Hospital Leadership

John Blythe has been serving on the Kern Valley Healthcare District (KVHD) Board of Directors since May 2017 and during this time has also served two years as Chairman of the Board and two years as Board Treasurer. John is a third generation of the Kern River Valley. His grandparents Bo and Margaret Williams started Paradise Cove Lodge in 1955 and is still owned by the family today. John graduated from Kern Valley High School in 2004 and received an AA in Liberal Arts and AS in Business Administration from Cerro Coso College. He later earned a BS in Entertainment Business from UCLA; and also earned certificates in Producing from Vancouver Film School and in International Trade from University of the Pacific. He has worked professionally in the motion picture industry as an independent film producer and is President of the production company, Film Regions International, Inc. John’s work on film productions has taken him throughout the United States and Canada as well as Europe and Asia and he is a member of the Producers Guild of America. John also serves as Regional Vice President on the National Exchange Club Board of Directors. Locally, John is a member of the Kern Valley Exchange Club and has served on the Kern River Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and was the last President of the Kern River Valley Revitalization Council. Currently, John is serving the 2025 year on the KVHD Board of Directors as Board Chairman and serves on the Building and Planning, Governance and Compliance Committees.

Ross Elliott joined the Kern Valley Healthcare District’s Board of Directors in May 2019, was elected in 2020, and re-elected in 2022, with his term ending in December 2026. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and a master’s in Homeland Security from the Naval Postgraduate School. With 32 years at the County of Kern, he served as a city planner, county administrator, and Director of the EMS Department before retiring to lead the California Ambulance Association.

Elliott has been a trustee for the Kernville Union School District and serves as treasurer for Kern Health Systems. He is involved with the Kern Valley Exchange Club and the Kern River Valley Community Fund. Married to Kristi for 33 years, they have 4 children and 7 grandchildren. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking, walking his dog, and playing ukulele.

Gene Parks has been a resident of the Kern River Valley since 1984, moving here from Colorado. He opened Parks Insurance to contribute to the community and has been involved in various local associations. In 1995, he was elected Mayor of Whiskey Flats, earning the nickname “Gentleman Gene.”

He has held leadership roles in the Lake Isabella Chamber of Commerce, the Kern Valley Visitors Council, the Kern Valley Exchange Club, and the Kern Valley Hospital Foundation, and served on the board of Alta One Federal Credit Union. In 2019, he joined the Kern Valley HealthCare District Board of Directors to help create positive changes for the community.