California Health Care Personnel News Update for September 2010
Adventist Health, Roseville
On Sept. 14, Larry Dodds -- executive vice president and COO of Adventist Health -- announced that he will retire in May, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
Dodds has worked for the health system for nearly 40 years and started in his current role in 2007. Adventist Heath said it does not yet have a plan to replace Dodds (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 9/15).
Coastal Health Alliance, Marin County
Coastal Health Alliance has selected Rafael Gomez to serve as executive director for the organization's three West Marin health centers, the Marin Independent Journal reports.Â
Previously, Gomez served as program manager for San Francisco Health Plan, a city-run program that provides coverage for low-income residents. In his new role, Gomez will replace John Severson, who retired from CHA in January (Marin Independent Journal, 9/9).
Colorado River Medical Center, Needles
Mark Uffer, former San Bernardino County administrative officer, recently said he will not take a position as CEO of the Colorado River Medical Center in Needles, the San Bernardino County Sun reports.
The medical center's board of directors voted 3-3 on Uffer's proposed employment contract. In the proposal, Uffer requested a salary of $20,500 monthly, with an additional $1,500 monthly for other expenses (Nelson, San Bernardino County Sun, 9/13).
Gold Coast Health Plan, Ventura County
On Sept. 29, Earl Greenia was named CEO of Gold Coast Health Plan, which will serve as Ventura County's locally administered managed care plan for Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, the Ventura County Star reports.
Ventura County is launching Gold Coast Health Plan in response to a California mandate that calls for counties to modify the state-run Medi-Cal system into a locally administered managed care organization. Gold Coast Health Plan is expected to serve about 110,000 low-income Ventura County residents after it begins operating early next year.
Greenia previously worked as a regional administrator for Hawaii Health Systems. He also is credited with helping to lead a financial turnaround at Kona Community Hospital in Hawaii (Kisken, Ventura County Star, 9/29).
Health Care Reform Task Force, San Francisco
San Francisco's Health Care Reform Task Force recently announced three health officials who will serve as the group's co-chairs, the San Francisco Business Times reports. The co-chairs are:
- Tangerine Brigham, director of Healthy San Francisco, the city's health care coverage program for uninsured residents;
- Lloyd Dean, president and CEO of Catholic Healthcare West; and
- Mitch Katz, head of San Francisco's Department of Public Health (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 9/10).
Horizon West McKinley, Sacramento
Horizon West McKinley recently hired Joy Sanders as director of nursing, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Sanders will bring more than 20 years of experience to her new position at the 82-bed skilled nursing facility (Sacramento Bee, 9/6).
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Federal officials recently announced the appointment of 19 members to the board of governors for the new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, HealthLeaders Media reports. The federal health care reform law called for the creation of the not-for-profit PCORI, which is tasked with helping health care providers and other stakeholders make informed care decisions based on research.
Two of the recently appointed board members are:
- Sharon Levine, associate executive director for the Permanente Medical Group of Northern California; and
- Eugene Washington -- vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences and dean of UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine -- who will serve as chair of PCORI's board of governors.
The first term for both Levine and Washington will expire in 2016 (Simmons, HealthLeaders Media, 9/27).
Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region, Sacramento
Keri Thomas has been named director of community and government relations for Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Thomas has worked with the health care system since 1998 (Sacramento Bee, 9/6).
Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, San Francisco
Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation recently hired Bill Black as its new associate chief medical officer, the North Bay Business Journal reports.
Black, an internal medicine specialist, previously served as a division head for Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, where he managed clinical operations, capital planning and other tasks. In his new role, Black will help SPMF with clinic operations and physician relations (Verel, North Bay Business Journal, 9/27).
UC-Davis Health System
The UC-Davis Health System recently named Shelton Duruisseau as associate vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion and chief external affairs officer, unifying the two positions into one new role, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
Duruisseau previously served as the diversity officer for UC-Davis Medical Center. In his new role, he will provide centralized leadership across UC-Davis' schools of medicine and nursing, its medical center and its associated medical group. Duruisseau's new position has a base salary of $290,000 (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 9/17).
UCLA Health System
On Sept. 20, Molly Coye became the chief innovation officer at UCLA Health System, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
Previously, Coye served as the head of CalRHIO, an entity tasked with electronically linking the California's hospitals, emergency departments and insurers. CalRHIO closed earlier this year because of a lack of funds.
In her new role, Coye will oversee the UCLA Innovates Health Care project and develop other strategies to promote innovation in the health system. Coye also has been proposed as a candidate for a professor position in the department of family medicine at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine (Rauber, San Francisco Times, 9/17).
UC-San Diego Health System
On Sept. 15, UC-San Diego Health System's Department of Emergency Medicine named Caesar Anderson director of its new Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Healing Center, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
The center provides care for wounds that result from radiation exposure, surgery, bone infection, diabetes and other sources. Anderson has a Master of Public Health degree from the Yale School of Public Health and completed a fellowship in Undersea and Hyberbaric Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Lavelle, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/16).
United Healthcare, Northern California
Dan Rosenthal recently assumed the role of CEO for United Healthcare's Northern California operations, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
Rosenthal previously led United Healthcare's regional unit in Florida. In his new position, Rosenthal replaces Ben Slocum, who left the company (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 9/8).
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