Petaluma Valley Hospital operator finalists named
Four organizations will be considered to run Petaluma Valley Hospital, when the long-running arrangement with St. Joseph Health ends in 2017.
St. Joseph Health, Sutter Health, Prime Healthcare Services and Strategic Global Management responded to Petaluma Health Care District’s request for proposals and now will be invited to conduct due diligence and submit bids.
“Every decision we make here at PHCD and as a board stems from our steadfast commitment to advocate for and improve the health and well-being of Southern Sonoma County residents,” said CEO Ramona Faith in the Oct. 20 announcement. “We do not take our role as the community’s trusted health care leader and advocate lightly, which is why thoroughly vetting candidates for Petaluma Valley Hospital’s future operation has been and continues to be a critical priority. At this juncture, the board will not be accepting new proposals, as we are confident in the four potential operators with whom we have invited into the next phase. We look forward to continuing to engage the community in our evaluation and ultimate decision.”
The district owned and operated Petaluma’s community hospitals, including Petaluma Valley, from the organization’s inception in 1946 until 1997. That’s when the district entered into a 20-year lease with St. Joseph Health to operate the hospital.
In anticipation of the lease’s expiration, the district launched a due-diligence initiative in 2014 to identify viable options for continued operation of the hospital. In May, the district formally launched a proposal process, allowing potential future operators to submit information and present their offers.
St. Joseph Health is a nonprofit Catholic health care delivery system sponsored by the St. Joseph Health Ministry. St. Joseph Health operates 16 hospitals in several regions: Northern California, Southern California and West Texas/Eastern New Mexico.
Sutter Health is a nonprofit health care delivery system headquartered in Sacramento whose doctors, hospitals and other health care services operate in more than 100 Northern California cities and towns. The Sutter Health Network currently consists of 24 acute care hospitals.
Prime Healthcare Services is an Ontario, Calif.-based for-profit hospital management company that operates 38 acute care hospitals in 11 states.
Strategic Global Management Inc. also is a for-profit California corporation. Strategic and its affiliates own and/or operate seven hospitals in California, including two former district hospitals.
The four responders have 60 days to complete any remaining due diligence needed to further develop and fine tune their proposals to convert them to fully executable offers for the operation of the Petaluma hospital. After a period of review, public forums will be held.
