Julie J. Sprengel has been appointed president of CommonSpirit Health’s newly expanded Southern California division. In this role, Sprengel will continue to oversee Dignity Health hospitals in Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County and Clark County, Nevada. Joining the newly formed division will be the Dignity Health hospitals from Central Coast and Central California – a total of 21 facilities. This new division will be the largest in CommonSpirit Health, with $6B in revenue.

Sprengel began her career more than 20 years ago as an emergency room nurse and has spent the majority of her career working in faith-based, nonprofit health care systems. She honed her clinical and administrative expertise through a series of leadership positions with increasing responsibility, culminating in her position as a hospital chief executive officer. In 2016, Sprengel was recruited as the senior vice president of Operations for Dignity Health Southern California, and in 2019 was named president of the Southwest Division for CommonSpirit Health.

Sprengel’s focus is patient safety, quality of care and growth. In addition, she is committed to the future state of health care, including the migration to population health and wellness. This new model of care centers on coordinating community resources to serve patients in the most appropriate settings.

“Julie has shown exceptional leadership throughout her career at Dignity Health – especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as she oversees hospital operations in some of the hardest hit areas of the country,” said Marvin O’Quinn, president and chief operating officer of CommonSpirit Health, parent company of Dignity Health. “In this expanded role, Julie will be well-positioned to help broaden our continuum of care services, focus on integrating and coordinating our primary care models and improving access to care for patients in underserved communities.”

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sprengel played a pivotal role in opening the Los Angeles Surge Hospital (LASH), a first of its kind public-private partnership between the State of California, Los Angeles County, Dignity Health and Kaiser Permanente. In addition to working on the executive team to open the hospital, she also served as its CEO for the duration of its operations. The temporary facility provided complex ICU services to some of the most vulnerable patients affected by COVID-19.

“I’m looking forward to learning all I can about our diverse markets and working with our incredibly dedicated teams across Southern California to expand access to affordable, high-quality health care,” said Sprengel. “Now, more than ever, it’s essential to reassure our communities that we are here for them.”

Sprengel holds a nursing degree from the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California School of Nursing, a bachelor’s degree in management and a master’s degree in business administration from Pepperdine University.