The head of human resources at Lake Forest-based Apria Healthcare Group Inc. was honored as HR Executive of the Year last week after a yearlong trial by fire at the home healthcare provider.
Howard Derman, who was honored by the Orange County affiliate of the National Human Resources As-sociation, worked on integrating a major acquisition, fended off union drives and then helped guide Apria through Oc-tober’s $1.7 billion acquisition by private equity firm Blackstone Group LP.
All the while, Derman had to help Apria absorb $115 million in lost federal reimbursements for its services last year by holding the line on the company’s healthcare costs.
Derman joined Apria in late 2007 as senior vice president of human resources, just as Apria was acquiring Denver-based Coram Inc., a provider of home infusion and specialty drug services, for $350 million.
The yearlong integration of Coram involved mixing two different cultures, said Larry Mastrovich, Apria’s president and chief operating officer, who spoke about Derman at the awards ceremony in Irvine.
He also praised Derman for upgrading and modernizing Apria’s human resources department.
Derman, who became executive vice president of human resources in November, also received the Outstanding Business Partner award.
Three other human resources executives also were honored.
Connie Colao, chief people officer at Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp., received the Outstanding Talent De-velopment award.
Taco Bell President Greg Creed praised Colao for making Taco Bell “one of the best places to work” and poked a little fun at his name.
He called him a “boy named Connie,” in a play on the Johnny Cash song “Boy Named Sue,” in which a dad gives his son a girl’s name so he’ll grow up tough.
It worked for Colao, Creed said.
Colao “walks the talk” for work-life balance, Creed said, coaching youth sports and leaving work some days with a bag of soccer balls slung over his shoulder.
Creed said Colao “pokes, prods and provokes Taco Bell” and the company is better for it.
Colao joined Taco Bell, part of Kentucky-based Yum Brands Inc., in 1994 and became chief people officer in 1998.
Michele DeWitt, vice president of human resources for Irvine’s HID Global Corp., received the Cultural Integration Excellence award.
The company, part of Sweden’s Assa Abloy AB, had “little structure” in its human resources department before DeWitt came on board in 2004, President Denis H & #233;bert said.
DeWitt put in place basic policies and procedures, including standardization of bonuses and job assessments and descriptions.
More recently, she has handled the “difficult process” of layoffs at the maker of building access cards, readers and other security products, H & #233;bert said.
William Murin, executive vice president of system services for Orange-based St. Joseph Health System, won the Values-Based Leadership Excellence Award.
Murin, who oversees human resources for the hospital operator and healthcare provider, “cares for the caregivers,” said Deborah Proctor, St. Joseph’s chief executive.
After spending his early career in banking, Murin “saw the light” and moved to healthcare, Proctor said.
He joined the hospital operator in 2006, after earlier serving at St. Joseph Hospital-Orange, one of its three hospitals in the county.
Like Apria’s Derman, Murin has worked through union campaigns at St. Joseph.
Because of the Catholic hospital operator’s religious values, he’s had to walk a fine line respecting the wishes of those who want to unionize and representing those who don’t, Proctor said.
He’s a strong advocate for St. Joseph’s employees, including the lowest paid, she said.
