Dr. John Fankhauser. Courtesy photo.
VENTURA — Kim Milstien, VCMC and Santa Paula Hospital CEO, has resigned her position effective July 12, 2019. Milstien has been with the Ventura County Health Care Agency (HCA) hospitals since 2015. Under her leadership Ventura County Medical Center completed and opened the Hospital Replacement Wing (HRW), also known as the North Tower, in August 2017.
More recently she is credited with establishing the Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at VCMC, both opening within the past year. In 2018, VCMC received the Meritorious Hospital designation from the American College of Surgeons as a result of high surgical outcomes, andthe hospital’s Level II Trauma Center received reaccreditation by the American College of Surgeons aswell. During her tenure the hospital has also been accredited for stroke care.
“I am happy to announce that John Fankhauser, MD, MHA, will be assuming the role of CEO of Ventura County Medical Center and Santa Paula Hospital effective immediately,” said Bill Foley, HCA Director.
Dr. Fankhauser has served Ventura County in various capacities since completing his Family Medicine Residency at VCMC in 1993, and his Obstetrics Fellowship in 1994. he was a staff physician at the Magnolia Family Health Center in Oxnard from 1998 to 2002, and was a member of the Faculty of the Ventura Family Medicine Residency Program from 2002 to 2007.
He also served as Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer of VCMC and Santa Paula Hospital from 2007 to 2013. After serving in Monrovia, Liberia from 2014 to 2018, where he played a significant role in the response to the Ebola crisis in Liberia including serving as CEO of ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Dr. Fankhauser served as Chief Medical Officer of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Hospital and Clinics in 2018 and 2019, and earned a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from the University of Minnesota in2019.
Dr. Fankhauser returned to Ventura County earlier this year to serve as Chief Medical Officer of the Ventura County Health Care Agency and he is very happy to step into this new role. “I am honored and humbled to take on the role of CEO and to continue to work with so many talented and caring people,” said Dr. Fankhauser.