Proven leadership
About us

Decades of experience guiding local medical groups.

Our leadership team has deep roots in the Inland Empire medical community, built over decades of working closely with physicians.

A rebirth

We’ve seen the stress and toll that poor management takes on practices: the rigid policies, the pressure to prioritize volume over patient relationships and clinical judgment, the operational breakdowns that erode trust. A remote bureaucracy that gets in the way of good medicine.

We founded LSMA to chart a different course. Here, partnership means flexibility and responsiveness, not control. And while financial stability and success are essential, we recognize that a thriving practice requires more than simply maximizing margins. We handle the administrative complexity with precision and transparency, so your practice can prosper on your terms.

Leading LSMA is an accomplished team of Inland Empire-based healthcare executives. We invite you to get in touch to talk more.

Leadership team

  • LMSA-bioheadshot_arteaga
    Dr. Albert Arteaga
    Founder
    Dr. Arteaga brings decades of clinical experience and operational expertise to his role advancing high-quality, accessible care to communities and clients. Dr. Arteaga founded LaSalle Medical Associates in 1984 and oversees all clinical and LaSalle IPA operations across Southern California and the Central Valley, serving a network of more than 360,000 members. His leadership has been instrumental in building LaSalle into a comprehensive, community-focused healthcare organization. That now includes Maren Medical Group, launched in Summer 2025 with clinics in Yucaipa and Beaumont, CA.
  • Duane Whittington
    Duane Whittington
    Chief Executive Officer
    Duane Whittington is a seasoned healthcare executive with more than two decades of leadership experience across medical groups, independent practice associations (IPAs), and health plans. Since 2023, he has directed the strategic leadership, operational oversight, and growth direction for LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc. and its multi-market healthcare enterprises. He previously spent 17 years with EPIC Management and Beaver Medical Group (since absorbed into Optum/United Healthcare Group, Inc.), where he advanced through senior leadership and was named Chief Executive Officer in 2021. During his tenure, he led organizations generating approximately $700 million in annual revenue and serving over 110,000 HMO members, while founding and scaling EPIC Health Plan from initial licensure through full operational maturity.
  • LMSA-bioheadshot_fraser-alt
    Brian Fraser
    Chief Financial Officer
    Brian Fraser has more than 30 years of experience as a financial executive leading the financial operations of complex, growing healthcare enterprises. Fraser joined LaSalle in January 2024 and oversees all aspects of financial operations for LaSalle’s independent practice association (IPA) and employed physician clinics including planning and reporting, budgeting and forecasting, strategic planning, and regulatory compliance. Previously, he spent 16 years as Chief Financial Officer of EPIC Management Services, where he led financial planning, reporting, and financing functions for its MSO and licensed health plan.
  • Lorenzo Obregon
    Chief Information and Administrative Officer
    As Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Information Officer at LaSalle Medical Associates, Lorenzo Obregon oversees information operations and the full IT ecosystem to support a statewide network serving more than 400,000 patients. Before joining LaSalle, Obregon served as the National Senior Vice President of Clinical Information Systems at Optum, part of UnitedHealth Group (Fortune 5) where he led a team responsible for all clinical and revenue cycle information systems across Optum’s shared services. He has helped drive major EHR consolidations, negotiated enterprise technology agreements generating hundreds of millions in value, and led complex transformations in value-based care environments.