COMMUNITY NEWS
New CEO at Watsonville Hospital S teven Salyer is the new chief executive affiliated with Duke University School of officer of Watsonville Community Medicine. As chief operating officer, Salyer Hospital as of July 6. “My primary focus will be on ensuring oversaw all UP Health System — Marthe operational success of the hospital as quette’s ancillary hospital operations one of the leading providers of healthcare including the cancer center, cardiology in the area,” he said. “To achieve this goal, I service line, employed physician clinics, surgery center, and imaging am committed to building a strong centers. Previously, Salyer was partnership with the Watsonville CEO of Sebastian River Medical Community Hospital medical Center in Sebastian, Florida, staff and employees and working and as COO of Indian River closely with them to enhance Medical Center in Vero Beach, clinical quality, patient safety, and Florida. overall customer satisfaction.” In 2010, Salyer led a joint The 106-bed full-service venture acquisition of Starke acute-care hospital, which has lost Steven Salyer Regional Medical Center in money for several years, serves Watsonville, a city of more than 53,000 Starke, Florida, with Shands University and 81 percent Hispanic. It’s the partner of Florida. As CEO of the hospital, Salyer hospital for Kaiser Permanente, which has oversaw creation of several new service clinics and a health plant but not hospital lines as well as significant improvements in clinical quality, employee and phyin Santa Cruz County. Salyer, 45, who has 14 years of sician satisfaction, and volume growth. hospital leadership experience, comes Before that, he was COO of Harton from UP Health System — Marquette, Regional Medical Center in Tullahoma, a 222-bed specialty care and Level 2 Tennessee. A graduate of East Tennessee State trauma hospital in Marquette, Michigan,
University in exercise science, he has a master’s degree in business administration from New York Institute of Technology. He also has certificates in Lean/Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints, and executive leadership. He was a captain in the US. Marine Corps for five years, in peacetime and in combat support operations in Iraq. Bruce Grimshaw, senior vice president, hospital operations/chief operating officer of hospitals — national at Prospect Medical, the company managing Watsonville Community Hospital, described Salyer as innovative. “He has a strong track record of increasing patient, employee and physician satisfaction, establishing cultures of excellence, recruiting new physicians, and improving quality,” Grimshaw said. “Steven’s leadership will be a great asset to the hospital, and he will be an active and engaged member of the Watsonville community.” LosAngeles-based Prospect Medical, which runs hospitals in five states, has been running Watsonville Community Hospital
“Steven’s leadership will be a great asset to the hospital, and he will be an active and engaged member of the Watsonville community.”
— Bruce Grimshaw
since mid-January when formed owner Halsen was unable to meet its financial obligations. Halsen sold the hospital building and property to Alabama-based Medical Properties Trust, and then leased it, a deal that netted $39 million to run the hospital, and defaulted on payments. Kevin Spiegel, senior vice president for strategic planning and business development for Prospect in California, told Santa Cruz County officials in March that Watsonville Community Hospital has been losing money for the last couple of years and could have been in difficulty without the Medical Properties Trust deal. n
Mysterious Tree Survey in Aptos Village Park
W
hen Aptos resident Becky Steinbruner noticed trees with metal tags in the county’s Aptos Village Park, she wondered: Who surveyed these trees? She asked the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission – and learned the agency has no information. She asked Santa Cruz County Parks and Recreation and learned the agency has no idea who did the tree survey on county park land.
She asked county parks chief Jeff Gaffney. He responded via email: We have no one at Parks that is aware of any tree surveys at Aptos Village Park or any tree work being performed. Could these metal tag pre-date county ownership? Alright, someone fess up! Email the story to editor Jondi Gumz at info@ cyber-times.com. n
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Three trees at Aptos Village Park bear metal tags. Who tagged them?
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Photo Credit: Becky Steinbruner
www.tpgonlinedaily.com Aptos Times / July 15th 2021 / 7
