Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — CenCal Health has announced the January appointments of two new clinical directors to its leadership team and a new Compliance Officer to its Administration department. Dr. Alan Bernstein joins CenCal Health as Senior Medical Director, Dr. Karen Hord as Medical Director, and Richard Golfin III as Compliance Officer. CenCal Health provides health coverage for nearly 180,000 members in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, insuring the most people on the Central Coast.
“It is a pleasure to introduce not one, but three such distinguished professionals to the CenCal Health leadership team and to our communities,” said Bob Freeman, CEO of CenCal Health. “Doctors Bernstein and Hord bring outstanding clinical expertise, superbly aligned with our commitment to preventive and family health, and Richard Golfin brings an outstanding track record and deep understanding of the complex and changing landscape of the healthcare industry.”
Alan B. Bernstein, MD, MPH, FAAP
As CenCal Health Senior Medical Director, Dr. Alan Bernstein, MD, MPH, FAAP will be working on medical management, clinical quality, the Whole Child Model Program, appeals and grievances and population health. Prior to joining CenCal Health, he served as a Consulting Medical Director with ConnectiCare, a commercial /Medicare health plan in Connecticut where he assisted in the preauthorization and utilization review activities for the plan.
Dr. Bernstein is a board-certified pediatrician with over 37 years of clinical experience. He has held the Chief Medical Officer or Medical Director position with multiple health care organizations including hospitals, federally qualified health centers, multi-specialty group practices and commercial/Medicaid/Medicare-managed care plans. In particular, he served as Chairman of Pediatrics at two community hospitals, the Chief Medical Officer for a tertiary hospital PHO/MSO and the CMO for the only provider-sponsored health plan in New York.
He is a graduate of the New York University School of Medicine, the pediatric residency program at Babies Hospital/Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and has a MPH in Maternal Child Health from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Dr. Bernstein is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, The Society for Adolescent Medicine and the New York Academy of Medicine. He has numerous publications in the areas of pediatrics, managed care and public health.
Dr. Karen Hord, MD, FAAFP, DABAM
Medical Director Dr. Karen Hord, MD, FAAFP, DABAM is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine. Since moving to California, Dr. Hord has been working in multispecialty clinics, providing primary care, including care for people with substance use conditions, and in promoting health in young adult communities. She most recently held the position of Medical Director of Student Health at California Polytechnic University.
Dr. Hord spent several years in academics, teaching Physician Assistant Students, Medical Students, and Residents in University Hospitals in Denver, followed by a move to Southwest Colorado to serve the Southern Ute Indian Population.
She trained at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, earning a degree in Biochemistry, Doctor of Medicine, and completed a post-graduate fellowship in Primary Care Research and Masters of Science in Public Health.
Richard Golfin III, JD, CHC
Richard Golfin III, JD, CHC, brings extensive background in medical-legal compliance and academic expertise to the role of Compliance Officer for CenCal Health. Mr. Golfin has served as the Director of Delegation Oversight for Molina Healthcare of California, as Director of Compliance for Care 1st Health Plan and as Compliance Advisor to L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest HMO. He began his professional health career as Executive Fellow for Compliance & Legal at Iowa Health System in Des Moines, IA.
Through his career, Mr. Golfin has managed and directed the launch of multiple integrated care delivery programs across the state of California and led the resolution of complex medical-legal compliance issues to root out Fraud, Waste and Abuse (FWA) within provider networks and delegated entities.
Mr. Golfin earned his Juris Doctor from Drake Law School, with distinction in Health Law and Policy as well as his B.S.B.A. as a double major in Business Marketing & Business Management from Drake University. He is also fluent in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
Mr. Golfin is currently a Guest Lecturer at the University of Southern California and has served as Associate Faculty in Political Science at Ashford University and as Visiting Professor at Heibei University, People’s Republic of China. He is a published author and distinguished lecturer on the Affordable Care Act and Accountable Care Organizations.
In addition to the three new leadership staff appointments, Dr. Takashi Michael Wada, MD, MPH, has been appointed Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Wada joined CenCal Health as the Deputy Chief Medical Officer in January 2017 after serving as the Director and Health Officer for the County of Santa Barbara Public Health Department for 6 1/2 years.
About CenCal Health: CenCal Health provides health insurance to the largest number of people on the Central Coast, providing health coverage for approximately 20 percent of residents in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. CenCal Health coverage is accepted by the vast majority of local health providers. CenCal Health also provides education and assistance to its members in order to reduce potential health problems from chronic illness such as diabetes and asthma. For more information, visit www.cencalhealth.org. Find CenCal Health on Facebook.