Former Santa Cruz County supervisor Zach Friend told Lookout that deGhetaldi was one of a kind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are community members with Medicaid because of his work, providers <\/strong>still providing for Medicare patients because of his advocacy and elected officials that became laser focused on health care policy because of his influence,\u201d he said. \u201cHis impact can\u2019t be replicated \u2013 one of the few that will never wonder if they lived a life making a difference for those that came after him. All of this with unquestionably one of the most gentle and giving souls imaginable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Santa Cruz health care providers, politicians and family told Lookout that deGhetaldi was a health care champion for Santa Cruz and beyond, a loving friend and enjoyed working with his hands. A 1976 graduate of UC Santa Cruz , deGhetaldi also played a part in establishing the banana slug as the university\u2019s mascot.\u00a0<\/p>\n His wife, Lynne Hubenette, told Lookout after deGhetaldi\u2019s cancer diagnosis in September 2023 \u2013 which came just a few weeks before he retired \u2013 the couple set off on living his final days to the fullest. She said they \u201cpacked in a lot\u201d as they took a long trip to New Zealand with friends, traveled to Victoria, Canada, and visited his friends on the East Coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a huge, huge hole for me right now,\u201d she said about his loss. \u201cBut I\u2019m so happy that we had all the years we had together.\u201d<\/p>\n Months after that diagnosis, hundreds of local leaders, family, friends and colleagues celebrated deGhetaldi in a retirement ceremony at The Grove, formerly the Cocoanut Grove<\/a>, and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors proclaimed Sept. 23, 2023, \u201cDr. Larry deGhetaldi Day.\u201d The proclamation described deGhetaldi as a \u201cfierce and tireless advocate for health equity\u201d who had a \u201cdistinguished career of nearly 40 years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n DeGhetaldi was born Sept. 20, 1955, in Daly City. He was raised there by his parents, who both worked at San Francisco State University, before he moved to Santa Cruz to pursue his undergraduate degree at UCSC. Hubenette said that\u2019s when he \u201cfell in love\u201d with the Santa Cruz area and played a part in establishing the banana slug as the school\u2019s mascot.\u00a0<\/p>\n While at UCSC, he played on the club soccer team at a time when the school still didn\u2019t have a mascot. In 1974, according to Wikipedia<\/a>, deGhetaldi and two of his teammates selected the banana slug for the club soccer mascot. They were the second squad to pick up the name after a volleyball team member chose the mascot in 1970. The official selection<\/a> of the banana slug as a university-wide mascot didn\u2019t happen until 1986 and took years of student advocacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n UCSC Chancellor Cynthia Larive said that she was \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d to hear of deGhetaldi\u2019s passing, according to a LinkedIn post<\/a>. She said he \u201cembodied our core value of service to others.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n After leaving Santa Cruz for medical school, deGhetaldi returned in 1984 to work as an urgent care physician at the Santa Cruz Medical Clinic, which became part of Sutter Health in 1993. He later served for 21 years as chief executive of the health care system\u2019s Santa Cruz region, which included the Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n His legacy at the helm of the local Sutter operations isn\u2019t without criticism, as some physicians of his generation view deGhetaldi as leading Sutter Health in Santa Cruz when other facilities \u2013 Watsonville Community Hospital<\/a> and Dominican Hospital<\/a> \u2013 opposed its growth. After Sutter Health announced in 1992 that it would build a hospital in Santa Cruz, other health care leaders\u00a0opposed it and \u201cquestioned the need for another hospital,\u201d saying the facility\u2019s lack of an emergency room and intensive care unit was concerning for Sutter\u2019s patients, according to a 2003 Santa Cruz civil grand jury investigation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The investigation, which focused on how much the three local hospitals each provided care to patients who couldn\u2019t pay for their services, found that Sutter Health \u201cconsistently failed\u201d to provide that care at the level established in an agreement among the hospitals.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, many local providers and representatives from those hospitals today acknowledge deGhetaldi\u2019s contributions to health care access.\u00a0<\/p>\n When he wasn\u2019t leading the Santa Cruz region of Sutter Health, he was advocating for accurate Medicare payments to physicians and serving in roles like trustee and chair of the Medicare Reform Technical Advisory Committee of the California Medical Association. He was also a major supporter of the Watsonville Community Hospital bond measure campaign last year<\/a>, according to hospital board chair Tony Nu\u00f1ez.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a huge proponent and hugely supportive of that,\u201d Nu\u00f1ez said of deGhetaldi\u2019s support for the bond measure. \u201cI think he was a big reason Sutter gave the campaign $50,000 for Measure N.\u201d<\/p>\n Voters passed<\/a> the $116 million Measure N in March 2024, paving the way for the hospital board to purchase the land the hospital sits on, invest in new medical equipment and make upgrades to its infrastructure. The Pajaro Valley Health Care District purchased<\/a> the hospital out of bankruptcy in 2022 after its prior owners declared bankruptcy in December 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n Watsonville Community Hospital CEO Stephen Gray called deGhetaldi \u201ca health care legend\u201d who was known widely for his fight for better government reimbursement for physicians. He said deGhetaldi\u2019s work will affect the community for decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut locally among those who knew him, he was known for his heart and how much he fought for quality health care for all,\u201d he said. \u201cHe continually pushed for the addition of specialty providers in our community, and recruited and hired many of the wonderful physicians we rely on in our community today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Sutter Health and Dominican Hospital executives expressed similar sentiments about deGhetaldi.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stephanie Connor Kent, CEO of the Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center in Santa Cruz, said he was \u201cbrilliant, tenacious and kind.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHis advocacy across the region, state and nation improved funding for care in our area,\u201d she said. \u201cHis servant leadership style meant he supported many, many of us in our leadership journeys. Larry was a role model, a mentor and a friend, and we will miss him dearly.\u201d<\/p>\n Nanette Mickiewicz, president and CEO of Dominican Hospital, said deGhetaldi will be \u201cenormously missed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an honor and privilege to work with Dr. Larry deGhetaldi, who was a dynamic leader with a quick wit and great sense of humor,\u201d she said. \u201cThe Santa Cruz community is a better place to live thanks to his many health care efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n His wife, Hubenette, said deGhetaldi lived a rich life outside of his work. She said he had four children and was also a stepfather to her two daughters. They celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n He had cherished friends who he stayed in contact with, played piano, enjoyed working long hours in the garden of their Soquel home and was quick to lend a helping hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n She said one of deGhetaldi\u2019s favorite pastimes was visiting Kirkwood Lake south of Lake Tahoe, where his father and grandfather built a cabin.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was his happy place,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n There, his father and grandfather taught him carpentry and construction.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat his friends and family would know about him is that he was always there in an instant, anytime anybody needed anything,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether it was a medical question, whether it was a dump truck run, whether it was a fence that needed to be put up, whatever it was. He was a jack of all trades.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n FOR THE RECORD<\/strong>: This story was updated to clarify information about deGhetaldi\u2019s children.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_6725.jpeg\")
Lynne Hubenette and Larry deGhetaldi stand for a photo in Norway in 2019. Credit: Courtesy of Lynne Hubenette<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2025-07-02-Sutter-Health-4.jpg\")
The Larry deGhetaldi Care Center building of Sutter Health in Santa Cruz. Credit: Kevin Painchaud \/ Lookout Santa Cruz<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_2739.jpeg\")
Larry deGhetaldi at Kirkwood Lake in 2024. Credit: Courtesy of Lynne Hubenette<\/p>\n