Board For MLK Hospital To Be Considered

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on will consider seven prominent leaders in health care, business and law to serve as the first board of directors of the new independent private, non-profit Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Hospital. 

The nominees are being jointly recommended by L.A. County Chief Executive Officer William T Fujioka and Dr. John D. Stobo, University of California (UC) senior vice president for health sciences and services. Each nominee has at least 10 years of experience in health care, business and/or law.

Upon appointment by the Board of Supervisors and UC, the board of directors will serve as the independent governing body that will oversee operations of the MLK Hospital, which is expected to open in 2013.

Fujioka said the nominees are highly qualified.   “A slate of premier leaders in the health care industry, business and law has been recommended for the independent governing board. The board of directors will assume total responsibility for one of the most important tasks in health service delivery in L.A. County, the opening and operation of the new private, non-profit MLK Hospital, in partnership with the UC. The board nominees have our highest confidence. They will have our utmost support as they embark on their board’s mission to bring quality health, emergency care and hospital services to the people of South Los Angeles.”

Dr. Stobo also praised the qualifications of the nominees. “Not only do the board members bring great experience in serving large organizations, but they also understand the unique mission of MLK and its importance to the health needs of the community it serves. We are fortunate to have them as inaugural board members. UC is committed to working with Los Angeles County and the state to open this vitally needed hospital.”

The nominees recommended to serve as the board of directors are:

-       Manuel A. Abascal, JD, Partner, Litigation Department, Latham and Watkins, LLP, Los Angeles

o   Abascal is a partner at Latham and Watkins, with a focus on government investigations, internal investigations, and complex business litigation. A substantial portion of Abascal’s practice is focused on healthcare matters.  He has successfully represented many non-profit hospital systems and free-standing hospitals in complex litigation and compliance matters, often settling these matters without charges or lawsuits being filed or with dismissals.

-           Elaine Batchlor, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, L.A. Care Health Plan

o   Dr. Batchlor is responsible for medical leadership of all aspects of L.A. Care Health Plan, including the assurance of quality healthcare delivery to more than 800,000 members. In addition, she oversees L.A. Care’s community investment program, health information technology efforts and culture and linguistic services. Dr. Batchlor is a licensed physician with board certification in internal medicine and rheumatology.  Her health policy and administrative work includes medical directorships at insurance companies, healthcare management organizations, and foundations.

-           Linda Griego, BA, President and Chief Executive Officer, Griego Enterprises, Inc.

o   Griego is president and chief executive officer of Griego Enterprises, Inc., a business management company she founded in 1986.  For 12 years,  Griego served as a trustee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the United States’ largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, with $8.5 billion in assets.  The foundation’s mission is to improve the health of all Americans.  She also served on the board of directors of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for four years.   Griego currently serves on the advisory board of the UCLA Women’s Health Center and was a member of the RAND Compare Committee on Health.

-           Paul King, MHA, President and Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles Medical Group

o   King leads the Children’s Medical Group, a 400-physician pediatric multi-specialty group which is affiliated with the University of Southern California Medical School and serves as the faculty practice plan.  King also manages a physician management services organization.  In addition to his extensive management experience with Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and Mayo Clinic, his medical group management experience with Children’s Medical Group, Kerlan-Jobe Medical Group, and Samaritan Physicians’ Center brings valuable insight on the relationship between hospitals and physicians.  King has been a trustee on the board of Anaheim Memorial Hospital.

-       Michael Madden, MA, Chief Executive Officer, Providence Healthcare of Southern California - Retired

o   Madden was the chief executive for a hospital organization employing approximately 7,500 people, and including four hospitals and several skilled nursing and ambulatory facilities.   Madden has more than 40 years of leadership experience in complex non-profit healthcare systems, with extensive experience in hospital operations.  Providence is one of the region’s largest health care systems, and includes Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Burbank; Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, Mission Hills; Little Company of Mary Hospital-Torrance; Little Company of Mary Hospital-San Pedro; and Tarzana Medical Center.

-           Robert Margolis, MD, Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer, HealthCare Partners

o   Dr. Margolis has been the managing partner and CEO of HealthCare Partners since the formation of the company in 1992 and CEO of its predecessor medical group.  HealthCare Partners is a multi-specialty medical group and IPA with more than 2,500 affiliated physicians in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. In addition to his medical training and experience and leadership of HealthCare Partners, Dr. Margolis has served as the chairman of the board of the National Committee for Quality Assurance, chairman of the Board of California Medical Center, and a board member of Catholic Healthcare West, Southern California, serving on the Strategic Planning Committee.

-           James Yoshioka, BS, President and Chief Executive Officer, Citrus Valley Health Partners - Retired

o   Yoshioka led a three-hospital system in the San Gabriel Valley of Southern California with affiliated services such as hospice and home health. Citrus Valley Health Partners includes Inter-Community Hospital, Queen of the Valley Hospital, and Foothill Presbyterian Hospital.  Yoshioka has an exceptional record of achievement and extensive experience in finance, operations, and leadership of hospitals.  His experience has been in both independent, free-standing institutions and with multi-hospital systems and community nursing facilities.

The MLK Hospital board of directors will be an autonomous governing body. It will have full authority over the hospital independent of the County of Los Angeles. It will be vested with full accountability for operations at the new 120-bed medical facility.  The new MLK Hospital will have an emergency room, and would have an estimated capacity to provide more than 30,000 annual patient visits, 10,000 annual outpatient visits, and  follow-up care.

All health and medical services to be provided at the new hospital will be coordinated with outpatient services provided by the L.A. County Department of Health Services; MLK Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center, which is located on the same campus as the new hospital; and the nearby Hubert H. Humphrey Comprehensive Care Center.