1. Korea Daily Newspaper, April 11, 2015
“A Female Asian Executive’s Vision of Serving
the Asian Community”
Bonnie Panlasigui (Korean name Kim JinKyung,
age 35), Chief Administrative Officer of Alameda
Hospital, surprises many people with her fluent
Korean. Born from a Korean mother and a
Norwegian father, her appearance does not look
Korean. But her Korean speaking ability is very
good. She speaks about her work as CAO of
Alameda Hospital and her vision in serving the
Asian community.
How would you describe your work as a hospital
executive?
My role in the organization is to work closely with
our talented leaders to focus on making the hospital
the safest place for our patients to receive care, the
best environment for our employees to work and the be the most desirable place for our physicians to serve our
patients, all while being a good steward of our resources. Like a conductor in an orchestra, the role is to bring
the out the individual strengths of our various departments together to work together in serving the patient
seamlessly that is efficient and in a way that exceeds expectations in both quality and patient experience. The
history of Alameda Hospital is very rich, exceeding 100 years of serving this community. The hospital has 281
beds (100 acute care and 181 long term care beds) with 580 employees serving a very diverse group of patients.
What are the essential leadership skills needed as a hospital executive?
First of all, it requires strong listening skills and then follow-through to get results. The best ideas come from
our front line team who touch our patients every day. It is our duty as leaders to create an environment where
our employees feel comfortable bringing their suggestions to improve care and then acting on it. Holding
leaders accountable and making hard decisions that may not be popular is also a strong skill needed on a daily
basis. Most importantly, the best organizations are where people feel empowered as a result of a spirit of
kindness and openness and where the leaders of the organizations role model the types of behavior expected.
How did you learn to speak Korean?
I was born in the United States, but grew up in South Korea until the age of five. I came back to the United
States knowing no English, as Korean was my first language. Because of this, the language was engraved in my
memory. I truly believe that the human brain is able to retain a language when spoken prior to the age of five.
The skill is permanently in the brain and it simply takes practice. Growing up, my mother would always say

2. “tell me in Korean, not in English”, forcing me to continue practicing the language. When you are able to speak
a language, it opens the doors to getting a broader understanding of the culture. It opens doors and builds trust
for a deeper connection with a common foundation. Speaking Korean is not the only advantage to the culture; it
is the food of course too… I love to cook many spicy Korean dishes.
How would you describe your career path to get to this point?
In looking back at my career, my thanks goes to the many mentors who have led me and taken the time to give
me advice and told me things I needed to hear when making mistakes. I first embarked on the journey of being
a hospital administrator at the age of 19 as a sophomore at the University of Southern California. I was
originally pre-med and happened to meet a hospital Chief Operating Officer while interning in the lab. I bluntly
asked, “what does administration do?” and was welcomed with an invitation to rotate through all support,
ancillary and nursing departments of the hospital. From that moment, I was sold on the career path of learning
as much about the various departments as possible and spent every summer at a different type of hospital yearly
through graduate school.
Following my administrative residency, I was accepted into the COO Executive Development Program through
HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) and worked as an Associate Administrator for approximately five years
with increasing responsibilities in departmental oversight. I then worked as a Chief Operating Officer at Dupont
Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. During that time, we were able to be recognized as a 100 top hospital by
Thomson Reuters and received an “A” rating by the Leap Frog Group in quality and patient safety for two
consecutive years. We grew our volume in various outpatient surgery lines and ancillary services. Most recently,
I have served in the past seven months as the Chief Administrative Officer of Alameda Hospital in my
hometown of the Bay Area where I grew up.
How would you describe your daily activities?
Every day our leadership team has a safety huddle for 15 minutes which we use as a time to reflect on the
previous day and what anticipated issues there will be for the day to address. This is a great communication tool
and a way for us to start the day strong. I believe in the power of prayer and end each huddle with a prayer for
blessings on the hospital and the team serving our patients. As with any executive, there are several meetings
throughout the day where ideas are generated and where issues get resolved. One thing I try to live by are my
three priorities in this order – God, family and work. It is not easy at times, but to have the balance is so critical.
How did your mother impact your education?
In the Korean culture, hearing “study harder” is equivalent to hearing “I love you”. The importance of education
was stressed daily. My mother wanted me to have the best education possible, so I attended an International
Baccalaureate high school that was across town, requiring three bus transfers and a BART (train) ride totaling
over two hours each way from our home. We didn’t have much money growing up, so this was the best form of
transportation and this was the only school option as we could not afford private school. When I felt
discouraged, my mother would always say “you can make it, don’t give up, be strong”. I’m deeply grateful for
my mother’s encouragement and am proud to say that I attended two private universities with not a single dollar
required from my parents.

3. Why did you create Asian Health Care Leaders Association?
Approximately ten years ago, in 2005, a good friend of mine and colleague were talking about why there are
not many Asians in the healthcare administration field. There are many Asians in the medical field, but not so
much in administration/management. In doing some investigating, we found the number of Asians representing
management and senior executive levels to be very low. We decided to create the Asian Health Care Leaders
Association with the help of senior executives of Asian descent and national hospital organizations. Our mission
and goal is to help further the opportunities of those pursuing the executive level track and connect them with
mentors to help guide them along the way.
What is your future vision?
Alameda Hospital serves a community with a large percentage of Asian Americans. There are opportunities for
us to truly cater to their culture and be a reflection of their community. For example, Good Samaritan Hospital
in Los Angeles is next to Korea town. Their CEO has dedicated a floor that simulates a Korean hospital. They
even serve seaweed soup to their OB patients post delivery as is custom with the Korean culture. I look up to
hospitals like that. All too often, Asians postpone care for many reasons due to language barriers, anxiety of
being out of their comfort zone, or not feeling comfortable about the care they may receive. We also have a duty
to improve the health of our population through increased education. Asians, for example, tend to have
hypertension, diabetes and GI tract issues due to their diet that is high in sodium. Many hospitals can do the
same across the country for several different cultures.