This article has been revised from its original version.
Two local health care providers have named new chief executives this month.
On Nov. 20, Ontario-based Prime Healthcare Inc. announced veteran hospital executive Clay Farell as the new chief executive for Lynwood-based St. Francis Medical Center, one of Prime Healthcare’s four Los Angeles County hospitals.
That followed the Venice Family Clinic’s Nov. 10 announcement of a new chief executive, Mitesh Popat. The clinic serves most of coastal Los Angeles County.
Farell, 47, took the helm of St. Francis Medical Center on Nov. 14; he’s the first chief executive named by Prime Healthcare after Prime acquired the hospital in August 2020.
Most recently, Farell served as chief executive at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, a 400-bed acute-care hospital in Fountain Valley in Orange County.
Founded in 1945, St. Francis Medical Center is a full-service acute-care hospital with a level 2 trauma center and 384 licensed beds.
At the Venice Family Clinic, Popat will take the helm on Dec. 12, replacing Elizabeth Benson Forer, who is retiring after 28 years as chief executive.
Popat, 41, is a veteran community health clinic executive, most recently serving a five-year stint as chief executive of Marin Community Clinics in Novato.
He will oversee the integration of the former Torrance-based South Bay Family Health Care, which Venice Family Clinic acquired exactly one year ago. The merger turned Venice Family Clinic into the largest community clinic operator in coastal Los Angeles County, serving approximately 45,000 patients from Malibu to Redondo Beach. The clinic had a budget of approximately $87 million for the fiscal year ended this past June. Venice Family Clinic was founded in 1970 to provide care for low-income individuals and families.
