California Health Care Personnel News Update for March 2012
Cal eConnect
Cal eConnect -- the agency that oversees health information exchange in California -- recently announced that Ted Kremer has decided to withdraw as the next CEO of the organization, Modern Healthcare reports. Kremer will continue serving as executive director of the Rochester Regional Health Information Organization in New York.
Cal eConnect did not provide a reason for Kremer's decision but said that Laura Landry -- the organization's interim CEO -- will assume the permanent CEO position (Daly, Modern Healthcare, 3/19).
California Association of Physician Groups, Los Angeles
Francine Moskowitz has been named vice president of operations for the California Association of Physician Groups, Modern Physician reports.
She recently served at Aptium Oncology -- an operator of hospital-based comprehensive cancer centers -- as vice president of business development.
According to a CAPG spokesperson, Moskowitz replaces Rick Swanson, who retired (Lee, Modern Physician, 3/21).
California Health Care Facility, Stockton
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and California Correctional Health Care Services recently announced the appointment of Nate Elam as health care CEO of the California Health Care Facility, which is scheduled to open in Stockton in 2013. Â
In August 2010, Elam joined the California Correctional Health Care Services as the health care CEO of the California Medical Facility in Vacaville (CDCR Today blog, 3/9).
California Hospital Association
Steven Packer has been elected chair of the California Hospital Association's 2012 board of trustees, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reports.
Packer serves as president and CEO of the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, 3/2).
El Camino Hospital, Mountain View
El Camino Hospital in Mountain View has named Michael King as its new CFO, the Mountain View Voice reports. He will replace interim CFO Ned Borgstrom in May.
King previously served as senior vice president and CFO of Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisburg, Va. (Gemmet, Mountain View Voice, 3/16).
Gold Coast Health Plan
On March 8, Earl Greenia -- CEO of the Gold Coast Health Plan, a managed care system that administers Medi-Cal in Ventura County -- submitted his resignation, the Ventura County Star reports. Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program.
Greenia has held the position since September 2010.
The resignation comes as Gold Coast faces scrutiny over claims processing issues and slow reimbursements to health care providers. According to the Star, Greenia did not provide comment on his resignation (Kisken, Ventura County Star, 3/8).
The following week, the Ventura County Medi-Cal Managed Care Commission was slated to discuss hiring an interim CEO, according to commission chair Lanyard Dial (Ventura County Star, 3/13).
Jiff, Palo Alto
Derek Newell has been named the first CEO of Jiff, a health IT startup based in Palo Alto, the San Francisco Business Journal reports.
Before joining Jiff, Newell served as president and CEO of Robert Bosch Healthcare and as CEO of Health Hero Networks (Rauber, San Francisco Business Journal, 3/12).
Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta
Richard Rawson has been named the new CEO of Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
He most recently served as corporate vice president for Central California for Adventist Health/Home Care Services (Hill, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 3/2).
Mercy Foundation, Rancho Cordova
Kevin Duggan has been appointed president and CEO of Mercy Foundation, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Since September 2011, Duggan has served as the foundation's interim president and CEO.
Previously, he served as Mercy's vice president of philanthropy (Smith, Sacramento Bee, 3/13).
National Commission on Physician Payment Reform
Lisa Latts -- WellPoint's vice president of public health policy -- has been appointed to serve on the National Commission on Physician Payment Reform
The commission seeks to make recommendations for overhauling the physician payment system to reduce costs and improve patient care. It is funded in part by the California HealthCare Foundation, which publishes California Healthline (WellPoint release, 3/19).
Sutter Medical Center Foundation, Sacramento
Sutter Medical Center Foundation has named Gregory Walaitis as its new executive director, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Walaitis most recently served as vice president at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno.
In his new role, he will help guide fundraising for the foundation (Smith, Sacramento Bee, 3/20).
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.