Newly elected board members Kristina Hong, RN, and Mateo Olivarez, RN, were sworn into office at Antelope Valley Medical Center (AVMC) on December 8, along with re-elected board member Abdallah Farrukh, MD.
Hong has been a nurse in the AVMC Emergency Department for nearly 10 years and has dedicated her career to direct patient care. She has represented patients as a legal nurse consultant and has served as a liaison between the emergency medical services system and the hospital. Hong is currently pursuing a master’s degree in nursing as a family nurse practitioner.
Olivarez has spent the past three decades working in the medical field caring for patients. He first earned certification as an emergency medical technician and later earned a radiology license. He worked as a monitor tech at Century City Hospital and found his passion in the acute care environment. He studied to become a licensed vocational nurse and then later a registered nurse. Olivarez has been a registered nurse for 10 years, working all of those years in the intensive care unit at Antelope Valley Medical Center.
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 AVMC 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.