Valley Presbyterian Hospital Appoints New President and Chief Executive Officer
Business Wire, August 18, 2009
VAN NUYS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Valley Presbyterian Hospital (VPH) is pleased to announce the appointment of Gustavo Valdespino as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1. Mr. Valdespino will succeed Albert L. Greene, who passed away in April 2009.
“Mr. Valdespino was chosen unanimously by a search committee through an intense and rigorous interview and selection process. He was judged to be bright, creative, passionate and charismatic with extraordinary people skills and a history of strong relations with both physicians and hospital staff,” said David Fleming, Chairman of the VPH Board of Directors. “The search committee selected an outstanding leader to carry on the mission and vision of Valley Pres."
Mr. Valdespino is a seasoned leader with more than 25 years of hospital management experience. He is widely known and respected in the Southern California hospital industry, having served as Senior Vice President of Operations for Tenet Health Corporation’s Southern California Region as well as the CEO of several hospitals. After leaving Tenet in 2003, Mr. Valdespino served as President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles. For the past three years, Mr. Valdespino has served as Chief Executive Officer at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County – a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to providing one on one mentoring for children.
“I’m thrilled to return to hospital management during these exciting times in the health care industry. I was very impressed with the passion and commitment exhibited by the board members, physicians and senior executives that I met during the selection process. Valley Presbyterian Hospital has a strong tradition of meeting the health care needs of the surrounding community. I look forward to continuing that rich tradition in partnership with our board, medical staff and employees,” said Mr. Valdespino. “VPH has a culture of partnership and collaboration between the medical staff and administration, and I am honored to continue this partnership and to build upon the great work Al Greene accomplished at VPH.”
“As Valley Presbyterian moves forward with the appointment of Mr. Valdespino, I am confident that the future of this institution is in very good hands,” said Kamran Malek, M.D., Chief of the VPH Medical Staff. “I am particularly impressed with Mr. Valdespino’s commitment to open communication and effective relationships between the hospital and physicians.”
“I am confident that we found a stellar leader in Mr. Valdespino and I am certain he will preserve Al Greene’s legacy of growth and the provision of quality health care service for our diverse community,” said Gregory L. Kay, M.D. A member of the Valley Pres Board since 2006, Dr. Kay has served as Interim Chief Executive Officer of Valley Pres for the past three months while the search for a permanent CEO was underway.
Mr. Valdespino is active in both community and professional organizations and has served on numerous boards, such as the March of Dimes, the American Diabetes Association, and the Latino Business Association. He has also been a board member of the Blue Cross Hospital Relations Committee, the Federation of American Hospitals, the Healthcare Association of Southern California and the California Health Association.
In 1998, Mr. Valdespino received the “Up and Comer” Award from Modern Healthcare Magazine. He also received the National Medical Enterprises Circle of Excellence Award (1992-1993); the Tenet Healthcare Corporation Circle of Excellence Award (1996-1998); and the “Leading Hispanic Executive” Award from Hispanic Business Magazine, in 2001.
Mr. Valdespino holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, a master’s degree in public health from the University of California, Los Angeles, and completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School in Boston.
Mr. Valdespino and his wife, Rini Valdespino, have two children – Nicholas and Lauren.
Showing posts with label Latinos in Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Latinos in Health. Show all posts
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Hispanic, Asian Caucuses want equal healthcare
Minority lawmakers want bill to close health gaps
By BEN EVANS, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Black, Latino and Asian lawmakers warned Democratic leaders that any health care overhaul that ignores health gaps between whites and minorities will face stiff opposition.
The lawmakers said they would be hard-pressed to support a bill without a new program providing access to health care for all Americans.
"The public health option has to be there," Rep. Mike Honda, a California Democrat who chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said at a news conference. "If we don't have a public option, there's no discussion."
Republicans are resisting a government health insurance program that would compete with private insurance companies, arguing that the companies would be put at a competitive disadvantage.
