Foundation of Occupational Therapy.
The position does not require Senate confirmation and compensation is $100 per diem (Office of the Governor release, 7/20).
Californians for Patient Care
Sacramento-based Californians for Patient Care --Â which advocates for the state's eight million uninsured residents --Â has named former Catholic Healthcare West Public Affairs Director Carmella Gutierrez president of the group, Payers & Providers reports.
Gutierrez previously served as a regional affairs manager at HHS (Payers & Providers, 7/15).
Developmental Disabilities, Area Board IX; State Council on Developmental Disabilities
On July 8, Schwarzenegger appointed Denise Filz to the Developmental Disabilities, Area Board IX and the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Filz has served as a member of the Developmental Disabilities, Area Board IX since 2007.
Neither position requires Senate confirmation. Compensation for the State Council on Developmental Disabilities position is $100 per diem, while the Developmental Disabilities, Area Board IX position is unpaid (Office of the Governor release, 7/8).
Developmental Disabilities, Area Board XIII
On July 8, Schwarzenegger appointed Dayon Higgins (R) and Molly Kennedy (R) to the Developmental Disabilities, Area Board XIII.
The positions are unpaid and do not require Senate confirmation (Office of the Governor release, 7/8).
Developmental Disabilities, Area Board VI; State Council on Developmental Disabilities
On July 8, Schwarzenegger appointed Kerstin Williams (D) to the Developmental Disabilities, Area Board VI and the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Williams previously served as a member of the Person Centered Services Self Advocacy Group and as ground crew and treasurer of the Self Advocacy Council VI Board.
Neither position requires Senate confirmation. Compensation for the State Council on Developmental Disabilities position is $100 per diem, while the Developmental Disabilities, Area Board VI position is unpaid (Office of the Governor release, 7/8).
Emergency Physicians Insurance, Roseville
Colleen Elkin recently became vice president of underwriting at the medical professional liability insurance provider Emergency Physicians Insurance, the Sacramento Bee reports.
In her new role, Elkin will develop and implement underwriting policy and manage daily activities (Sacramento Bee, 7/26).
Medical Board of California
On July 20, Schwarzenegger reappointed John Chin and Frank Zerunyan (R) to the Medical Board of California.
The positions require Senate confirmation and compensation is $100 per diem (Office of the Governor release, 7/20).
Palo Alto Medical Foundation
On July 23, Palo Alto Medical Foundation CEO David Drucker died as a result of complications from lung cancer, the San Jose Mercury News reports. He was 68.
Drucker had worked at the foundation for 35 years and served as its CEO since 1999 (Samuels, San Jose Mercury News, 7/23).
Salud Para La Gente, Watsonville
On July 14, Watsonville's public medical clinic Salud Para La Gente announced that Colorado physician Zettie Page will replace Sister Julie Hyer as the clinic's CEO, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Page currently serves as executive director of Colorado's Plains Medical Center and as a member of the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health. He will assume his new role on August 2.
Jose Chibras, who served as interim CEO after Hyer's resignation in June, will resume his role as the clinic's chief medical officer (McCord, San Jose Mercury News, 7/14).
Southwest Healthcare System
Larry Boggeln, medical director of Hospice of the Valleys, has been appointed chair of Southwest Healthcare System's board of governors, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. Southwest also recently named its CEO Ken Rivers to the board (Horseman, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 7/21).
Other new board members include:
- Alex Braicovich, senior regional vice president of CR&R Waste and Recycling Services;
- Kim Cousins, trustee of the Lake Elsinore School District;
- Rob Crisell, vice president of Lee and Associates;
- Russell Hatt, a physician;
- Frank Lopez, group vice president of Universal Health Services' acute care division;
- Abayomi Odubela, a physician and Southwest Healthcare System's chief of staff;
- Joan Sparkman, vice president of First Citizen's Bank;
- Gene Wunderlich, president of the California Realtors Association; and
- Roger Ziemer, chair of the Southwest California Legislative Council (McKinnon, Riverside Press Enterprise, 7/22).
In addition, the health system has announced that John Byrnes will oversee quality improvement efforts at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar and Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta. Byrnes will work with Southwest's board of governors to establish the position of chief medical officer.
Byrnes currently serves as senior vice president of system quality at the Michigan-based health system Spectrum Health (Horseman, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 7/9).
State Compensation Insurance Fund
On July 27, the State Compensation Insurance Fund -- which provides workers' compensation coverage in California -- announced the hiring of Thomas Rowe as its new president and CEO, the Sacramento Business Journal reports. Rowe is succeeding Jan Frank, who left the position in October.
Rowe has held senior roles with other insurance companies, including Arthur J. Gallagher, Trilogy Insurance Services, and Fireman's Fund Insurance, where he served as president of the commercial insurance division.
Compensation for Rowe's new position includes an annual salary of $450,000, state civil service benefits and eligibility for an annual bonus worth 30% of his salary (Johnson, Sacramento Business Journal, 7/27).
St. John's Hospitals
Laurie Eberst -- a registered nurse and founding president and CEO of Mercy Gilbert Medical Center in Arizona -- has been named president and CEO of St. John's Hospitals, the Ventura County Star reports.
Mercy Gilbert is part of Catholic Healthcare West, which also operates St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard and St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo (Kisken, Ventura County Star, 7/21).
UC-San Diego Medical Center
Cardiac surgeon Jack Copeland has joined UC-San Diego Medical Center to help relaunch its heart transplant program, which was closed in 2007 because of low patient volume, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Copeland most recently served as co-director of the Sarver Heart Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Earlier in his career, Copeland helped pioneer the use of artificial hearts (Darcé, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/12).
Woodland Healthcare
Michael Patmas has been selected as Woodland Healthcare's chief medical officer, the Sacramento Bee reports. He has 14 years of medical group administration experience.
In his new role, Patmas will oversee all clinical processes and staff of the organization (Sacramento Bee, 7/26).
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