FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 13, 1999
Contact: Diane Thomas
714.834.6203
Health Care Director
Named by CEO
(SANTA ANA) –
A health care professional with leadership experience
from both the private and public sector was named today
as director of the County’s Health Care Agency (HCA)
by County Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier.
Donald R. Oxley joins the County from Kaiser Foundation
Health Plan and Hospitals where he was vice president
and executive director. His County appointment is effective
Friday.
Kaiser is a 200,000 member health plan and integrated
delivery system with $400 million in revenue. Under his
direction, a previously unprofitable area went from a
projected net loss of $60 million to a positive net income
of $2 million in a two-year period. Working with both
employees and members of the community, he renegotiated
hospital and nursing home contracts for annual savings
of $18 million, and he oversaw a restructuring that produced
a 1998 savings of $5 million.
Oxley has also served as vice president and chief operating
officer at University Hospital in Denver, Colorado; executive
vice president/chief operating officer at Childrens Hospital
of Los Angeles, and associate administrator at the Department
of Health Services for the County of Los Angeles.
He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration
at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska and a master’s
degree in health care management from California State
University at Los Angeles
"Don has an excellent mixture of public and private
sector experience that will serve us well," said
Mittermeier. "He has a history of developing innovative
approaches to service delivery and he has some very creative
ideas about health care delivery. He has a first-rate
track record, and he’ll be great addition to the
County family."
Oxley credits a desire to return to the public sector
for his decision to seek the HCA position. "I talked
to many County Health Services organizations in Southern
California to find out what was going on in public health
care delivery," said Oxley. "I found out that
the County of Orange is forward thinking and offered many
opportunities to work with a very professional team that
includes both County staff and our external partners.
Coming most recently from the private sector, I also was
favorably impressed by the County’s practice of requiring
departmental business plans. They’re clearly well
organized in their planning and ability to set measurable
goals."
Oxley is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and first
moved to California in 1969.
Available this evening for comment:
Sam Roth, Executive Director
Orange County Medical Association
978-1160 pager – 517-3294
Terence O’Heany, M.D., President
Orange County Medical Association
Chief of Staff, Ft. Valley Regional Hospital and Medical
Center
754-4134 pager – 291-1942
Jon Gilwee, Executive Director
Healthcare Association of Southern California
667-7155
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