C. Duane Dauner

President
California Hospital Association

C. Duane Dauner was appointed president and chief executive officer of the California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (CAHHS) in November 1985. On January 1, 1996, CAHHS transformed into the California Healthcare Association (CHA) and Mr. Dauner was appointed president and chief executive officer of this new organization, as well. CHA is devoted to statewide representation and advocacy for California’s health care organizations and is one of the nation’s largest state health care associations, representing nearly 500 hospitals and health systems.

Mr. Dauner’s association with hospitals began in 1966 when he became director of research at the Kansas Health Facilities Information Service. In 1968, he became vice president of the Kansas Hospital Association where he served until his appointment as president and chief executive officer of the Missouri Hospital Association in 1975.

Mr. Dauner has been active in national hospital and health care issues, serving on numerous American Hospital Association (AHA) and American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) committees. He has served as a member of the AHA Board of Trustees and the Hospital Research and Educational Trust Board of Trustees (HRET), an affiliate of AHA. He has also authored numerous articles and is a nationally known leader on health issues. He is a fellow of ACHE and member of the ACHE Leadership Planning Advisory Committee. In 2002, Mr. Dauner received ACHE’s highest honor, the Gold Medal Award, which is bestowed on outstanding leaders who, through a career of service, have made significant contributions to the health care profession and field, and who best exemplify leadership at the organizational, local, state and national levels. In 2004, he received the Mathies Award for Vision and Excellence in Healthcare Leadership, which is given in recognition of courageous and creative leaders in health care administration and policy whose commitment and accomplishments are a model for others to emulate in changing the shape of health care.

Mr. Dauner has served on the boards of numerous professional, business and political organizations. He is a past chair of Californians Allied for Patient Protection (CAPP), a coalition of providers and health liability insurers organized to preserve the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA). He lectures for several university graduate programs in health care administration.

Mr. Dauner has authored numerous articles that have appeared in a variety of trade publications. In addition, he is the author of a book on health care reform titled, The Health Care Solution.

Mr. Dauner was born in Isabel, Kansas. He attended Pepperdine University in California and Wichita State University in Kansas, where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He taught mathematics and logic at Wichita State University and, following postgraduate study at the University of Nebraska, became an assistant professor at Washburn University of Topeka, Kansas.