A senior vice president of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan was selected recently to be the first healthcare representative on the Placer County Economic Development Board (EDB).

The Placer County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday, Jan. 11 to confirm the appointment of Edward S. Glavis to the newly created post.

Glavis was recommended for the position by the EDB’s Executive Committee.

“We received applications from numerous highly qualified healthcare officials,” outgoing EDB Chair Steve Nichols said. “Ed stood out for several reasons, including his extensive experience serving in leadership positions for economic development organizations. Kaiser is the largest private-sector employer in Placer County and insures over 40 percent of County residents.”

Edward S. Glavis
Edward S. Glavis
As a senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser since 2008, Glavis has served as administrator of two hospitals in the Roseville and Sacramento areas with a total of 680 beds. The facilities are responsible for 460,000 health plan members, have an operating budget of approximately $1 billion and have a 10-year capital plan that exceeds $2 billion.

“We are very pleased to have someone of Ed’s caliber represent his industry on the Economic Development Board,” 5th District Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery said. “The healthcare industry is a major sector of our economy, and is growing rapidly. Having Ed on the board will help us understand the industry’s needs better and find ways to fill those needs.”

Supervisor Montgomery is the incoming chair of the EDB for 2011.

“The economic vitality of Placer County is dependent on us all working together to identify opportunities that will help create jobs,” Glavis said. “Given the influence health care has on our regional economy, I am very excited to be selected to serve in this role and hope my insights will be valuable.”

He serves on the boards of directors of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Sacramento Trade and Commerce Organization. He is a former board member of the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California and of LEED, a Sacramento-based organization whose formal name is Linking Education and Economic Development.

He has worked for Kaiser Permanente since 1987.

Adding a healthcare representative to the EDB was recommended in the 2009 “Placer County Economic Development Roadmap.” The roadmap is a countywide economic development strategy developed under the auspices of the EDB.

The Board of Supervisors approved adding a representative of the healthcare industry last July, agreeing to create a 14th seat on the EDB to make room.

The EDB is an advisory board that helps the county with its business attraction and retention efforts. It promotes the creation of new jobs and tax revenue and supports tourism, agribusiness, film production and workforce development initiatives.

Supervisors Montgomery and Robert M. Weygandt represent the Board of Supervisors on the EDB. The latter was chair of the EDB in 2009.

The EDB also has elected-official representatives from the town of Loomis; and the cities of Auburn, Colfax, Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville; as well as members who represent agriculture, education, utilities, manufacturing and tourism.

Glavis earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology from the University of California at San Diego in 1974, received a Master in Public Health degree in Hospital Administration from the University of California at Berkeley in 1976; and completed a Residency in Hospital Administration at Sonoma Valley Hospital in 1975.