North Bay Business Journal

Sonoma-based staffing company Nelson recently opened of a new office in Southern California, the second location to open in that region within the past year. …

The 28 small- and mid-sized business for sale offerings that were sold in Sonoma County last month was a nearly three-fold increase over the same period last year, which saw 10 such transactions, according to BizBen Index. …

Prima Medical Group officially welcomed physicians from Palm Drive Medical Center to its expanding team. …

Santa Rosa-based TriVascular, Inc. recently announced U.S. Food & Drug Administration approval of its Ovation Prime abdominal stent graft system for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms. …

SEBASTOPOL — The Palm Drive Healthcare District unanimously approved the transition of medical clinic operations across from the 37-bed hospital to the Prima Medical Foundation, a move that could help bolster finances for the cash-strapped hospital.

SEBASTOPOL — The Palm Drive Healthcare District on Monday will decide if it should transfer operations of its medical clinic to the Prima Medical Foundation, a move that, if approved, could help the 37-bed hospital bolster its finances while perhaps recruiting new physicians and adding new services.

Sonoma State University Assistant Professor of Economics Merlin Hanauer was awarded the Cozzarelli Prize. …

James Minnis joined the Prima Medical Group after completing fellowship training in critical care at Stanford University. …

AvroKO Hospitality Group for its new Napa restaurant, The Thomas, appointed Jason Kupper chef de cuisine, Cory Colton pastry chef overseeing dessert and the daily bread program, and Napa Valley resident Bradley Wasserman sommelier. …

Santa Rosa-based Tonnellerie Radoux USA, Inc. hired Greg Sitton as the newest member of its sales team. …

Frank Howard Allen Realtors announced that Sonoma County real estate agent Daniel Casabonne ranks among the top 1 percent of all real estate agents nationwide for 2011 closed transaction volume. …

Rohnert Park-based Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster, host of the North Bay iHub, named J. Roy Martinez as interim executive director. …

Bank of Marin has announced several management promotions at its Petaluma offices. …

Smith Dollar PC announced that mortgage banking litigation attorney Rachel Dollar has been named by Super Lawyers as one of the top attorneys in Northern California in 2012. …

American Red Cross has announced changes in the regional leadership team. …

The Sonoma County Section on Aging has appointed the following leadership team officers. …

Windsor-based Sonoma County Vintners Co-op has elected the following officers to its board of directors. …

H.D.D. LLC, owners of VML and Truett Hurst wineries, as well as the Bradford Mountain, Sauvignon Republic and Stonegate brands, announced the appointment of Jim Bielenberg as the company’s CFO. …

Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation announced the addition of Gagik Oganesyan, M.D., Ph.D., a board-certified dermatologist. …

Dr. Anika Sanda recently joined the Novato-based Prima Medical Group, specializing in pediatrics. …

Reflections, a private residential drug and alcohol treatment facility in Novato, named William J. Hanna, Psy.D, as its new clinical director. …

The Marin-Sonoma IPA announced its name is now Meritage Medical Network, citing a need to identify itself beyond specific geographic areas as it charts future growth while signaling a first step to becoming an accountable care organization, or ACO. …

Mark Zielazinski has joined Marin General Hospital as chief information and technology integration officer and will again be reporting to CEO Lee Domanico, for whom he worked at El Camino Hospital before Mr. Domanico left in 2006. …

The Palm Drive Health Care District recently voted to approve Tom Harlan as Palm Drive Hospital’s new chief executive officer. …

Kaiser Permanente’s Medical Center in Vacaville broke ground last week on a helipad that the hospital said will eventually be the largest to serve Solano County. …

Bill Boerum, currently treasurer of the Sonoma Valley Health Care District and in his sixth year on the board of directors, will be serving another four years because only he and two others filed for the three seats that were up for election this year. …

With health care reform taking shape over the next few months– and with it transformational changes in the way care is delivered and how providers are paid – mid-sized independent physician groups and smaller practices are increasingly being confronted with a decision: merge, partner or have the practice acquired in an effort to survive the rapidly shifting landscape.

NOVATO — Responding to continuous growth over the last two years, the Marin-Sonoma IPA is moving into a larger space at Hamilton Landing in Novato, from about 12,000 square feet to more than 20,000 square feet.

The Palm Drive Healthcare District’s recent vote to begin exclusive negotiations for affiliating with Marin General Hospital has the potential to help the long-struggling Sebastopol hospital stabilize, while creating an expansive network of alliances between numerous district hospitals across the North Bay that might otherwise struggle for survival.

MARIN COUNTY — Prima Medical Group will provide trauma and elective surgeries for Marin General Hospital, marking the first time that all local physicians will deliver such services to the level III trauma center and its patients.

As the health care landscape across the North Bay — indeed, across much of the country — undergoes rapid transformation, many organizations are already growing in anticipation of the changes that lay ahead. … The Marin-Sonoma IPA changed its name as a reflection of its growth further into Sonoma County — when earlier this spring it grew from some 300 physicians to nearly 500 in a matter of months. … Another fast-growing side of health care is the vast world of biotech. And North Bay companies are no exception from this growing trend: Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, BioMarin Pharmaceutical. … The Doctors Company, a Napa-based physician and medical liability insurer, increased its nationwide membership by 27 percent this year when it acquired FPIC Insurance Group, a major publicly-traded medical insurance group based in Florida.

SONOMA — The Sonoma Valley Healthcare District Board of Directors voted to join the Prima Medical Foundation, a nonprofit that provides management services to physicians. The foundation was formed earlier this year by Marin General Hospital, Marin IPA and Prima Medical Group to help attract physicians and maintain hospital competitiveness.

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.

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. Hospitals are expanding or being rebuilt entirely. Outpatient facilities continue to crop up as a broader patient base is sought by some providers. Physicians groups are racing to recruit more doctors to their ranks to ensure purchasing power while maintaining a competitive advantage. And federally qualified health centers, with a significant increase in federal funding and a clearer role in light of health care reform, are consistently doubling in size in an effort to treat an influx of patients. The following is just a sampling of the quickly growing health care companies and providers across the North Bay, from corporate giants to rural clinics.

GREENBRAE — The Marin Healthcare District has leased more than 14,000 square feet of office in its existing complex just down the road from Marin General Hospital.

MARIN, SONOMA COUNTIES – As the provider of medical services to the largest population of insured patients in the North Bay outside of Kaiser Permanente, it is not surprising the 300-physician Marin IPA fills a uniquely powerful position in the North Bay health care business.

San Rafael Assemblyman Jared Huffman is keeping up pressure on Marin County’s Sutter hospital board, demanding a full explanation of why more than $120 million was transferred out of the county.

MARIN COUNTY – The number of physicians connected with Marin General Hospital is expected to significantly decline in the next few years as many near retirement, in some cases all in one specialty area, and the health care district is accelerating a region-wide effort to address recruitment, including the possibility of developing a joint outpatient or medical center.