Spring Valley resident Allan Goetz has been approved to serve on the Grossmont Hospital Corporation (GHC) board of directors as a representative of the Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD). GHC is the legal entity for the hospital lease agreement between Sharp HealthCare and GHD, the East County public agency that serves as landlord of the hospital’s property and buildings on behalf of taxpayers.
Spring Valley resident Allan Goetz has been approved to serve on the Grossmont Hospital Corporation (GHC) board of directors as a representative of the Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD). GHC is the legal entity for the hospital lease agreement between Sharp HealthCare and GHD, the East County public agency that serves as landlord of the hospital’s property and buildings on behalf of taxpayers.
Goetz, 70, a retired aerospace engineer, was approved by Sharp to serve on the GHC as a designee of GHD board member Gloria Chadwick. Goetz succeeds Dehesa resident Shirley Murphy, a cultural psychologist, life coach consultant and advocate for Native American issues, who began serving on the GHC board in 2008, following her serving for one year on the GHD board to fill a vacancy.
“It is my privilege to have this opportunity to serve on the hospital board of directors and honored as a designee of the Grossmont Healthcare District board,” said Goetz. “I look forward to working with each of the hospital board members and an excellent team of administrators in our collective effort to maintain excellent patient care at the hospital and fulfill the hospital’s mission to offer quality care and services that set community standards and exceed patients' expectations.”
Goetz’s 40-year aerospace career included working as a chief systems engineer and principal engineer on the design of aircraft and missile defense systems, as well as radar communication systems. He worked with Hughes Aircraft Co., ITT Gilfillan and Northrop Grumman Defense Systems. He retired from Northrop Grumman in April 2015. He has lived in Spring Valley for the past 12 years.
Goetz’s military service includes two years in the U.S. Coast Guard. He earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the University of Washington and a doctorate in physics from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. He holds 16 patents and is a life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world’s largest technical professional organization. He also is a member of the non-profit Citizens Oversight, a local watchdog and advocacy group.
As a member of GHC, Goetz also will serve on its Facilities Committee, according to Dave Grundstrom, 2016 GHC chair. GHC, a non-profit corporation, has operational responsibility of the 540-bed Grossmont Hospital on behalf of Sharp HealthCare. The 15-member GHC board consists of Sharp HealthCare leaders, physicians, community leaders and GHD board members or their designees. Among its many responsibilities, the GHC board oversees, evaluates and recommends proactive quality measures and performance initiatives for all quality improvement activities throughout the hospital.
GHD, the public agency that represents more than 500,000 people residing in the district’s 750 square miles in East County, monitors the health care services provided under contract at Sharp Grossmont Hospital to assure that patients’ needs are met and that their reasonable expectations are exceeded. In 1991, GHD opted to lease the hospital's operation to Sharp HealthCare under a 30-year lease that runs through May 2021. Voters extended the lease agreement between GHD and Sharp HealthCare in 2014 for an additional 30 years. For more information about GHD, visit www.grossmonthealthcare.org.
