Segundo, Calif.-based Pipeline Health, now a five-hospital system, exited bankruptcy Feb. 7
Former CFO Robert Allen has replaced Andrei Soran as CEO. Mr. Allen previously served as group CEO for CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles. He also held CFO positions at San Francisco-based Dignity Health and Keck Medical Center of USC, Valley Presbyterian Hospital and Sherman Oaks Hospital and Health Center, all in Los Angeles.
Four other leaders have also been appointed to executive positions:
- Steve Blake has been promoted to CFO
- Vince Green, MD, has returned to Pipeline as chief medical officer
- Patrick Rafferty assumed a new role as COO for Pipeline's Los Angeles market while also serving as CEO for Coast Plaza Hospital in Norwalk, Calif.
- Elaine Stephenson has been promoted to vice president for human resources
Pipeline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Oct. 2, and its plan to emerge was confirmed Jan. 13. Over the last few months, the system has worked through a restructuring process that included selling two Chicago hospitals, evaluating vendor contracts, creating a business plan with realistic financial goals and securing financial agreements with key stakeholders. It now owns four hospitals in the Los Anegeles area and one in Dallas.
In a memo sent Feb. 7 to employees and affiliated physicians, Mr. Allen wrote, "Hospitals across the country face similar financial challenges. You should take great pride in knowing that our company stands on solid footing now with a clear path forward. And I am proud — and grateful — that our employees and physicians have stayed with us, keeping their focus on deliveringquality patient care throughout this period of uncertainty."
Pipeline's path forward includes a renewed commitment to quality care and an improved workforce strategy, according to Mr. Allen.
"That means providing the right care in the right place at the right time to every patient who comes to us and ensuring timely patient discharges," he said in a Feb. 7 news release. "We also will focus on enhanced workforce management to care for the patients we serve and to enhance our critical relationships with our employees."