A longtime leader at Marian Regional Medical Center will leave, and a new president has been named to oversee an expanded Southern California Division that includes the Central Coast.
Chuck Cova’s tenure at the Santa Maria hospital and as Dignity Health Central Coast Division president and chief executive officer will end, Marian officials announced recently.
Julie Sprengel has been appointed president of the newly expanded Southern California Division for CommonSpirit Health, the parent company for Dignity Health.
In this role, she will continue to oversee Dignity Health hospitals in Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, and Clark County in Nevada.
Dignity Health hospitals from the Central Coast and Central California — a total of 21 facilities — will join the newly created division, expected to be the largest in CommonSpirit Health with $6 billion in revenue.
Cova has logged 38 years of service to the Santa Maria health care community, officials said, noting the dramatic growth and top recognition the facilities have handled.
“Through Chuck’s leadership, Marian Regional Medical Center was transformed from a small community hospital into an award-winning, nationally recognized, regional medical center with the development of significant clinical services and alignments,” Marian representatives said.
His stint as leader included overseeing the long-awaited opening in 2012 of Marian’s $218 million, state-of-the-art, 191-bed hospital that boasts private patient rooms, a 21-bed NICU and an expanded emergency department.
He also led the acquisition of San Luis Obispo County-based French Hospital Medical Center and Arroyo Grande Community Hospital into then-Catholic Healthcare West (now Dignity Health), guiding both facilities from bankruptcy.
Sue Anderson will continue to serve as Marian’s chief executive officer and president.
Sprengel, the new Southern California Division leader, began her career more than 20 years ago as an emergency room nurse and has spent the majority of her career working in faith-based, nonprofit health care systems.
Over the years, she held assorted leadership jobs, including as a hospital chief executive officer.
In 2016, Sprengel was recruited as the senior vice president of operations for Dignity Health Southern California and in 2019 was named president of the Southwest Division for CommonSpirit Health.
“Julie has shown exceptional leadership throughout her career at Dignity Health — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as she oversees hospital operations in some of the hardest-hit areas of the country,” said Marvin O’Quinn, president and chief operating officer of CommonSpirit Health. “In this expanded role, Julie will be well-positioned to help broaden our continuum of care services, focus on integrating and coordinating our primary care models, and improving access to care for patients in underserved communities.”
Dignity Health, with its headquarters in San Francisco, has 10,000 physicians, more than 60,000 employees, 41 acute care hospitals and 400-plus care centers, including neighborhood hospitals, urgent care, surgery and imaging centers, home health and primary care clinics.
CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit, Catholic health system with its national office in Chicago, was created in February 2019 through the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health. The organization operates 142 hospitals and more than 700 care sites across 21 states.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.