North Bay Business Journal

Hospitals across five North Bay counties generate at least $4.9 billion in annual spending and support more than 35,400 jobs, according to a report by the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California.

From Marin to Mendocino, current hospital projects represent at least $550 million worth of combined construction spending.

And it’s a number that will double if and when one of the largest projects — the $500 million rebuild of Marin General Hospital — gets off the ground.

Health plans and providers in the North Bay overall received high marks in a state survey from the state Office of the Patient Advocate.

Kaiser Permanente has earned accreditation for its Santa Rosa Medical Center Family Residency Program, which was developed to attract and retain more physicians to the region in lieu of national shortages.

Walt Mills, a family practice physician in Sonoma County for nearly three decades, was recently named the incoming president of the Sonoma County Medical Association.

Dr. Mills recently shared his thoughts on a number of topics with the Business Journal, from health care reform to the primary care physician shortage to the evolving local health care scene.

NORTH BAY — Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Santa Rosa and Vallejo are among 15 other Kaiser hospitals to receive an “A” grade on the Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits.

SANTA ROSA — In an effort to address a long anticipated shortage of primary care physicians in Sonoma County, Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Rosa Medical Center will launch a family medicine residency program aimed at both recruiting and retaining doctors to the region.

NORTH BAY — Union employees at Kaiser Permanente facilities throughout the state were joined by the California Nurses Association in staging a strike to protest proposed cuts in benefits.

SANTA ROSA — Kaiser Permanente said it has given grants totaling $400,000 to 30 local nonprofits as a means of improving the health of communities in Marin and Sonoma counties.

SANTA ROSA — Kaiser Permanente’s Breast Care Center in Santa Rosa has been granted a three-year full accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, a program overseen by the American College of Surgeons.

SONOMA COUNTY – Dr. Bob Schultz, physician-in-chief of Kaiser in Sonoma County for the past 15 years, has announced he will retire in April of next year.

SANTA ROSA — Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Santa Rosa’s new five-story expansion officially opened last Friday and will begin serving patients in nine days — on 10-10-10 — marking the completion of the seven-year, $233 million expansion that will accommodate an expected influx in patients.

SANTA ROSA — The ambitious expansion at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center cleared a construction milestone, as major structural work has been completed by both the contractor and the architect.