Members of the Asian caucus, along with the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said they plan to introduce legislation this week that includes their wish list for broadening health care overhaul beyond various plans floated in the House and Senate.
Citing federal research showing higher rates of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and infant mortality among minorities, they said they would seek more funds for community health centers that provide care in poor neighborhoods.
The lawmakers also called for expanding a National Institutes of Health center that focuses on minority health concerns, works to improve work force diversity in the medical industry and collects more data to better track disparities in health care.
They said the costs of reaching into low-income, minority communities to improve upfront health care would be more than offset in the long run by preventing expensive procedures and hospital stays.
"Believe me, a comprehensive health care reform bill without the aspects that we're discussing today will be set for failure," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, a New York Democrat who chairs the Hispanic caucus.
Later, at a discussion of minority health issues at the White House, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the Obama administration is committed to addressing the "alarming disparity in the delivery of quality health care."
Doing so, Sebelius told officials, is critical to lowering health care costs.
Sebelius noted that 75 percent of the nation's $2.2 trillion health care expenses go toward treating chronic diseases, referring to far higher rates of such diseases among minorities. She said the rising rates of HIV/AIDS among African-Americans is among "the most troubling" developments in U.S. health care.
"Minority Americans not only are more likely to be uninsured, so they don't have preventative care, don't have early intervention, but are less likely to have quality care when they come to seek the care that they need," she said.
The White House issued a summary report on minority health care showing that African-Americans are seven times more likely as whites to have HIV/AIDS, that blacks and Hispanics have diabetes rates nearly twice as high as whites, and that black men are 50 percent more likely than whites to have prostate cancer.
The report said more than one in three Hispanics and American Indians, and about one in five African-Americans, are uninsured. That compares to one in eight whites lacking coverage.
By BEN EVANS, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Black, Latino and Asian lawmakers warned Democratic leaders that any health care overhaul that ignores health gaps between whites and minorities will face stiff opposition.
The lawmakers said they would be hard-pressed to support a bill without a new program providing access to health care for all Americans.
"The public health option has to be there," Rep. Mike Honda, a California Democrat who chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said at a news conference. "If we don't have a public option, there's no discussion."
Republicans are resisting a government health insurance program that would compete with private insurance companies, arguing that the companies would be put at a competitive disadvantage.
Members of the Asian caucus, along with the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said they plan to introduce legislation this week that includes their wish list for broadening health care overhaul beyond various plans floated in the House and Senate.
Citing federal research showing higher rates of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and infant mortality among minorities, they said they would seek more funds for community health centers that provide care in poor neighborhoods.
The lawmakers also called for expanding a National Institutes of Health center that focuses on minority health concerns, works to improve work force diversity in the medical industry and collects more data to better track disparities in health care.
They said the costs of reaching into low-income, minority communities to improve upfront health care would be more than offset in the long run by preventing expensive procedures and hospital stays.
"Believe me, a comprehensive health care reform bill without the aspects that we're discussing today will be set for failure," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, a New York Democrat who chairs the Hispanic caucus.
Later, at a discussion of minority health issues at the White House, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the Obama administration is committed to addressing the "alarming disparity in the delivery of quality health care."
Doing so, Sebelius told officials, is critical to lowering health care costs.
Sebelius noted that 75 percent of the nation's $2.2 trillion health care expenses go toward treating chronic diseases, referring to far higher rates of such diseases among minorities. She said the rising rates of HIV/AIDS among African-Americans is among "the most troubling" developments in U.S. health care.
"Minority Americans not only are more likely to be uninsured, so they don't have preventative care, don't have early intervention, but are less likely to have quality care when they come to seek the care that they need," she said.
The White House issued a summary report on minority health care showing that African-Americans are seven times more likely as whites to have HIV/AIDS, that blacks and Hispanics have diabetes rates nearly twice as high as whites, and that black men are 50 percent more likely than whites to have prostate cancer.
The report said more than one in three Hispanics and American Indians, and about one in five African-Americans, are uninsured. That compares to one in eight whites lacking coverage.
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