UCI Picks New Hospital Chief, Sources Say

The deputy director of the UCLA Medical Center has been chosen to replace the UC Irvine Medical Center’s chief administrator, who was fired last week amid a nationally publicized scandal, sources said Thursday.

Mark R. Laret, 41, the highest-ranking non-physician at the UCLA facility, still needs final approval by the University of California Board of Regents at its July meeting, according to sources at both universities.

UC Irvine Executive Vice Chancellor Sidney H. Golub would not confirm the selection of Laret but said the university is “preparing a nominee to present at the UC regents’ meeting.” Golub, however, praised Laret, a former co-worker.

“He has this very comprehensive and expert understanding of the managed care environment that characterizes Southern California medicine,” said Golub, who used to work with Laret at UCLA when Golub was interim dean of the School of Medicine. “He’s a very nice person, very well liked by the people who work for him.”

Golub said that the new executive director’s starting date would be determined by the regents, but that UC Irvine is hoping to bring him on board before the fall, when Orange County’s new Medi-Cal system, Cal-Optima, starts.

Laret, who lives in the San Fernando Valley, could not be reached for comment.

Physicians at UCLA reacted with dismay at the prospect of losing Laret, who, they said, was a friend to the medical staff.

“I’m really crushed that we’re letting him go,” said Dr. Stanley Korenman, who was part of a three-member team that investigated allegations of improper human egg transplantation at UCI’s Center for Reproductive Health. “He’s done wonderful things here.”

Korenman, an associate dean at UCLA, and several of his colleagues wondered why Laret would tackle the troubles left behind by Mary Piccione, the departing executive director of UCI Medical Center.

Piccione, 60, and her deputy, Herb Spiwak, 49, were fired last week after allegations that they had retaliated against whistle-blowers and tried to cover up serious wrongdoing at UC Irvine’s internationally famed fertility clinic. Their last day on the job is today.

UCI Chancellor Laurel L. Wilkening accused the pair in their termination letters of lax oversight of the clinic and “an unacceptable management style.”

Spiwak said he was not surprised that UC Irvine had moved so quickly to fill Piccione’s office, despite the pair’s stated intention to fight the firings. Spiwak said he had heard that Laret would be starting in September.

Wendell Brase, 48, UC Irvine’s vice chancellor for business and administrative services, will take over as acting executive director Saturday.

Several UCLA physicians said Laret, who now earns $170,000 a year, would be stepping into a tough job at UC Irvine, where Piccione made $176,500.

Colleagues who have worked with Laret at UCLA said UCI’s staff would be in for a different type of administrator.

“He cares a lot about patients and, as a result, he cares a lot about doctors,” said Dr. Alan Fogelman, chairman of UCLA’s department of medicine.

Laret entered UCLA as a student in 1972 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1976. He went on to earn a master’s degree in political science from USC in 1980.

Times staff writer Julie Marquis contributed to this story.