Sector faces challenging times.

Border to border, the Valley's health care sector stands as one of the largest economic drivers in the region, with some 75,000-plus jobs and countless numbers of local and related businesses cutting a broad swath across an industry wading through some very economically and socially challenging waters.

Skyrocketing workers' compensation costs, coupled with mandates to boost worker-patient ratios amid growing medical staff shortages, all against a backdrop of double-digit health care costs with no, clear end in sight, have the industry rockin' and reelin' like it never has before.

But now for the good news.

It would be next to impossible to zero in on any facet of health care in the Valley without stumbling upon some of the most qualified and revered individuals in the industry. Period.

That includes hospital CEOs, pharmacists, health care reform advocates, insurance providers, business leaders who devote their resources to ensuring the Valley has the best there is to offer, and those who care for the nation's fastest growing sector of the population, seniors.

To honor them, the Business Journal conducted its First Annual Health Care Leadership Awards ceremony Dec. 3, selecting 30 individuals from a cross-section of 10 categories in the industry, and then narrowing it down from there to 10 honorees, one for each category.

"I think the Valley is definitely a vibrant healthcare community because we have so many sectors represented here," said Larry Krutchik, founding principal of The Edison Group, a national public affairs firm, and frequent speaker on health care issues. "I think the Valley represents an excellent microcosm of the country's health care system, with some of the best qualified professionals to be found."

Our hospitals are being run by excellent financial managers who've taken some of the Valley's facilities from deep in the red to black again, and often among the most difficult of circumstances. The Business Journal's honoree for hospital CEO is Jim Sherman, CEO of West Hills Hospital, a facility teetering on the brink of closure when Sherman arrived in 1998.

"The thing that's most notable about the Valley is the fact that Olive View Medical Center is the only county facility in the region, which means that the Valley's private sector hospitals have to do much more work to help meet the health care needs of the area's population, regardless of an individual's ability to pay," said Jim Lott, executive vice president of the Hospital Association of Southern California. "And I think that the fact that they are able to do that and still provide the same level of care as in the test of the county, is nothing short of breathtaking."

Wide range

The Valley's senior community is also in very good hands here, with hundreds of assisted living facilities ranging from 800 to as few as six beds, all focusing heavily on implementing programs designed to meet the needs of the "new senior," one that is living longer, and one that is more active at later ages than ever before.

Molly Forrest, CEO of the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging, is the honoree for assisted living facility administrator, overseeing the Valley's largest senior facility with a reputation unmatched anywhere.

On the insurance side, the Valley is represented by folks who get it when it comes to small businesses--the bread and butter of the local economy. Health Care Insurance Leader Honoree, Renee Glickman-Cohn, owner of RGEB Inc., stands out for her commitment to wheeling and dealing with the big health plan providers for packages that fit her customers' needs, most of whom are small to mid-sized firms, some with as few as three employees.

The health plan providers here are clearly industry leaders, from WellPoint Health Networks, Inc., to Health Net of California, to the largest and oldest open-style managed care organization in the state, Kaiser Permanente, which operates two Valley medical facilities.

Kaiser's Senior Vice President and Valleys Service Area Manager, Matthew Gerlach is the Business Journal's honoree for health plan executive.

It's no secret the Valley is also home to some of the key leaders in the field of bioscience, with Amgen, Inc.'s CEO Kevin Sharer heading up the largest, and most well known player in that sector.

But the leaders of two smaller bioscience firms here are making big strides: Dr. Grant Bitter, founder of BitTech Inc., and Edmond Buccellato, president of Advanced Biotherapy Inc. Sharer, Bitter and Buccellato were chosen as the three nominees for bioscience leader. Buccellato was selected as the honoree for his work leading his company out of financial trouble and the company's advances in pre-market treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and other debilitating diseases, many afflicting children.

Well-trained

Physicians who work in the Valley's hospitals, medical centers and private practices are armed with degrees and training from some of the nation's top schools and medical facilities, including the honoree for medical group leader, Dr. Fredrick Russo, president of Facey Medical Group, an 80-year-old operation with 11 multi-specialty medical group locations and two eye centers.

"Not only is Dr. Russo an astute businessman, he is one of the area's finest physicians," said Dr. Marcy Zwelling-Aamot, president of the Los Angeles County Medical Association.

There are also countless Valley business leaders who volunteer their time and resources to the local health care industry. Among them is the honoree for health care business volunteer, Lee Alpert. He is the founding principal of Alpert & Barr, and has spent much of the last two decades serving as chair of the governing board of directors of the Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, as well as a volunteer at the Jewish Home.

Community health organizations, such as Valley Community Clinic, can trace a long list of volunteers who've helped keep that facility going strong for more than 30 years.

"On our budget, there is no way that we could have provided the consistent care we give to tens of thousands without support from the Valley's volunteer business community," said Judi Rose, the clinic's director of public affairs and a nominee for health care public policy advocate.

Those who've served the clinic include state Assemblyman Dr. Keith Richman, chosen as the honoree for public sector health care advocate and Ira Freeman, owner of Key Pharmacy and a nominee for health care business volunteer.

Freeman is a founding member of the clinic and Richman is a former board member.