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Dr. Richard Afable knows he's got a tough act to follow.
"The simple answer is that you don't replace Mike Stephens. He is irreplaceable," said the new chief executive of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach.
Stephens retired as Hoag's chief executive in August after 30 years at the hospital.
But Afable's not fazed by the challenge.
"The future is not about filling Mike Stephens' shoes," he said. "The future is about leading this organization from this point onwards, which is a new future, a new direction."
Afable takes over a 409-bed hospital that consistently ranks among Orange County's top facilities. Hoag was No. 2 among local hospitals with $435 million in net patient revenue for the 12 months ended September; 2004. It's OC's largest independent hospital.
He's coming on at a critical time for the hospital. Hoag is readying to open its $200 million Sue and Bill Gross Women's Pavilion.
The seven-story, 320,000-square-foot facility will take its first patients later this month. The Women's Pavilion is set to provide women's health services, including a maternity ward with private rooms for each expecting mother.
Gross, the cofounder and bond guru at Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co., and his wife donated $20 million to help fund the Women's Pavilion.
In a past Business Journal interview, Stephens said the Women's Pavilion was Hoag's top priority for 2005.
"This addition to our clinical capabilities will not only consolidate services for patient convenience, but will add some well-needed beds," Stephens said.
Afable comes from Catholic Health East, a large...