UCLA hospital finds temporary director
By Gil Hopenstand
and Donna Wong
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
After only 14 months at UCLA, G. Michael Arnold is the newly
appointed interim director of a changing Neuropsychiatiric
Hospital.
Six months after the current director, Don Rockwell, decided to
retire from his position and change careers, hospital officials
announced that Arnold would replace Rockwell effective July 1.
Arnold, the hospital’s chief administrative officer since
arriving at UCLA last February, said his background is in health
financial and strategic management. Arnold will head a troubled
hospital that faces reduced state support and was found performing
below national standards in a June 1994 special accreditation
survey.
"Environmental and economic changes have created an extremely
challenging time for all health care organizations. Academic health
care providers, by their nature, face even more complex issues in
trying to balance educational, research and patient care
responsibilities," he said.
The temporary appointment was made by Gerald Levey, provost of
medical sciences, who is also heading the search for a permanent
director. Levey, while currently out of town, wished Arnold "every
success in his challenging role as Interim Director of the
Neuropsychiatric Hospital" in a prepared statement.
There is no known date for the search’s completion.
Before working at UCLA, Arnold was chief financial officer at
the Link Group, a Chicago-based health care finance organization,
and senior manager at KPMG-Pete Marwick, a Big Six international
accounting firm. While there, his clients included academic medical
centers such as USC, he said.
"Each organization has a different culture and style, but their
problems are much more alike than different," he said.
"(Specifically,) dealing with the rapidly changing nature of health
care  being responsive to the marketplace and providing
quality medical services."
Arnold will oversee the approximately 600 employees of the
Neuropsychiatric Hospital.
"This is an exceedingly challenging time and I look forward to
working with the faculty and staff, and continuing the research,
education and patient care missions of the organization," he
said.