Antelope Valley Healthcare District Board Members take Oath of Office

Antelope Valley Medical Center welcomes back two board members and introduces a new member to the team.

(Lancaster, CA, December 4, 2020) – Newly appointed Michael Rives joins the Antelope Valley Healthcare District Board, and joins re-elected board members Kristina Hong RN, FNP-C, MICN and Abdallah Farrukh, M.D. The members were sworn into office at Antelope Valley Medical Center’s Community Resource Center on December 4, 2020. They are joined by current board members, Phil Tuso, M.D., and Don Parazo, M.D.

Michael Rives is a long time Antelope Valley resident, and active community member. He spent 13 years as the Cancer Patient Administrator for the VA Hospital in West Los Angeles. Mr. Rives has a Bachelors and Masters degree in criminal justice. This will be Michael Rives first term as an elected board member for the AVHD.

Kristina Hong has been an Emergency Department Nurse for nearly 15 years. She has worked as a legal nurse consultant in the past, and as a liaison between the hospital and LA County EMS Agency. She continues to work as a nurse and as a Nurse Practitioner in the ER. Kristina also works as a nurse for the Downey Fire Department.

Dr. Farrukh is a board certified neurosurgeon. He was first elected to the AVMC board of directors in 2000. He served as chief of staff at Palmdale Regional Medical Center from 1983‑84 and as chief of surgery at Antelope Valley Medical Center in 1995. He was chief of staff at AVMC from 1996‑99. Consistently active in the medical community, Dr. Farrukh has presented numerous lectures on a variety of neurosurgery topics at conferences around the U.S.

“We’re pleased to have the elections behind us and have our newly established board of directors”, says Edward Mirzabegian, AVMC CEO, “The hospital has several projects going on, so we’re ready to get to work.”

About Antelope Valley Medical Center

Antelope Valley Medical Center, the only full-service, acute-care hospital in the Antelope Valley, has been delivering exceptional care to the community for 65 years. Located in the City of Lancaster, in northern Los Angeles County, AVMC offers the region’s only Level II trauma center, in addition to a pediatric unit, NICU, inpatient mental health care, labor and delivery, Accredited Chest Pain Center/STEMI Receiving Center, Advanced Primary Stroke Center and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center. More information is available at www.AVMC.org or by calling 661-949-5000. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @antelopevalleyhospital.

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