Forty years of care across twelve neighborhoods

What we are

A regional, not-for-profit system. Everything we take in beyond what it costs to run the place goes back into the place: into the buildings, into the people who work in them, and into care for patients who cannot pay for it. We are governed by a volunteer board of trustees drawn from the communities we serve, and we publish what we spend on community benefit every year.

We are big enough to run a cardiac catheterization lab and a Level III NICU, and small enough that the chief nursing officer still knows most of the night charge nurses by name. Holding both of those at once is the whole ambition.

• 1986

  Founded

  One clinic, four exam rooms, two physicians, above a pharmacy on Balboa Drive.

• 16

  Sites of care

  Three hospitals, nine clinics, and four laboratories across the county.

• 4,180

  People

  Nurses, physicians, therapists, technicians, and the people who keep the lights on.

• 612k

  Visits a year

  Outpatient, emergency, and inpatient encounters across all sites in 2025.

How we got here

1986. Dr. Anne Winterfield and Dr. Samuel Reyes opened a four-room family practice above a pharmacy on Balboa Drive, on the theory that the neighborhood should not have to drive forty minutes for a strep test.

1994. The practice became a nonprofit and took over the lease on the failing community hospital two blocks north. That building, much rebuilt, is now Winterfield Regional Medical Center.

2003. The first laboratory opened, which meant results the same day instead of the same week. Three more followed over the next fifteen years.

2011. Mission Hills and Ocean Vista joined the system, bringing the clinic count to six and the first behavioral health service to the north of the county.

2026. Balboa Heights opened in July with forty new primary-care appointments a day, pediatrics on site, and a pharmacy downstairs.

What we are trying to be good at

Being reachable. Most of the county is within a fifteen-minute drive of a Winterfield site. That is a deliberate choice about where we build, and it costs more than consolidating everything onto one campus would.

Being fast where speed matters. Median turnaround on routine outpatient bloods is six hours, down from twenty-six before we consolidated overnight processing. Same-day behavioral health slots are held open at three clinics every day.

Being safe. All three hospitals were graded A in the most recent national hospital safety round, the fifth consecutive cycle in which the system has held the top grade at every site.

Staying. Some of our nurses have cared for three generations of the same family. We would rather keep a nurse for thirty years than hire two for fifteen, and our residency and preceptor programs are built around that.

Leadership

• Marisol Vega

  Chief Executive Officer

  Joined as a hospital administrator in 2004. Fourth CEO in the system's history.

• Daniel Okonkwo, MD

  Chief Medical Officer

  Emergency physician. Still takes clinical shifts two weekends a month.

• Priya Raghunathan, RN

  Chief Nursing Officer

  Started at Balboa as a new graduate in 1999 and has not worked anywhere else.

• Theo Lindqvist

  Chief Financial Officer

  Publishes the community benefit report every October, in full, without a summary.

• Amara Boateng

  Chief Operating Officer

  Runs the laboratory network and the build program at Balboa Heights.

• Ruth Feng, MD

  Chief Quality Officer

  Chairs the safety committee that reports to the board every quarter.

Governance and money

A volunteer board of fifteen trustees governs the system. Ten are drawn from the communities we serve, three are clinicians who do not hold management posts, and two are appointed by the county. No trustee is paid. Board minutes and the annual community benefit report are available from the communications office.

Financial assistance is available to anyone who cannot pay, and applying for it does not change the care you get. The policy and the application are on the billing and insurance page.