Following 35 years of dedicated and exceptional service to Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Steve Geidt, 65, announced his decision to retire in September.
Marcia Manker, CEO of Saddleback’s sister hospital in Fountain Valley since 2002, will replace Geidt and become CEO of both Saddleback Medical Center and Orange Coast Medical Center as part of the transformation into regional networks in Orange and Los Angeles counties announced by MemorialCare, a $2.2 billion nonprofit integrated delivery system with five hospitals and over 200 care sites.
Together the two Orange County hospitals have 470 hospital beds and 6,400 employees, physicians and volunteers caring for hundreds of thousands of patients. One of the most respected CEOs in Orange County and named among the nation’s top women health care executives by Becker’s Hospital Review, Manker has transformed Orange Coast Medical Center into centers of medical excellence, established prominent outpatient facilities and developed new models of care. She has also played a major role in MemorialCare’s key initiatives, including development of its physician, outpatient and partnership strategies.
“We are enormously grateful for Steve’s leadership, passion and sincere commitment to always do what’s best for every member of the Saddleback Medical Center family and communities we serve. His leadership and dedication are evidenced by Saddleback Medical Center’s role as a local, regional and national pacesetter in health care,” says Barry Arbuckle, PhD, MemorialCare President and CEO. “In her expanded CEO responsibilities, Marcia will build upon Steve’s legacy and utilize her vast knowledge of Saddleback Medical Center and Orange County health care; strong, trusted relationships with physicians, employees and community leaders; and leadership in improving health care delivery and community health.”
“I’m proud to be part of an organization where doctors love practicing medicine, employees commit their lives to serving patients and families, volunteers give enormous time to making a difference in people’s lives, board members offer remarkable leadership and donors selflessly and continuously contribute to ensure we are able to offer that extra special care,” says Geidt, who will serve on the board of MemorialCare Medical Foundation after his retirement. “It’s been rewarding to work with our outstanding Saddleback Medical Center team dedicated to ensuring patients receive exceptional, compassionate care and superior clinical outcomes.”
“It’s a great honor to follow in Steve’s footsteps at Saddleback Medical Center,” says Manker. “He is a remarkable leader tremendously respected throughout the health care industry and committed to offering the highest quality of care, extraordinary service and an outstanding patient experience at this phenomenal hospital. I’m excited about the opportunity to help lead our Orange County hospitals and look forward to all we can accomplish together to improve the health of our patients and the communities we serve.”
Geidt has helped lead Saddleback Medical Center into a national powerhouse with consecutive appearances on Heathgrades’ America’s Top 50 Hospitals and Truven Health Analytics’ Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals. Saddleback has been voted Orange County’s Best Hospital by readers of the Orange County Register and appeared on Becker’s Hospital Review and Thomson Reuters’ lists of America’s Best Hospitals. Saddleback also received Healthgrades’ national honors for achievements in many medical specialty areas, including pulmonology, gastroenterology, critical care, heart failure, heart attack, total knee replacement, hip fractures, coronary interventional procedures, colorectal surgeries and treatment of pneumonia, sepsis and diabetic emergencies.
During his tenure, Saddleback Medical Center developed one of the country’s first breast care centers to detect and treat cancer and became the first hospital in Orange County and among the nation’s first to implement comprehensive Electronic Medical Records and an extensive network of convenient, accessible and low-cost ambulatory surgery, urgent care and medical imaging centers. Serving nearly a million people living and working in Orange County, it is highly regarded for clinical innovations that resulted in Saddleback’s opening of the region’s first fully integrated Women’s Hospital as well as the Meiklejohn Critical Care Pavilion, MemorialCare Cancer Institute at Saddleback Medical Center and world-class programs in heart surgery, interventional cardiology and minimally invasive and robotic-assisted surgery. Recently Saddleback received national attention for its decades-long innovations in obstetrical services and reducing the number of C-sections with its successful efforts adopted by hospitals throughout California and the U.S.
Manker received her MBA from California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from University of California, Davis. An accomplished speaker at statewide and national conferences, Manker was honored as Woman of the Year from California State Assembly and Soroptimist International, and Orange County Vietnamese American Lions Club Business Leader of the Year. She serves on the University of California, Irvine Executive Leadership Council and Paul Merage School of Business Advisory Board; University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy Advisory Board; and Hospital Association of Southern California Regional Board. Manker, a Eureka, Calif. native, resides in Huntington Beach with her husband. They have adult twin daughters.
Geidt received his master’s degree in health administration from University of Minnesota, his bachelor’s degree from Saint Olaf College in Minnesota and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. A resident of Laguna Niguel, Geidt is married with two adult children and a grandchild.