7 nominees announced for board of Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital

Seven nominees for the new board of directors of the private, nonprofit Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital were announced by Los Angeles County’s chief executive and University of California officials Thursday, the latest step toward reopening the hospital in 2013.

All of the nominees have more than a decade of experience in healthcare, business or law.

The nominees:

—Manuel A. Abascal, a partner at Los Angeles-based Latham & Watkins

—Dr. Elaine Batchlor, chief medical officer of L.A. Care Health Plan

—Linda Griego, president and chief executive of Los Angeles-based Griego Enterprises Inc. and a former Los Angeles deputy mayor

—Paul King, president and chief executive of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Medical Group

—Michael Madden, a retired former chief executive of Providence Healthcare of Southern California

—Dr. Robert Margolis, managing partner and chief executive of HealthCare Partners

—James Yoshioka, a retired former president and chief executive of Citrus Valley Health Partners (Yoshioka previously was appointed by county supervisors in 2005 to an advisory board for then-King/Drew Hospital)

Although the county has partnered with the UC Regents to reopen the hospital, the board will operate independently, leading the new nonprofit entity that oversees the hospital and handles all hiring, a crucial step in reviving the long-troubled facility, which shut down two years ago after repeated findings that inadequate care had led to patient injuries and deaths.

The nominees said they were excited to serve on the volunteer board of the formerly county-run Willowbrook hospital.

“I am a big believer that MLK is an essential part of the fabric of this community and it is sorely missed since it closed,” said Margolis, who has worked in healthcare for 30 years. “I’m looking forward to it with some anxiety — it’s a big challenge and a big-time commitment, and [there’s] a lot of work to be done.”

Griego, who worked with Rebuild LA after the 1992 riots, said she brings “some knowledge about the community and particularly the working poor.” She called the hospital’s new nonprofit structure “a bold step in a new direction.”

“Everyone wants to have access to high-quality healthcare, and that’s what we’re going to try to do with this hospital,” Batchlor said.

The nominees were recruited by William T Fujioka, the county’s chief executive, and John D. Stobo, the University of California’s senior vice president for health sciences and services. They agreed not to tap any county or UC-affiliated candidates to avoid conflicts of interest.

Fujioka described the nominees as “a slate of premier leaders in the healthcare industry, business and law.”

They will have our utmost support as they embark on their board’s mission to bring quality health, emergency care and hospital services to the people of South Los Angeles,” Fujioka said.

Stobo also expressed confidence in the nominees in a statement Thursday.

“Not only do the board members bring great experience in serving large organizations, but they also understand the unique mission of MLK and its importance to the health needs of the community it serves,” Stobo said. “UC is committed to working with Los Angeles County and the state to open this vitally needed hospital.”

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also issued a statement in support of the nominees, calling them “highly qualified to oversee hospital operations.”

Lark Galloway-Gilliam, executive director of Community Health Councils Inc., a nonprofit health policy and education organization in South Los Angeles, said she was impressed by the nominees’ qualifications but was surprised that the group did not include a local expert.

“These are all folks sort of from the outside looking in,” she said. “They will bring a lot to lift up the standard of care in this community and we can’t question their commitment, but it’s still missing the expertise that I think exists in the community.”

The hospital board probably will convene a community advisory group of local residents once it is officially appointed, Fujioka said.

King said that although he works in Hollywood, after King hospital closed, he saw patients diverted all the way to his hospital, and he can appreciate the need.

“What we know about that community is that they’re medically underserved,” he said.

County supervisors are expected to vote on approving the nominees Tuesday.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who represents the district that includes King and has championed the new hospital, described the nominees as a “very impressive group of highly qualified, very experienced individuals among the best in the healthcare industry.”

molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com