After 16 years on the all-volunteer Community Health System Board of Trustees, including the past two years as chair, Fresno businessman Farid Assemi is stepping down from the board.

The board’s new chair is Roger Sturdivant of Clovis, who had been the chair-elect.

“Farid Assemi has been a bold leader at a time when our healthcare system has experienced enormous challenges and change — including navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and expanding into the fully integrated system of care that we are today,” said CHS President and CEO Craig Castro. “We deeply appreciate Farid’s leadership and tireless service to our organization.”

During Assemi’s time on the board, the region’s busiest healthcare system successfully navigated the financial challenges facing hospitals in California and across the nation. In addition, CHS expanded patient services and last year finished its $432 million Clovis Community Medical Center addition.

Those close to Assemi said that he felt it was time to pass the baton to the next generation of leaders.

Sturdivant joined the board of trustees in 2015. He is a retired Bank of the West executive vice president.

“Community Health System is fortunate to have a robust group of talented trustees who lend their knowledge from diverse industries to lead one of our region’s most vital assets,” Castro said.

CHS Operates Four Acute-Care Hospitals

CHS operates four acute-care hospitals of which Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno is the flagship and the region’s only Level 1 Trauma center. The other acute-care hospitals are Clovis Community, the Behavioral Health Center, and the Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital. In addition, it has a cancer institute and several long-term care and outpatient facilities.

Future plans for CRMC include an expanded pediatric outpatient clinic, renovation of a 200-bed skilled nursing facility, and building the Bob Smittcamp Family Neuroscience Institute.

With 1,273 inpatient beds, CHS accounts for about 60% of Fresno County’s inpatient hospital care. It also serves as the Valley’s “healthcare safety net,” caring for a large share of uninsured and
underinsured patients in a four-county region.

(Disclosure: Farid Assemi is the brother of GV Wire Publisher Darius Assemi.)