Glendale Memorial Hospital names new president
Jack Ivie is returning to Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center -- this time as its president.
Ivie was the hospital’s assistant executive director and vice president of hospital operations from 1980 to 1992, and was most recently the vice president of the Inland Empire area for Dignity Health and chief executive at St. Bernardine Medical Center and Community Hospital in San Bernardino.
Besides his past employment, Ivie, a Pasadena resident, has other ties to the hospital. His wife, Tina, worked at Glendale Memorial Hospital for 25 years as a registered nurse and all four of his children were born there.
He said his past association with the hospital is making it easier for him to reconnect.
“Many of the physicians and staff that I know are still here,” Ivie said, adding that more doctors are continuing to practice later in their lives.
He’s also facing different challenges than his first time at Glendale Memorial, which was a nonprofit independent hospital in strong financial shape when he joined in 1980.
Today, the hospital is part of a healthcare system and, like most hospitals, is tackling issues such as reductions in reimbursements and a competitive environment, where just about the only way to grow is to pull volume from competitors, Ivie said.
Attention to quality is also becoming increasingly important as the healthcare world becomes more consumer-driven, he added.
At Dignity health, Ivie was instrumental in the development of the first clinical integration network of physicians, which began with more than 250 doctors and two Dignity Health hospitals in San Bernardino. It now includes the Ventura service area with St. John’s hospitals in Oxnard and Pleasant Valley.
The network has grown to more than 500 physicians participating with both San Bernardino and Ventura.
Patrick Liddell, chairman of Glendale Memorial Hospital’s board of directors, said Ivie’s strong leadership and innovative vision will benefit the hospital.
“Jack Ivie has been an invaluable contributor to efficient operations and successful development of programs and services throughout his tenure with Dignity Health,” Liddell said.
While at St. Bernardine Medical Center, Ivie was involved in establishing the Inland Heart & Vascular Institute, Southern California’s second largest cardiac program. He also helped expand the hospital’s orthopedics, bariatric medicine and general/ vascular surgery services while developing a joint-venture outpatient gastroenterology center.
In 2007, the St. Bernardine Medical Center leadership team was selected for the Thomas Reuters 100 Top Hospitals Performance Improvement Award.
-- Mark Kellam, Times Community News
Follow Mark Kellam on Twitter: @LAMarkKellam