Hospital board appoints new member

Dr. David Chambers of Sonoma was voted to fill the vacant seat on the Sonoma Valley Health Care District Board of Directors at special meeting Wednesday night. The 3-1 vote came after six candidates made statements and took questions from Board members, capping a six-week week process of filling the seat vacated by the July 1 resignation of Arnold Riebli. His term runs through the public election of 2010.

Chambers served as the academic dean at the School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific, in San Francisco. “Most of my work is administrative, not academic,” he said. “I have run a budget and made difficult decisions.” A Harvard grad with an MBA, he continues to teach at the school. He has lived in Sonoma since 1980.

The hospital board position is his first volunteer public service position in Sonoma. “I’ve been wanting to give something back,” he said after being sworn in by board chair Bill Boerum.

Boerum said that Chambers is a man of tremendous qualifications and vision. “He will help us reach for true excellence.” The board members were impressed by Chambers’ answers to questions concerning his business-world experience, his aptitude for understanding and explaining complex systems, the importance of communication, and the issue of recruiting physicians.

“Most professionals don’t have to worry about finances,” Chambers said of luring doctors to Sonoma. “They can look at other concerns, like quality of life.”  If money is a recruit’s one and only criteria, “we’re probably not interested in them anyway.” 

The list of eight applicants was reduced to six by two withdrawals prior to the meeting. Giving three-minute statements and responding to board questions were Frank Mazzone, Michael Lipson, Gina Cuclis, Janice Downey and Kevin Carruth. Carruth was mentioned in several of the board members’ verbal “straw poll” comments, as was Downey.

After a short deliberation, Chambers was the top pick of board members Richard Kirk, Peter Hohorst and Boerum. Madolyn Agrimonti voted for Downey.

Chambers served on Commission on Dental Accreditation from 1992-97, and as examiner for the Baldridge National Quality Award program, evaluating healthcare programs, from 1997-2002. He has been on the board of Regents of the American College of Dentists and ACD Foundation.

“My view is, we’re going to have problems, but they should not be the central focus,” he told the panel. “The question is how to get to the highest level of health care for the people in this Valley.”