Kaiser Names New Leadership for Maui Health System

Ray Hahn (left) and David Ulin, MD (right) will oversee care delivery operations at all three hospitals in addition to designing strategies for quality and safety improvements and managing hospital and medical staff affairs. Courtesy photos.

Kaiser Permanente today announced the new leadership for Maui Health System.

Ray Hahn is appointed senior vice president and area manager, Hawaiʻi Region, which includes hospital administrator; and David Ulin, MD, is the associate medical director, operations, Pacific Permanente Group and chief medical director of the Maui Health System.

The Maui Health System includes: Kula Hospital & Clinic, Lānaʻi Community Hospital and Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Hahn and Dr. Ulin will oversee care delivery operations at all three hospitals in addition to designing strategies for quality and safety improvements and managing hospital and medical staff affairs.  They will work together to facilitate a sustainable and financially healthy hospital system for the people of Maui and Lānaʻi.

Maui Health System will manage operations at each of the hospitals effective July 1, 2016. Physicians and providers from PPG will care for patients at these hospitals, working alongside contracted clinicians and other physicians and providers from the community.

“Ray Hahn and Dr. Ulin both believe in putting the patient at the center of all they do, and bring a deeply collaborative approach to leading the Maui Health System team,” said Mary Ann Barnes, RN, Hawaii regional president of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan, and president and chief executive officer of the Maui Health System board of directors. “We are honored to have such great leaders who are committed to providing care for the people of Maui and Lānaʻi and to operating these facilities as true community hospitals, open to all regardless of insurance coverage.”

Ray Hahn: comes to Hawaiʻi after serving as Chief Operating Officer for Kaiser Permanente’s Fontana and Ontario Medical Centers in California, two major hospitals in the San Bernardino County Service Area, providing health care to over 540,000 Kaiser Permanente members. He joined Kaiser Permanente in 2005, after receiving his undergraduate degrees in psychology and biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his master’s degree in public health administration from the University of Southern California. Hahn is also a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program from Harvard Business School and is on the faculty at the School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California, where he serves as an adjunct professor of graduate courses.

Dr. David Ulin, MD: For the last 15 years, Dr. Ulin has practiced as a pediatrician on the Valley Isle and serves as Associate Medical Director and Physician-in-Charge of Maui for Hawaiʻi Permanente Medical Group. He earned his medical degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, and completed his residency in pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Medical Center-Chattanooga, where he served as chief resident. He is board certified in pediatrics and is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“Dr. Ulin is a well-respected physician and community leader on Maui who is committed to safe, high-quality care,” said Geoff Sewell, MD, president and executive medical director of Hawaiʻi Permanente Medical Group and chief executive officer and executive medical director of Pacific Permanente Group. “The combined level of collaborative excellence Dr. Ulin and Ray bring to these critical community hospitals will allow us to focus on delivering the highest level of patient- and family-centered care on Maui and Lanai.”

Maui Health System Transition Timeline:

• April 2015: State legislators paved the way for the Maui Regional System of the Hawaiʻi Health Systems Corporation to pursue a public-private partnership by passing legislation.
• June 2015: Governor David Ige signed the bill relating to a public-private partnership in to law.
• September 2015: Kaiser Permanente was selected to operate and manage the HHSC Maui Region health care facilities.
• January 2016: Governor Ige, the Maui Regional Board, the Corporate Board of HHSC and Kaiser Permanente signed the historic transfer agreement which allowed transition planning to begin.
• April 2016: A key milestone was achieved when the lease agreement covering the facilities of Kula Hospital & Clinic, Lānaʻi Community Hospital and Maui Memorial Medical Center was approved.
• July 2016: The transition is scheduled to be completed by July 1, 2016.