KAISER PERMANENTE: Management Restructure Part of Turnaround Plan
Kaiser Permanente officials have announced a series of staff promotions in its California division, the most recent move in the HMO's ongoing effort to streamline management and return to profitability. In the aftermath of the retirement of California President Richard Barnaby, Richard Pettingill will assume the role of COO for California. Mary Ann Thode, former senior vice president at Catholic Healthcare West, will become COO for Northern California, and Richard Cordova, former CEO of San Francisco General Hospital, will be COO for Southern California. Helen Wilmot, formerly a health care consultant, was named as chief turnaround officer. Pettingill "said the changes will create a strong leadership statewide to turn the division around." The San Francisco Business Times reports that the management announcement comes as Kaiser expects in a few weeks to release its 1998 fiscal report showing a loss that could possibly top the company's 1997 $270 million loss (Bole, 1/25 issue).
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