North Bay Business Journal

CLOVERDALE — Alexander Valley Regional Medical Center recently filed for designation as a federally qualified health center, a move that, if approved, would allow Sonoma County’s only certified rural health clinic to receive significantly better reimbursement rates and more operating revenue.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Community Health Centers said it will soon close on the building for its forthcoming dental health center, which aims to alleviate one of Sonoma County’s more persistent public health disparities by increasing access.

The Petaluma Health Center recently received recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance for being a “Patient Centered Health Home” for the care provided to patients in Sonoma and Marin counties. …

Santa Rosa Community Health Centers was awarded The Joint Commission’s “Gold Seal of Approval” for accreditation. …

Petaluma-based WellFX announced that United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley, a federally qualified community health center serving a patient population of 50,000, will launch the startup’s online social platform for its patients and employees. …

Queen of the Valley Medical Center Foundation was awarded a $500,000 give from The V Foundation for Cancer Research to support the Napa hospital’s clinical laboratory and pathology services in the forthcoming Herman Family Pavilion, a 72,000 square-foot facility currently under construction. …

Fairfield-based NorthBay Healthcare is seeking designation as an Emergency Department Approved for Pediatrics for its NorthBay Medical Center, considered a best practice that will enhance the nonprofit health system’s trauma services. …

A date has been set for a do-over in labor elections between the National Union of Healthcare Workers and Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West at Kaiser Permanente facilities in Northern California, including more than 4,700 workers in the North Bay. …

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Community Health Centers today said it was awarded The Joint Commission’s “Gold Seal of Approval” for accreditation, a relatively rare achievement for federally qualified health centers.

With full implementation of the health care law on everyone’s mind, from providers to insurers to employers, federally qualified health centers have long been viewed as a critical piece of expanding access, many of them anticipating an influx of new patients and thus an increase in services.

But while the Affordable Care Act will add significant funding for the nonprofit health sector, such health centers are rapidly evolving on their own, in part to address changes in health care but also in response to increasing demand, according to North Bay health center executives.

SANTA ROSA — Sutter Health will expand its Advanced Illness Management initiative into Sonoma County, marking the fist major expansion of the program that focuses heavily on late-stage chronic illness and best treatment options for such conditions.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Community Health Centers recently opened its eighth location, Roseland Pediatrics, in the southwest area of the city, where the federally qualified health center said it now offers care for newborns, children and teens.

West County Health Centers has been selected as one of 30 primary care providers across the country that will be part of a best-practices project by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, aimed at identifying providers that maximize their workforce to improve health care delivery.

PETALUMA — WellFX, a startup that seeks to integrate a private social media platform with health care providers, announced that West County Health Centers has officially signed on to use the service for its patient population.

SANTA ROSA — Kaiser Permanente today said it will distribute a round of grants totaling $660,000 to 11 community clinics across Northern California to help them “increase their ability to connect patients to important community and public resources.”

A North Bay organization in the latest round of grants is Petaluma Health Center.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Community Health Centers and several other similar providers have recently expressed concern that the state may not be living up to terms of a settlement reached between health centers and the state over budget cuts that could eliminate services for low-income residents.

With the Supreme Court ruling Thursday to uphold major tenets of the Affordable Care Act, some clarity is finally emerging for employers and providers, but the political battle over health care reform will likely continue.

Local health care providers and insurance experts said there is now much-needed clarity, at least for now, as employers and municipalities across the state attempt to adapt to ever-evolving regulations. Several providers praised the ruling.

Do you agree with the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010? Share your thoughts.

A handful of health centers in and near the North Bay received grants totaling $11.8 million as part of a national program under the health care reform law, it was announced today.

SANTA ROSA — The Santa Rosa Community Health Centers recently closed its A Street Clinic, which served as a primary care and outreach center for the homeless, the medically underserved and underinsured, who will be transitioned to the recently opened Brookwood Health Center.

NAPA — Community Health Clinic Ole, Napa County’s largest federally qualified health center, will open a new location on Old Sonoma Road that will help the clinic accommodate patient growth at its main location, as an influx of patients are expected in lieu of the federal health care overhaul.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Community Health Centers received a federal grant of $850,000 that will enable it to establish a residency program for nurse practitioners, which could help the federally qualified health center address an anticipated shortage of primary care providers.

NAPA – In the wake of a sudden 20 percent surge of newly uninsured patients, Napa’s federally qualified health center will soon construct a 3,500-square-foot pediatric center.