CHA Board of Trustees Announce Retirement of Long-Time President/CEO C. Duane Dauner

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Jim Holmes, chair of the boards of the California Association of Hospitals & Health Systems (CAHHS) and California Hospital Association (CHA), announced today that long-time President and Chief Executive Officer, C. Duane Dauner, will retire when his employment agreement ends on December 31, 2018.

Dauner has been President and CEO since 1985.  Previously he served as the CEO of the Missouri Hospital Association from 1975 to 1985, and he was with the Kansas Hospital Association from 1965 to 1975.

"CAHHS, CHA and all California hospitals have benefited from Duane Dauner's leadership, public policy acumen and advocacy skills for more than three decades," Holmes said.

Throughout his tenure at CHA, Dauner has been a leading advocate for state and federal public policies that improve access to high-quality, medically necessary, affordable health care for all Californians.  In 1994, Dauner co-authored the book "The Health Care Solution: Understanding the Crisis and the Cure" which presented visionary ideas for expanding health care coverage and aligning financial incentives in the health care delivery system.  More than 10 years later, Dauner again was in the forefront of the health care reform debate – first in California in 2007 providing recommendations and guidance to then-Governor Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders in their efforts to enact state –level reforms, and in 2010 as Congress and the Obama Administration developed the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Now, with changes to the ACA on the horizon, Dauner is once again providing his insights and expertise to national leaders.

Dauner's commitment to patient safety and quality of care led CHA and its affiliated Regional Associations in 2013 to create the statewide Hospital Quality Institute (HQI), whose mission is to advance California as a national leader in patient safety and quality improvement.

To ensure continuity in leadership and executive management, a nationwide search will be conducted to find Dauner's replacement.  The search, which will be conducted by Witt/Kieffer, will be initiated next year.  After the new President and CEO is employed and onboard, Dauner will serve the organizations as a consultant until December 31, 2018.

As one of the largest health care trade associations in the nation, CHA represents more than 400 hospitals and health systems in California.  The association advocates for patients and hospitals, promotes public health policy and is hospitals' voice at the state and federal levels. CHA has offices in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

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SOURCE California Hospital Association