After serving as interim CEO of Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno, Calif., for about a year, Lowell Johnson is stepping down as Zareh Sarrafian enters the role, according to The Press Enterprise.
Mr. Johnson, a specialist in healing troubled hospitals, was hired last year to turn around the medical center's finances, according to the report. The Riverside County Regional Medical Center's hospital board also spent $26 million on a consulting firm that helped the facility increase revenue and cut costs.
During his year-long tenure, Mr. Johnson is credited with helping to balance the Moreno Valley's hospital budget when it was losing $1 million per week and faced a $54 million loss.
Mr. Sarrafian, who previously served in several executive roles at Loma Linda (Calif.) University Health, was hired in October as permanent CEO.