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Barney Speight Returns to State Government

This time around he’s working as a special assistant to Bruce Goldberg
August 16, 2012

August 15, 2012 -- Barney Speight is back at state government again. After leaving earlier last year to join the ODS Companies, Speight has returned to the Oregon Health Authority – this time as a special assistant to Dr. Bruce Goldberg, director.

Speight’s new job is to help with the transformation process of introducing coordinated care organizations, and he also assisted with the federal waiver application. “He’s very knowledgeable,” said Tina Edlund, deputy director.

When Speight resigned from the Health Authority last year, he told The Lund Report that he planned to end his professional career at ODS after being named vice president of legislative affairs. It was his second stint at the insurance company. Earlier he spent a year there as managing director of medical professional relations.

In a career that’s spanned more than 30 years, Speight’s worked for nearly every sector in the healthcare system. He was executive director of the Oregon Health Fund Board, which led the way in passing HB 2009 that led to the emergence of coordinated care
organizations.

And, he’s held top management positions at Regence BlueCross BlueShield, the Oregon Medical Association, Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, Kaiser Permanente and the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. He also served as director of the Oregon Office of Health Policy and Research.

Speight could not be reached for comment by press time.

Meanwhile, Carole Romm is now a consultant with the Health Authority working on quality initiatives. “She’s helping us think about how we transform our internal quality system so we can not only respond to the requirements of the waiver but also work more
effectively with the CCOs,” Edlund said.

Earlier this year Romm retired as public affairs director at Central City Concern.

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