North Bay Business Journal

Smaller employers increasingly explore partial self-funding

NORTH BAY — As employers continue to grapple with ever-increasing health care costs — with or without federal health care reform — those with fewer than 100 employees are increasingly looking for affordable options, with the idea of partial self-funding gaining traction in the past few years, insurance experts said.

TriVascular names new CEO as it prepares for growth

SANTA ROSA — The board of directors of TriVascular, Inc. appointed Christopher G. Chavez as chairman, CEO and president, effective immediately. Mr. Chavez takes over from TriVascular co-founder Michael V. Chobotov, Ph.D., who was appointed chief technology officer and will continue to serve on the company’s board.

Palm Drive to decide soon on electronic medical records

SEBASTOPOL — Palm Drive Hospital is expected to make a final decision within the next month on an electronic medical records system that could bring the 37-bed facility in line with its strategic partners while improving care.

Santa Rosa Community Health Centers joins suit against state on reimbursement rates

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Community Health Centers is among a group of health organizations suing the state of California over planned reimbursement rates for certain services that are lower than what a group of federally qualified health centers say they are entitled to under federal rules.

NUHW, Memorial agree on union contract

SANTA ROSA — updated 3:11 p.m. — The National Union of Healthcare Workers today said it reached a tentative agreement with Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital that allows for across-the-board wage increases and other benefits, which the union called “a huge victory” that ends nine years of union-organization efforts at Sonoma County’s biggest hospital.

St. Joseph Health faces class-action lawsuit over patient data exposure

SANTA ROSA — A class-action lawsuit has been filed against St. Joseph Health System, which operates Santa Rosa Memorial, Petaluma Valley and Queen of the Valley hospitals, for allowing private patient data to be searchable online for 31,800 patients across the system’s California hospitals, including about 10,000 patients locally.

Report: Employers more confident about hiring

NORTH BAY — Employers in Sonoma County are more confident about the prospect of hiring in the second quarter compared to last year, with 13 percent saying they expected to increase staffing levels, according to a quarterly survey by ManpowerGroup, an international staffing firm with a Santa Rosa location. And overall in the North Bay, employers are generally more confident about the economy than they have been, suggesting that a slow but steady economic recovery is wending its way through region, employment experts said.

Employers urged to stay the course on health care reform — for now

NORTH BAY — With the federal health overhaul hanging in the balance of what will most certainly be a politically charged U.S. Supreme Court decision, insurance brokers in the North Bay offered a familiar refrain to employers on what changes, if any, they should make to their health plans: wait and see and stay the course.

Healdsburg hospital sees high demand for wound care

HEALDSBURG – A new level of wound care is being provided by Healdsburg District Hospital, one that previously was unavailable anywhere in the North Bay and one that could help the hospital carve out a niche as it seeks to identify both health care needs and sustainable new business ventures.

Sonoma County health extends mental, drug services to Cloverdale center

Sonoma County’s Department of Health and Human Services has partnered with the Alexander Valley Health Center in Cloverdale to bring “essential mental health and substance abuse treatment services” to Northern Sonoma County through its Path2Health program, but its future is now somewhat clouded with the prospect of health care reform being struck down by the Supreme Court.

Spotlight: Leaders in home care

(Listed alphabetically by the name of company) Click here to view photo gallery. Charles Fymes Arcadia Health Care 101 Brookwood Ave. # 204, Santa Rosa, 95404, 707-541-3600; 4340 Redwood Hwy. #F-123, San Rafael, 94903; arcadiacare.com, 415-472-2273 Charles Fymes started Arcadia Health Care’s San Francisco group of offices in 1993 after 28 years in the field [...]

Business News: Week of April 2, 2012

Novato-based Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (OTCBB:HNNA) announced that the Hennessy Select SPARX Japan Smaller Companies Fund (symbol:SPJSX) has been named a 2012 Lipper Fund Award winner. … PowerCAD Drafting & Design opened in Rohnert Park. It is an experienced team of CADD (computer aided design and drafting) professionals that support AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) industries utilizing 2D and 3D AutoCAD and related software. … Hospice of Petaluma announced Clover Stornetta Farms as the new title sponsor for its 22nd annual benefit golf tournament. … Children in the North Bay can learn about clean and renewable energy thanks to a $100,000 grant from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) recently awarded to the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County. … Sonoma Valley’s Ledson Winery and Vineyards (www.ledson.com) recently took top honors at the 2012 San Diego International Wine Competition. … Dan and Marguerite Capp have signed a long-term lease for a wine tasting venue in the Curbside Café space on First Street in downtown Napa, across the street from the entrance to Napa Town Center shopping mall. … Customers strolling through Oliver’s Markets will soon have the opportunity to place yet another homegrown product in their shopping carts. … Assemblymember Jared Huffman presented his March Sustainable North Bay Award to Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary, in recognition of the company’s environmentally responsible business practices and consumer products.

Hospital upgrades drag on Sutter Health earnings

Sutter Health, the parent company of Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa, today said today its 2011 net income dropped to $634 million from $878 million the previous year across the 24-hospital system, a decline of nearly 28 percent.

St. Joseph Health System to hold symposium on workforce wellness

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital will host a symposium for employers next week as part of the iWORKwell Workforce Wellness effort, a public-private program focused on employee health throughout Sonoma County.

The symposium targets employers looking to reduce ever-increasing health care expenses and to support their workforce’s well-being by offering more wellness programs.

Marin chosen for Medicare hospital program

MARIN — A partnership between Marin County public health and two of the county’s hospitals is among 30 similar programs nationwide — and the first in all of California — that will be recognized as a “Community-based Care Transitions Program,” an initiative stemming from health care reform that aims to curb costly hospital readmission among Medicare patients.

Palm Drive names new interim CEO

SEBASTOPOL — The Palm Drive Healthcare District named current Chief Financial Officer Rick Reid as interim chief executive, replacing Charles Guenther, who himself was serving on a three-month interim basis.

Survey: 9 in 10 doctors won’t recommend profession

NAPA — A new survey found that nine out of 10 physicians across the country are unwilling to recommend the profession to others, while 43 percent said they are contemplating retirement as a result of “transformative changes” in the health care system — results that will likely exacerbate a well-documented nationwide physician shortage.

Sonoma Valley voters extend hospital tax

SONOMA — Voters in Sonoma Valley on Tuesday easily passed a measure that extends for five years a $195 parcel tax that generates $2.8 million annually for the area’s public hospital.

NorthBay Healthcare joins United network

NorthBay Healthcare has joined the network of Minnesota-based UnitedHealthCare, which will enable some 11,000 Solano County residents to be treated at NorthBay’s two hospitals and various clinics , the two companies announced.

Mark Wood: BioMarin leads promise of high-wage sector

NOVATO — Mark Wood is vice president of human resources of BioMarin Pharmaceutical, which has approximately 700 employees. He joined the pharmaceutical company in 2004 and oversees all HR functions as well as public relations and corporate communications. Before joining BioMarin, he was a sole proprietor of an HR consulting practice from 2002 to 2004 and previously worked as vice president of human resources and consulting for AG Consulting. He also previously was manager of compensation and quantitative analysis at Genentech and held numerous HR positions with Wells Fargo Bank.