SONOMA COUNTY: St. Joseph Health System Appoints New CEO
Sonoma County's St. Joseph Health System, which has struggled with organizational and financial difficulties for the past five years, has hired a new chief executive, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports. David Ameen, president and CEO at the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based St. Mary's Mercy Medical Center, will assume the position -- vacant since CEO Robert Fish resigned in July -- next month. Over the past year, the system, which includes Memorial Hospital, Petaluma Valley Hospital and North Coast Health Care Centers, has experienced a $9 million loss and resignations of several ranking officers. But Grand Rapids medical experts credit Ameen with a financial turnaround at St. Mary's -- the same challenge he will now face in Santa Rosa. Meanwhile, St. Joseph's Memorial Hospital continues to compete against Sutter Medical Center for Sonoma County's trauma center designation. The system's recent financial problems have been the subject of official review and criticism regarding Memorial's candidacy (Rose, 11/5).
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