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Starting Monday, Dominican Hospital will share a new president, Christine McSweeney, with a hospital in Redwood City, located 47 miles north of Santa Cruz. 

Both hospitals are part of CommonSpirit Health, which is one of the largest nonprofit hospital chains in the country. 

McSweeney’s appointment represents a departure from the previous leadership structure in which Dominican Hospital’s president/chief executive officer leads only that hospital full-time. Dominican’s president, Dr. Nanette Mickiewicz, announced her retirement late last fall after overseeing the hospital for nearly 20 years. Prior to her tenure as president, Mickiewicz was chief medical officer for more than six years. 

McSweeney comes to the region after serving as president of Holy Cross Hospital-Jordan Valley and West Valley in West Jordan, Utah, since 2023. She has more than a decade of health care administration experience, earning a master’s degree in business administration at Arizona State University, and is a fellow at the American College of Healthcare Executives.

“I am honored and excited to join Dignity Health’s California Region and lead these two distinguished hospitals,” McSweeney said in a statement. “I am deeply committed to continuing the excellent work already underway at both facilities and working collaboratively with our dedicated caregivers, staff, and the communities we serve.”

Since 1988, Dominican Hospital has been part of Catholic Healthcare West, which became Dignity Health in 2012. In 2019, the nonprofit health care chain merged with Catholic Health Initiatives to form CommonSpirit Health. BJ Predum, Central Coast market president for Dignity Health, said the hospitals are “incredibly fortunate” to welcome McSweeney. 

“Christine’s exceptional leadership, commitment to quality, and ability to foster strong teams make her the ideal person to guide Sequoia and Dominican Hospitals forward,” Predum said in a statement. 

The entrance to Dignity Health Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

McSweeney will be taking the reins of Dominican at a challenging time, with rising costs and staffing concerns. 

Crystal Crafton, chief nurse representative with the union representing the hospital’s nurses, raised those concerns but said nurses are eager to meet her.   

“As our patients know very well,” Crafton said, “Dominican has longstanding issues with understaffing, poor retention, and limited hospital capacity for our growing community. 

“We hope Ms. McSweeney recognizes the value and expertise of the nurses and the medical staff at Dominican and uses her leadership role to address these patient safety issues.”

Dominican Hospital’s CommonSpirit spokesperson, Christine McMurry, declined to answer several questions about the hire, including whether McSweeney will live in Santa Cruz and how she’ll recruit new doctors. 

“Since Ms. McSweeney is not yet serving as the CEO, I do not have additional information to share at this time,” McMurry said via email. 

Have news that should be in Lookout Briefs? Send your news releases, including contact information, to news@lookoutlocal.com.

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The post Dominican Hospital to share a new president with Redwood City’s Sequoia Hospital appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

A UC Santa Cruz student was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident at Bay Drive and Meder Street on Jan. 30. His high school friend and fellow UCSC student Aidan Smith has struggled to cope with the crash and has come to see it as more than just a tragic accident. The risks at Bay and Meder were already known, he writes. He believes the intersection is dangerous and urges the city to change the traffic pattern by adding a stop sign or something to slow drivers down and permit easier crossing before another life is changed forever.

The post If there had been a stop sign at Bay and Meder, my UCSC friend would be safe; the city must fix this intersection appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Geopolitics enter the room as Thierry Carrez shows that there's more to Kubecon than AI

Kubecon  Sovereignty was a big topic was at last week's Kubecon, and Thierry Carrez, the General Manager of the OpenInfra Foundation, shared strong feelings around it that included raising the idea that tech companies might be forced by their countries' governments to deploy "kill switches."…

Community members will be celebrating Earth Day in downtown Santa Cruz along Pacific Avenue, Cooper Street and at Abbott Square Market from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 18.

The purpose of Earth Day Santa Cruz is to combine “hands-on learning opportunities for residents to learn how to properly sort waste, reduce food waste, and participate in local composting and recycling programs,” Community Development and Infrastructure spokesperson Tiffany Martinez told Lookout via phone. “That way people can come in person and have fun.”

Attendees will have the chance to connect with local organizations, explore practical ways to reduce waste and learn about programs that support environmental stewardship across Santa Cruz County.

The event will also feature live music by SambaDá, free face painting by Brenda’s Face Painting, a free photo booth from Show of Life Photobooth, a floral crown-making workshop hosted by the Santa Cruz Children’s Museum of Discovery and the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, and a children’s passport program.

“It’s a free, educational and family-friendly event,” Martinez said.

This year will mark the 56th year since Earth Day was founded in 1970. Santa Cruz has participated in each of those years.

This year, Earth Day Santa Cruz will feature two new events: a sing-along with Miss Brooke and Composting 101 workshops offered every half hour (sign up here).

It’s a rain-or-shine event, so participants are encouraged to dress for the weather. 

For more information and to learn how to get involved, visit https://earthdaysc.org/.

Have news that should be in Lookout Briefs? Send your news releases, including contact information, to news@lookoutlocal.com.

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The post Earth Day returns to downtown Santa Cruz appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.