North Bay Business Journal

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.

As the Affordable Care Act looms large on the minds of health care providers, lawmakers and providers are increasingly calling for less stringent limitations on non-physicians in order to meet demand spurred by the forthcoming influx of new patients.

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.

SANTA ROSA — Summit State Bank (NASDAQ: SSBI) said it donated more than $101,000 to 100-plus North Bay nonprofits through its Nonprofit Partner Donation Program, more than double the amount donated in the prior year.

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.

Address: 3569 Round Barn Cir., Santa Rosa 5403; 707-303-3600; srheallthcenters.org Age: 55 Residence: Sebastopol Professional background: 15 years as a managed care executive in Santa Rosa, 5 years as a national health care consultant, 12 years at SRCHC. Prior to that, ran a preschool, planted trees after the Cazadero fire and made goat cheese and tofu. [...]

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.

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.

Woodruff-Sawyer & Company recently announced the launch of BizInsure, a website that aims to make shopping for commercial insurance easier. …

Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans is expected to increase by 11 percent in the next year, and premiums will remain steady, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. …

The National Committee for Quality Assurance ranked Kaiser Permanente Northern California as the eighth-best commercial plan in the country and the third-best Medicare plan in its most recent survey, Kaiser announced recently. …

Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed Assembly Bill 53, which requires the state’s top 200 insurance companies to report on their efforts to procure goods and services from businesses owned by minorities, women and disabled veterans. …

The California Legislature recently agreed to shift some 880,000 lower-income children from the Healthy Families program to Medi-Cal, which reimburses providers at a lower rate. That would reduce annual patient reimbursement to Santa Rosa Community Health Centers and West County Health Centers. …

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.

SANTA ROSA — The Family Medicine Residency Program at Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa announced its incoming class of 2015, selecting 12 medical school graduates out of 618 applicants — about half of the nation’s 1,200 plus applicants in family medicine.

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.

The Santa Rosa Community Health Centers has selected a new location for its Roseland Children’s Health Center, which is currently housed at an elementary school, that will accommodate the growing services by nearly quadrupling the size of the current site. …

Kaiser Permanente is joining a nationwide effort to combat what health officials say is a growing epidemic — obesity. …

Marin General Hospital’s Cancer Institute received the “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. Only 106 out of roughly 3,000 cancer centers in the U.S. have recieved the award, according to Marin General, and it has not been given to any other hospital in Marin, Sonoma, San Francisco or San Mateo counties. …

Marin General Hospital’s Cancer Institute received the “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. …

Kaiser Permanente’s Napa-Solano region recently awarded $800,000 in grants to local nonprofits in both counties, focusing on five key areas: access to prevention and primary care services; reducing obesity and overweight rates in adults and children; decreasing risky teen behaviors; prevention of community violence; and reducing health disparities. …

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.

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 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.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Community Health Centers is among a group of health organizations suing the state of California over planned reimbursement rates for certain services that are lower than what a group of federally qualified health centers say they are entitled to under federal rules.

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.