Diana Hendel, CEO of Long Beach Memorial, Community Hospital Long Beach & Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach Honored With Women in Health Administration Woman of the Year Award

8th Executive in WHA's 32-year History to Win Prestigious Honor

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Jun 06, 2013, 10:30 ET

LONG BEACH, Calif., June 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Diana Hendel, PharmD., CEO of Long Beach Memorial, Community Hospital Long Beach and Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach, was honored with the prestigious Women in Health Administration Woman of the Year Award at the organization's annual event. Only the eighth woman honored in the organization's 32-year history, Dr. Hendel is CEO of the largest hospital campus headed by a female executive in the West.

A 20-year executive with MemorialCare Health System—a leading Southern California not-for-profit integrated health care delivery system with six hospitals and 200 care sites in Los Angeles and Orange counties—Dr. Hendel was named CEO of the Long Beach hospitals in 2009 after serving as COO. She held several administrative posts within MemorialCare, including administrator of Saddleback Memorial Medical Center San Clemente and MemorialCare executive director of Physician Integration & Strategy.

Dr. Hendel speaks at national and regional conferences and is quoted extensively in the media. She was one of a handful of CEOs, primarily from multi-national corporations, tapped by Chief Executive Magazine to share business predictions for 2012 and has a periodic column in Smart Business Los Angeles on leadership insights. Dr. Hendel was among the first women selected to join Southern California Leadership Council, a business and public policy partnership which includes four former California governors and three dozen CEOs of top Southern California companies.

She holds a B.S. in biology from University of California Irvine, a Doctor of Pharmacy from University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and has been an assistant clinical professor of pharmacy practice at UCSF and University of Southern California. She serves on many boards, including Hospital Association of Southern California, California Children's Hospital Association, Greater Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, California Council on Equality and Justice and Long Beach Police Foundation Advisory Board. Her many honors include Los Angeles Business Journal Women Making a Difference CEO Award, and Press Telegram Amazing Woman of the Year Award.

Since its founding in 1981, Women in Health Administration has provided education, professional development and mentoring; the opportunity to meet individuals shaping and influencing health care; and promotion of the visibility of female health care professionals.

SOURCE MemorialCare Health System