Erne to Head Grossmont Hospital

Michael H. Erne, 40, has been named chief executive officer of the Grossmont District Hospital and will begin work Oct. 15.

Erne has been administrator of hospitals and clinics for 13 years for the 230-bed Ventura County Medial Center. In his new post, Erne will oversee 2,300 employees in the 420-bed La Mesa facility. He signed a two-year contract for $120,000 a year.

“He’s a top-flight administrator with a proven track record that meets all the criteria we set for our administrator,” said Curt Kelly, district board member and member of the administrator search committee.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Erne said in a telephone interview. “I was interested in going to a facility with a broader range of services. It’s obviously a progressive hospital.”

Erne graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 1967, worked as systems program analyst for the City of San Diego data processing department from 1968-69 and earned a masters in public administration from San Diego State in 1969. He is originally from Covina, Calif., and worked for the U.S. Air Force in Germany and as a research analyst for NASA’s manned spacecraft office in Houston.

He replaces Ronald E. Dahlgren, who resigned under pressure last November, reportedly because of disagreements with the medical staff.