North Bay Business Journal

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. …

The California Health Benefits Exchange, now known as Covered California, selected Pedro Toledo to serve on its marketing, outreach and enrollment assistance advisory groups. …

Aaron Poole has accepted the position of Mendocino regional controller for Howard Memorial Hospital and Ukiah Valley Medical Center. …

The Petaluma Health Center added four new members to its board of directors: Pedro Toledo, Gloria Robinson, Joe Tambe and Georgina Warmoth. …

Stephanie Cunningham joined Sonoma-based Bolt Staffing, where she will take over responsibility for sourcing and placing candidates for clients looking to bring experienced new people into their organizations. …

Schweiger Vineyards in St. Helena announced the promotion of James Eyer to general manager. …

David Sandri has joined Compliance Connection in Santa Rosa as a compliance specialist. …

The McWilliams family, owners of Arista Winery in Healdsburg, appointed Matt Courtney as winemaker. …

PETALUMA — The Petaluma Health Center today said it received $500,000 in federal funds and plans to open two new health centers at Petaluma high schools next year.

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.

Three North Bay hospitals received “A” grades for patient safety from the Leapfrog Group, considered the industry standard for hospital surveys. Kaiser Permanente hospitals in San Rafael and Santa Rosa and St. Joseph Health-operated Petaluma Valley Hospital each received the ranking from the Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. …

Sound Physicians, a Tacoma-based hospitalist organization, announced an agreement to provide comprehensive hospitalist services at Sonoma Valley Hospital. …

Operation Access, a nonprofit whose mission is to mobilize a network of medical volunteers, hospitals and community health centers to provide access to surgeons for low-income and uninsured people, recently held its celebration of volunteers at Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma. …

Partnership Health Plan of California recently honored the Petaluma Health Center for achieving 100 percent of the nonprofit, managed Medi-Cal health plans’ goals. …

Sutter Health announced the appointment of Stephen Nolte as chief executive officer of Sutter’s recently announced health plan, which is currently in development in Sacramento. …

St. Helena Hospital recently raised $1.5 million at its annual foundation gala held at Silver Oak Cellars in Oakville. …

State Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, plans to introduce legislation that would expand the powers of nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other health care workers as a means to address a shortage of primary care physicians, a problem that experts have long warned will be exacerbated by health care reform. …

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.

NORTH BAY – The Business Journal has selected 14 nonprofit leaders from around the North Bay for its inaugural Nonprofit Leadership Awards recognizing individuals for their innovation, community engagement and growth. The awards will be presented as part of the the Oct. 24 Nonprofit Boot Camp presented by Pisenti & Brinker LLP and North Bay Business Journal.

Chief financial officer, Petaluma Health Center: “Understand your business’s operations. It is easy to become too involved in the financial intricacies but you must always remember you are in a support role. Yes, you need to provide realistic parameters to what can be undertaken but you need to say Yes more often than No and find a way to make it happen.”

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.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital announced recently it would close two clinics in Lake County. … The Northern California Center for Well Being, which focuses on employee wellness throughout Sonoma County, recently entered into a contract with Fairfield-based Partnership Health Plan. … Dr. Bo Greaves of the Santa Rosa Community Health Centers was presented with the 2012 Family Physician of the Year award by the California Academy of Family Physicians. … The board of directors of TriVascular, Inc. appointed Christopher G. Chavez as chairman, CEO and president. … 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. … The Petaluma Health Care District will host a community forum on health care reform on Thursday, May 3, from 6–8 p.m. … On Saturday, May 5, West County Health Centers will participate in the Sonoma County Human Race.

SANTA ROSA — The Santa Rosa Community Health Centers last week celebrated the opening of the Brookwood Health Center, its newest location that will provide primary care and mental health services for mostly homeless and uninsured and underinsured residents.

Welcome to the Business Journal’s sixth annual Top Projects competition recognizing 11 exceptional contributions to the North Bay’s built environment. Read about what makes each remarkable in 2011.

PETALUMA — When the Petaluma Health Center opened the doors to its brand new, 52,000-square-foot location this June, an immediate impact was felt by both staff and patients working in and getting treatment at the federally qualified health center.

As part of an investment of more than $5.1 million by Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Community Benefit, four local organizations received funding to increase access to chronic disease management, enhance health screenings, and improve prevention of heart disease and stroke.

SONOMA COUNTY — Two of Sonoma County’s federally qualified health centers celebrated grand openings this month. Another announced the award of federal funds to expand services, while a broader coalition of such centers held a conference highlighting the services they provide, even amid the threat of diminishing public funds.

PETALUMA – Southern Sonoma County’s largest health center, and the second biggest provider of primary care, will soon open the doors of its new, $15.5 million home that will significantly expand services and increase capacity for underserved and uninsured populations, officials said.

PETALUMA — The Petaluma Health Care District board at its most recent meeting declared the current site of the Petaluma Health Center at 1301 Southpoint Blvd. a surplus asset, the first formal step in selling the building or leasing the space.

PETALUMA – The Petaluma Health Center’s expansion into a 53,000-square-foot building will both double the size of the current location and will recycle nearly 90 percent of demolished materials during construction.

SANTA ROSA — The Vista Family Health Center, the newest member of the Santa Rosa Community Health Centers family of health centers, opened on Nov. 8 and started seeing patients two days later. … NAPA COUNTY — Community Health Clinic Ole is putting finishing touches on a trio of new clinics that will open in 2011 between January and March. … SEBASTOPOL — Starting with a relatively small suite with only 2,500 square feet of space at 6800 Palm Ave. in a local medical office complex, the Sebastopol Community Health Center has quadrupled in size as demand for its services has grown. … PETALUMA — The new Petaluma Health Center located at 1179 North McDowell Blvd. is scheduled to open in May with facilities to serve about 30,000 patients. … MARIN COUNTY — Responding to a tidal wave of unserved county residents who need medical and dental services in the wake of the down economy over the past two and a half years, Marin Community Health Centers has expanded its ability to serve patients by opening three new facilities in the past two years.

Three of Sonoma County’s newest tech companies — Raydiance, Enphase Energy and Métier — have widely diverse products: ultra-short pulse lasers, microinverters for the solar industry and project portfolio management software.

BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, the Buck Institute for Age Research and TriVascular are expanding research, products and staff.

Nearly every sector within health care in the North Bay is undergoing rapid expansion, reflecting a nationwide trend that shows little sign of a respite. This is just a sampling of the quickly growing health care companies and providers across the North Bay, from corporate giants to rural clinics.

La Tavola, ProSight, Central Payment add space, markets; Frank-Lin, Kiewit to move to the North Bay: From linen rentals to financial transaction processing to insurance underwriting to alcoholic beverage production to heavy construction, several companies in various industries have relocated or expanded in the North Bay this year.