Riverside University Health System – Medical Center appoints new chief medical officer

Riverside University Health System (RUHS) – Medical Center is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Alexandra (Aleca) Clark as its new chief medical officer.

“I am honored to represent RUHS as incoming chief medical officer. RUHS consistently innovates and works hard to say ‘yes’ to our community’s need: this is who we are as an organization,” said Dr. Clark.

RUHS – Medical Center is a 439-bed teaching hospital with a verified Level 1 trauma center and Riverside County’s only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The hospital is the County’s safety net system, providing healthcare to uninsured residents and Medi-Cal recipients. Dr. Clark becomes top doctor at a time when RUHS – Medical Center, like other hospitals throughout nation, is managing a surge in respiratory-related cases.

“Dr. Clark is an exceptional leader who has a heart for community’s most vulnerable populations. We are proud and honored that she has accepted the position of chief medical officer at RUHS and look forward to her guidance and wisdom during these challenging times,” said Jennifer Cruikshank, RUHS – Medical Center’s CEO.

Clark joined RUHS in 2010 as chair of the pediatric department before taking a position as division chief of the department of pediatrics at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. She returned to RUHS this spring as RUHS’s associate chief medical officer. During the past few weeks, Dr. Clark has overseen the temporary expansion of RUHS – Medical Center’s PICU and pediatric beds and the creation of an intermediate PICU to accommodate the influx of pediatric patients hospitalized due to respiratory viruses.

During her previous years at RUHS, Dr. Clark supervised the hospital’s adoption of an Electronic Health Record system. This system has revolutionized care coordination for patients receiving healthcare from various components of the health system, including Public Health, Behavioral Health, the Medical Center and 13 Community Health Centers, all located throughout Riverside County.

Dr. Clark graduated from UC San Diego with a Bachelor of Science. She graduated with honors from Albany Medical College before returning to Southern California to complete her pediatric residency at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. Dr. Clark is currently a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Academic Pediatric Association.

Dr. Arnold Tabuenca, the hospital’s former chief medical officer, will remain at RUHS as associate chief medical officer.