L. Wayne Mills has been named the new chief financial officer for Lompoc Valley Medical Center.
Mills, who began his new position Monday, replaces longtime CFO Bob Baden, who retired Dec. 31 after 17 years with the district.
Mills is a respected health-care executive with an extensive history in rural health-care districts and financial management.
At LVMC, he will be responsible for the accounting and finance functions of LVMC, the Comprehensive Care Center and the Champion Center; health plan contracting and negotiations; budgeting and financial reporting and monitoring and controlling the assets and fiscal commitments of the hospital district, among other duties.
“We are very fortunate to have Wayne join Lompoc Valley Medical Center,” CEO Jim Raggio said. “Wayne brings a wealth of knowledge to LVMC regarding the complexity of health care financing as related to all California hospitals and California Healthcare Districts. His professional expertise is complimented by his remarkable management skills and makes him a fantastic cultural fit with our organization.”
Mills was most recently the senior vice president and chief financial officer of Fremont Rideout Health Group in Yuba City, where he oversaw total assets of $674 million and coordinated the financing for a soon-to-open $255 million regional medical center.
Prior to that position, Mills spent 10 years in Oakdale as the CFO for Catholic Healthcare West in the Oak Valley Hospital District where he was responsible for relocating two rural health clinics into state-of-the-art facilities and for opening a third clinic in a new market, as well as managing the district’s fiscal growth to see increased net assets of 131 percent.
Mills said he was attracted to Lompoc Valley Medical Center after a recommendation from a colleague, and because the location makes visiting easier for several of his grown children.
“The opportunity to work with Jim Raggio in a brand new facility was very appealing,” Mills said.
The allure of the Champion Center and its focus on drug and alcohol rehabilitation was also an attraction professionally, he said.
From 1993-2001, Mills was the associate administrator and CFO of the San Benito Healthcare District for Brim Healthcare in Hollister, where he instituted a Child Health Disability Program and increased the district’s net income by 888 percent.
Prior to his involvement in healthcare, he worked for a copper company in Arizona. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Mills earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Phoenix.
He has an extensive history of volunteerism, including involvement in Rotary Clubs, the Boy Scouts and American Heart Association.
He and his wife, Carrol, have five children and nine grandchildren.
— Nora Wallace is the public relations coordinator for the Lompoc Valley Medical Center.