Q&A; -- Ronald D. Guziak

The Hoag Hospital Foundation hired a new executive director two weeks

ago. Ronald D. Guziak, who last served as the president of the foundation

at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance. He started work at Hoag

on Aug. 27.

The foundation raised more than $16 million for Hoag Memorial Hospital

Presbyterian projects in 2000. Among the volunteer organizations at the

hospital are the 1,000-plus member 552 Club, which puts on the annual

Toshiba Senior Classic; the Sandpipers, which supports work at the Patty

& George Hoag Cancer Center; Circle 1000; and the Auxiliary.

On Thursday, Assistant City Editor James Meier sat down with Guziak in

his new office to discuss his new job and its responsibilities.

Q: So, how has the job treated you so far?

A: Well, it’s been less than two weeks so I’m on a learning curve here

at Hoag. What I do know and did know before I came here is that this is a

hospital operation that represents quality first as its main product as

we deal with patients one at a time. And that is reflected in some of the

recent reports about heart surgeries and how we rank as one of the top

facilities in the state.

And with some of our statistics in cancer treatment, how we beat the

national averages in terms of recovery in virtually every type of major

cancer treatment. And in some of the reports about patient satisfaction

on how some of the people -- the patients and their families -- that come

through the hospital perceive what they received and their high level of

ranking for that as well.

Q: So you’re obviously starting off with something good.

A: Absolutely. We’ve got one of the best, if not the best, hospitals

in the state of California.

Q: How did the job actually come about?

A: I think in the typical way. There was a retirement from a

predecessor and a search for a replacement. And I feel very fortunate to

have been a candidate and to have been selected to direct activities for

this foundation.

Q: What goals have you set so far here?

A: I haven’t set any goals in less than two weeks. What I know is that

we’re in the middle of a very large [two-year] capital fund-raising

effort to raise $50 million for our new Women’s Pavilion and we’re

getting close to reaching $40 million toward that goal. We’re hoping to

finish that campaign at the end of our fiscal year in August 2002.

Q: Should that be more or less difficult now that $40 million has been

raised?

A: Well, I think that the last part of a campaign is typically the

most difficult because you obviously solicit your best prospects first.

Q: How did you get started in fund-raising?

A: At Wesleyan [University], I was director of the Alumni Fund and I

was the first non-alumnus to direct that program. It’s a traditional

small Ivy League university and so that was quite a situation in terms of

it being a new experience for me and a new experience for the university

not to have a retired general coming back to the campus to deal with all

the alumni issues.

Q: So how did that come about?

A: I really found a good mentor there on the campus and it turned out

to be a good decision for me to work for him. I think everybody, in their

career, has somebody who has been that early mentor that makes a

difference in how they think about their job and I had that.

Q: At that point, were you convinced?

A: I think that fund-raising and philanthropy began my career for me.

I left Wesleyan and went to work at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago [as

the director of development and public relations]. That was a large

teaching hospital with about 1,400 beds downtown. A great medical center

facility. In fund-raising, we had a full-service program -- annual funds,

special events, did a large capital campaign.

So it was similar to what universities were offering. Fund-raising, in

many ways in the mid-’70s, was a new venture for hospitals. Most

hospitals didn’t have anything beyond the traditional black-tie Christmas

ball and maybe some other type of party. So having a comprehensive

fund-raising program at that time was unique.

Q: What would you consider your greatest accomplishment in terms of

fund-raising?

A: At each of my previous jobs, there have been special things that

have happened that I’m particularly proud of.

In my last position, we increased support of the organization from

about $1 million a year to an annual program of about $7 million to $8

million over a period of about seven-and-a-half years.

And the difference that that amount of money can make in the life of a

community hospital in today’s difficult health care climate is

significant in terms of how that organization can then care for the

community.

And that’s really what I hope we can achieve here at Hoag -- that we

can take the existing program that is already very successful, finish off

the campaigns and then create a plan that will continue to help us grow

our program here.

Q: Is there anything else that you’d like to mention?

A: The most outstanding new project we’ll break ground on at Hoag is

our Women’s Pavilion, and one of Hoag’s centers of excellence is women’s

and children’s health, along with orthopedic, cancer and heart. And this

new building will really set us apart in terms of how we care for women

and women’s health care and wellness needs in our community.

So, we’re breaking ground in a few months and hope to be completed

with the project in late 2004.

BIO BOX

Name: Ronald D. Guziak

Age: 54

Residence: Redondo Beach, with plans to move to Orange County

Occupation: Executive director of the Hoag Hospital Foundation and

senior vice president of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

Education: Bachelor’s in journalism from West Virginia University and

a master’s in social science from Wesleyan University

Family: Wife of 33 years Peggy and son David

Hobbies: Golf, traveling with family and reading novels, management

books and the Bible