Opening of the new St. John’s Pleasant Valley
This is the new addition to St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital, now opened.
Tom Kisken, Ventura County Star
- Patrick Caster initially served as interim leader since June and was named CEO and president of St. John’s Hospitals this month.
- Predecessor Barry Wolfman took a job at a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.
- Caster’s brief stint as CEO of Memorial Hospital of Gardena was followed by a civil lawsuit.
- The challenge for St. John is to fill nursing and other shortages, Caster said.
The former chief administrator of hospitals in San Luis Obispo and Gardena has been named CEO of St. John’s hospitals in Oxnard and Camarillo.
Dignity Health executives announced earlier this month that Patrick Caster, who had served as interim leader since June, has been named permanent CEO and president of St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard and St. John’s Hospital Camarillo. Caster succeeds Barry Wolfman, who has accepted an executive position at a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.
Caster most recently served as president and CEO of Dignity Health’s French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo. As part of his more than 25 years as a healthcare executive, he also served as chief operating officer of Dignity’s California Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles.
“His extensive knowledge of hospital operations, proven leadership skills and experience managing complex expansion projects made him the obvious choice,” said Julie Sprengel, president of the California region of CommonSpirit Health, Dignity’s parent company, in a press release.
Caster also served briefly as CEO of Memorial Hospital of Gardena in Los Angeles County in 2022. The hospital is part of the Pipeline Health system, which operates four hospitals in California.
In a civil lawsuit filed in federal bankruptcy court last year, pipeline officials alleged that the system paid a $122,598 retention bonus contingent on Caster remaining in the system. They said he told a pipeline executive less than two weeks after receiving the bonus that he was leaving for unspecified health reasons.
The lawsuit says French Hospital Medical Center promptly announced Caster’s hiring as the hospital’s CEO, which meant he would return to Dignity Health. Pipeline executives said Caster failed to repay the after-tax amount of the retention bonus of just over $80,000, as his contract required.
In the lawsuit, Caster denied and refuted the allegations against him. He agreed to pay the hospital $70,000 in a settlement approved by the Houston court in November. Pipeline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2022, but was discharged in early 2023 and remains in operation.
The settlement with Caster states that the payment is not an admission of any allegations. The CEO and a spokesperson for Dignity Health did not respond to requests for comment on the litigation.
In an earlier phone interview, Caster expressed his enthusiasm for the flagship St. John’s hospitals in Oxnard and Camarillo, praising the staff and doctors and describing the facilities as “state-of-the-art.”
While hospitals across the country are closing maternity clinics, St. John’s in Oxnard is investing in its maternity clinic and is seeing a “sharp increase” in births. Earlier this year, Adventist Health Simi Valley closed its maternity clinic and county health officials announced that Santa Paula Hospital would also close its clinic.
Caster said other areas of focus and possible expansion at the two St. John’s include radiology, cardiology, neurology and emergency care.
Like virtually all hospitals, St. John’s faces the challenge of making up for shortages of nurses and other staff, Caster said.
“One of the biggest challenges that has come out of COVID and continues to exist is staffing,” he said, noting that hospitals have resorted to temporary workers to fill vacancies but are seeking permanent employees. “We want people who are rooted in our communities and have that sense of ownership.”
But progress is being made in addressing the nursing shortage, with hospitals likely returning to pre-COVID staffing levels by mid-2025, Caster said.
Wolfman, Caster’s predecessor, worked at St. John’s for more than two years. Dignity officials said he left the hospital in June “to explore an international healthcare opportunity.” On his LinkedIn page, Wolfman said he was senior executive vice president at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok.
Tom Kisken covers health issues and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at [email protected].
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