Samitt to leave DaVita

Dr. Craig Samitt, CEO of HealthCare Partners, the Torrance, Calif.-based division of DaVita HealthCare Partners, will step down on Aug. 1. DaVita CEO Kent Thiry will assume responsibility for the division, the company said.

Officials did not say why Samitt was resigning. He started with HealthCare Partners in August 2013 as executive vice president before being named CEO this past March. Dialysis giant DaVita acquired HealthCare Partners in 2012.

The HealthCare Partners deal was a key part of DaVita's strategy to transform itself into a company capable of providing and coordinating a broader continuum of care. It has struggled, however, to produce encouraging financial results with the division.

“I will miss working with the talented physicians, staff and management that created and will sustain the HealthCare Partners legacy," Samitt said in a statement. “The company is well-positioned to continue to transform population health in the United States.”

Samitt also serves as a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, with his term ending in April 2015.

Before joining DaVita, Samitt was CEO of Madison, Wis.-based Dean Health Systems, which was acquired last year by Roman Catholic system SSM Health Care.

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