Jason Wells, president of Adventist Health Hospitals in Ukiah, Willits, and Fort Bragg, has been promoted to the role of Chief Consumer and Innovation Officer and will be relocating to Roseville, California towards the end of 2020, he told MendoFever. Wells told us he would continue to serve as the chairman of all three hospital community boards after his relocation.
Adventist Health hospitals have served a vital role in Mendocino County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic providing intensive care unit facilities and transparency regarding the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19.
Assuaging concerns that three of Mendocino County’s hospitals could soon be leaderless, Wells assured, “We will always have a local president and I will continue to serve in that role until we name someone new which will happen before the end of the year.” He said, “We will absolutely backfill my position. There will be a president here and in place driving things, reporting up to the board which I’ll be chairing, well before I am out of this community.”
Wells said when he was hired for the new position, he requested to continue chairing the local hospital boards so he could “stay point on the strategy of collaboration between Mendocino County’s three Adventist Health Hospitals.” He added, “Wwe’ve never had the boards chaired by someone local. It’s usually someone from the outside.”
Wells explained Adventist Health’s system cabinet has never had a member from Mendocino County and looks forward to being a voice for rural health care systems. He said that most of Adventist Health’s system cabinet consists of administrators from larger markets such as Glendale or Portland, so he looks forward to representing “this region at a system level.”
Wells said his new role as Adventist Health’s Chief Consumer and Innovation Officer would be addressing the complexity, uncertainty, and fear patients often associated with receiving medical care, thereby improving access and experience for patients.
