Lee Penrose, CEO at St. Jude Medical Center, was appointed on Tuesday by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to fill the open provider seat on the CalOptima Board of Directors. The vote was unanimous. Supervisor Pat Bates made the motion; Supervisor Janet Nguyen seconded it.

CalOptima is one of just two Medi-Cal Managed Care agencies in the HASC region that does not have a designated seat for a hospital representative. HASC’s member hospitals in Orange County overwhelmingly endorsed Lee for this appointment. Julie Puentes, HASC’s regional vice president in Orange County, was appointed by the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors to serve on the selection committee that nominated candidates for the Board of Supervisors’ consideration, as the seat has traditionally been held by a hospital representative. HASC coordinated communications with the Board of Supervisors to make the case for ensuring that hospitals would be represented on the CalOptima board.