Nurse to head UCI medical center
An administrator who was with the institution during a period of scandals is chosen for the top position.
UC Irvine on Wednesday appointed to head its medical center a registered nurse who spent 12 years as one of the hospital's top administrators during a period in which it suffered a series of scandals, including one in which more than 30 patients on the liver transplant list died as the hospital turned down scores of organs that were then successfully transplanted elsewhere.
"After an exhaustive national search, we concluded that the best candidate was already in our midst," said Dr. David N. Bailey, vice chancellor for health affairs, in a news release.
Maureen Zehntner has held the post of interim chief executive since 2005, but it is her association with the medical program's troubled past that has led some to criticize the university for choosing one of its old guard at a time when it is trying to wipe clean its stained reputation.
"She was in no way involved with the past ills of the institution," Bailey said.
"She was the one that led us into the new era."
Bailey said the search attracted several dozen candidates but that Zehntner stood out because "she clearly espoused patient care" and had an "intimate knowledge of the operational aspects of this institution."
Zehntner, 59, is not a physician and does not have an MBA.
Ken Janda, a UCI chemistry professor who was on a panel that two years ago investigated why the university's medical programs became embroiled in so many scandals, said he thought the university waited so long to appoint Zehntner because of her lack of the usual bona fides.
"Even though she seems to be doing the job very well, she doesn't have the normal credentials for the job," he said. "She's a nurse, and doctors would rather have doctors running it."
Zehntner defended her qualifications, saying her work at several Orange County hospitals had taught her to put patients' interests first.
"I started at the lowest level. I was at the bedside," she said. "I'm passionate about the work that physicians and nurses do on behalf of patients."
She was the medical center's chief operating officer from 1996 to 2005. In her new job she will earn $555,000 a year, a 22% increase in salary, along with bonuses and a car allowance.
Zehntner will oversee the completion of the university's new $635-million hospital, expected to open next year.
