North Bay Business Journal

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.

In its first month since getting state approval for expansion last fall, Sacramento-based HMO Western Health Advantage said it has enrolled some 750 persons into new employer health plans across Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties.

Now that Western Health Advantage formally announced its expansion into the North Bay, existing care providers said the arrival of a new health plan is an important step in providing choice for employers and consumers and will help those involved move toward a more integrated model of care.

It also caps off years of planning among the region’s hospitals and independent physicians, who collectively sought collaborations amid an increasingly competitive, consolidating health care landscape spurred by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Sutter Health, which operates a number of North Bay hospitals and other care services, has filed plans with the state to launch its own health maintenance organization by 2014 and aims to offer a commercial health plan to employer groups.

Western Health Advantage formally announced its plan to expand into the North Bay, adding Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties to its roster with hopes of offering a commercial health plan for employers and individuals by Jan. 1.

The Sacramento-based HMO in June only listed Sonoma and Marin counties for expansion, but it later included Napa County.

The annual Sonoma State University Economic Outlook Conference Feb. 23, which for nearly two decades has been one of the benchmark events in the North Bay, will include a unique combination of high-level presentations from one of the region’s leading economists, the founder of the area’s private natural foods producer and a top state budget official.

VACAVILLE — Napa Pacific Inc., known as commercial general contractors Hearn Construction and Nolan Construction, has merged with Sacramento-based Tricorp Construction to form Tricorp/Hearn.