SOURCE: CONTRA COSTA TIMES.COM (expired article link)

Los Medanos district chooses new director

By Paul Burgarino
East County Times
Posted: 02/04/2009 03:57:34 PM PST

When Bobbi Palmer first walked into the Los Medanos Community Healthcare District's office in Pittsburg, she knocked because she couldn't help but feel intrusive.

She hopes to convey a much different impression in her new role as the district's executive director.

"I want people to know that I'm approachable," Palmer said earlier this week. "People who live in the community are experts in their own lives and know what they need. I'm just a steward."

On Monday, Palmer, 54, took the reins as executive director of the Los Medanos Community Healthcare District — a position that had been vacant for about a year and a half.

Part of that advocacy role, Palmer says, is to increase the district's presence in the community and build upon new opportunities to promote education and wellness. Initially, the bulk of the job entails visiting each program the district participates in and seeing how it functions, she said.

Palmer is also tasked with overseeing the Pittsburg Health Center and other district property, day-to-day district operations and updating and building a new strategic plan for Los Medanos' future.

Palmer, a Richmond resident, brings more than 25 years of business experience to the job, most recently working as a medical social worker for a dialysis company in San Pablo. She holds a master's degree in Business Administration from Cal State East Bay and a master's in Social Work from the University of Kansas.

The position "gives me an opportunity to merge my expertise, my passion and my educational background. It seemed like a perfect fit," she said.

"Her background in both health and business fields will be very helpful," board member Marilyn Condit said. It will be advantageous "just having somebody directing us and keeping things going smoothly," she said.

Darnell Turner, the Los Medanos district board president, said Palmer has brought "an energy and an ability to build relationships" to the job along with other traits to help achieve a long-term goal of providing more direct services to residents.

He said he was most impressed that Palmer "did her homework in learning about the history of the community, the history of Los Medanos and where we stand with other organizations," before her first day.

About 100,000 people live within the Los Medanos district, which includes Pittsburg, Bay Point and portions of Clayton, Clyde, Antioch and Concord. The district was created to oversee the Los Medanos Community Hospital, which closed after bankruptcy in 1994. The former hospital is now the county-run Pittsburg Health Center. The executive director position had been vacant since summer 2007, when Frank Puglisi left.

The district, which is funded by property taxes and has faced several dissolution attempts, provides programs and grants to improve area health care.

Initially, Palmer will work 20 hours a week under the terms of her contract, though she guessed the number of hours required would likely rise as the district undertakes more projects. She will make $4,000 each month, and not be eligible for employment-related benefits, according to district documents.