By Derek Wilson
Marinscope
Despite the nightmare situation COVID-19 has created around the world, Dr. David Klein felt he had to grasp the challenge of caring for the health of many of Marin County’s residents.
“This was really a dream job for me when I was first contacted about it,” said Dr. Klein, who took over the position of MarinHealth CEO from Lee Domanico in September. The change in leadership came just as MarinHealth opened its new hospital building, the Oak Pavilion.
“It’s exciting to me because MarinHealth has a great track record. This is a great opportunity,” said Dr. Klein, a Mill Valley resident. “MarinHealth’s strong response to COVID-19 was noticed everywhere.”
Perhaps it was a good sign for the new Oak Pavilion — and for Dr. Klein — that a few hours after the hospital first opened on September 29 a patient gave birth there to her first baby, a boy weighing 8 pounds, 7 ounces.
“That’s always a great way to break in a new hospital building, “ Dr. Klein said. “I toured the new building when it opened and it’s spectacular. It’s patient-friendly with lots of windows and views.”
Dr. Klein comes to MarinHealth after serving as President and CEO of Dignity Health’s Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco. Saint Francis Memorial Hospital is a community based, non-profit, 294 bed acute care hospital while St. Mary’s Medical Center is a 275 bed acute care hospital. Both are part of the Dignity Health system.
“David Klein is an outstanding selection to take the mantle and lead MarinHealth to new levels of success,” said Domanico. “Based on his prior experience as both a healthcare executive and practicing surgeon, David is well equipped to face the challenges within todays healthcare industry. As a resident of Marin, he will have the best interests of the community in mind. I am pleased with the choice made by the MarinHealth Medical CenterBoard of Directors for David to build upon the momentum we’ve established these past 10 years.”
In addition to his new role as CEO at MarinHealth, Dr. Klein currently serves as the Chair of the San Francisco Section of the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California and is a member of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Saint Francis Foundation and the Board of the Hacienda Surgery Center and serves as an ex-officio member of the St. Mary’s Medical Center Foundation Board of Directors.
While serving as President and CEO of Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center, Klein worked to foster a culture of clinical excellence and accountability. Dr. Klein developed and grew talent, ensuring a highly functional team with responsible leadership. He also led succession planning, drove culture, maintained labor relationships, led strategic growth through implementing new business strategies and built outstanding physician and external partnerships.
Before Dignity Health, Dr. Klein was Chief Operating Officer and then President of the 574-bed Baylor Scott & White Health All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. There, he introduced key strategic growth initiatives and highly innovative programs. As a result, the hospital received numerous accolades for service line excellence and overall hospital quality, including top hospital rankings from U.S. News and World Report.
“Nobody had heard of COVID-19 when this new hospital was designed, but you look at it and everything makes it ideal to deal with COVID and infectious diseases,” Dr. Klein said. “One hundred percent of the rooms can be private rooms. We have separate corridors for staff and visitors. Every room can be converted to a negative pressure room for treatment. Patients have the ability to communicate with caregivers and loved ones while they are still right there in bed. All that can help patients heal more quickly.”
As to dealing with COVID-19, Dr. Klein said, “There is a lot of great work to be done. There are a lot of challenges. We are still in the middle of a pandemic. … We have to prepare for another wave. We have to protect the staff and our patients. All the while, we need to maintain the same high standard of care for all our patients.”
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