Catalina Island Medical Center will be taking a more prominent role with the hospital industry in California, thanks to a recent appointment at an industry association. Bryan Ballard, Catalina Island Medical Center's CEO, has been elected to chair the California Hospital Association's Rural Health Care Center.

CHA represents about 400 hospitals throughout the state. It is the health care industry's primary lobbying and advocacy organization in California.

Peggy Wheeler, CHA's vice president of Rural Health Care and Governance, said the Rural Health Care Center plays a crucial role in ensuring that the needs of rural hospitals are represented at the state level.

"Regulations, rules and laws that impact hospitals often don't take into account the impact they will have on rural facilities," she said. "This committee works to reduce any adverse impact."

Ballard's position as chair will allow him to focus attention on the needs of small hospitals in general and CIMC in particular.

"As chair he'll have the leadership as we discuss small and rural hospitals in California," Wheeler said. "He will also have a seat with the CHA Board of Trustees."

She said that she was confident that Ballard's tenure as chair would be a time of growth and opportunity for the Rural Health Care Center. "Bryan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to these issues," Wheeler said. "He has been chair elect for a couple of years so I know the transition will be smooth one."

Ballard said he hopes to work with other hospitals to bring more attention to the needs of rural facilities. "Providing health care in a rural, isolated setting presents a unique set of challenges," he said. "It's essential that lawmakers understand the needs and pressures of rural facilities."

The CEO said he expects that his role as chair will bring awareness of CIMC's needs and challenges to state legislators. "Catalina Island Medical Center is unique," he said. "Nowhere else in California does a hospital operate in a location like our's."