North Bay Business Journal

Nearly every major health care provider in the region has recently opened a new clinic or outpatient center, and numerous others have said plans are under way for similar expansions, reflecting a concerted effort by providers to move outside of the hospital setting. …

Marin General Hospital recently opened the Baden Diabetes Center, an outpatient program that provides self-management skills, treatment and on-going guidance for patients with diabetes. …

NorthBay Healthcare is in the process of developing a new medical office building in Fairfield adjacent to its administrative center at 4500 Business Center Dr. …

St. Joseph Health recently completed the move if its Memorial Hospice program to 439 College Ave. in Santa Rosa, where it will occupy 12,000 square feet. …

Northern California Center for Well-Being will hold its third annual Workforce Wellness Symposium this month at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. …

SANTA ROSA — In its latest effort to expand outpatient services, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital today announced a partnership with eight local cardiologists to open a diagnostic cardiology clinic.

SANTA ROSA — After a national search, St. Joseph Health appointed David Ziolkowski as its new chief operating officer in Sonoma County, overseeing Santa Rosa Memorial and Petaluma Valley hospitals, along with a number of other outpatient and community health services.

Value-Based Purchasing is a Medicare program started in January that seeks to hold hospitals accountable for the care they provide.

Last year, Medicare rolled out penalties for hospitals that have too many returning patients within a month.

This chart shows the effect of the two programs combined.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and Advanced Surgery Institute, LLC, entered a joint venture on operations of a central Santa Rosa ambulatory surgery center, where 19 local surgeons from a wide range of medical specialties have performed outpatient procedures since its opening in 2010, it was announced today.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and Advanced Surgery Institute, LLC, have entered into a joint venture on operations of a central Santa Rosa ambulatory surgery center, giving Memorial further reach beyond hospital walls as health care providers seek to expand outpatient services.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital recently unveiled a new $3 million MRI scanning system that the trauma center says will significantly improve patient experience while making the jobs of physicians easier.

In the next 12 to 18 months, the North Bay will see significant hospital and health care construction, with at least half a dozen major projects entering key phases or reaching completion.

The political and legal challenges to federal health reform may finally be settled with the reelection of President Obama and the Supreme Court’s upholding of the Affordable Care Act, but, even with that seeming sense of finality, a host of challenges lay ahead for all levels of the industry.

Todd Salnas was appointed president of St. Joseph Health, Sonoma County in July 2012, overseeing operations for Santa Rosa Memorial and Petaluma Valley hospitals, as well as a variety of non-acute care services throughout the county. Mr. Salnas, 39, joined St. Joseph Health in 2009 and previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Sonoma County.

Healthgrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make informed decisions when selecting physicians or hospitals, recognized Healdsburg District Hospital and Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa in its American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013: Healthgrades Report to the Nation. …

Sonoma County residents and others who use local hospitals honored Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital as a 2012-2013 Consumer Choice Award winner for the Santa Rosa-area market, according to results of consumer surveys announced by National Research Corporation in the journal Modern Healthcare. …

Nearly 60 employees of the General Dynamics development and production center in Healdsburg were recognized for their excellence and leadership in technology-related fields as part of the 17th annual Women of Color in Technology awards program. …

SANTA ROSA — Nearly 660 staff nurses at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital went on strike Tuesday morning at Sonoma County’s biggest hospital as the St. Joseph Health-owned facility and the union representing the nurses, Staff Nurses’ Association, failed to reach agreement on a number of employment-related issues.

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 Solano Cancer Center in Vallejo announced it is installing a dynamic targeting image-guided radiotherapy with real-time position management from Varian Medical Systems. …

WomenCertified, a collective voice for the female consumer and a trusted referral source for top businesses and brands identified among women, is recognizing Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital as a region’s best hospital for patient experience based on female patient satisfaction. …

Hawk’s Tavern in Mill Valley has completed what they describe as a substantial realignment of their menu, moving from a small plate focus to a traditional starter/entrée format. …

SunLink Corporation’s complete line of roof and ground mount solar racking systems has been certified by ETL as conforming to the integrated grounding and bonding requirements of UL Subject 2703. …

Blue Star Gas has partnered with Wine Country Balloons to launch the largest hot air balloon in Sonoma County. …

TSYS announced the formation of a 60-40 joint venture with San Rafael-based Central Payment Co., LLC, which will continue to do business under its current name. …

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.

SANTA ROSA — The Ernest L. and Ruth W. Finley Foundation awarded Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital $2 million to support the expansion and renovation of its emergency department and regional trauma center, making the foundation the leading contributor to a campaign that has raised $4.2 million to date, the hospital announced today.

Western Health Advantage has filed for an expansion of its business into Marin and Sonoma counties, where it hopes to partner with the Marin-Sonoma IPA and much of the region’s hospitals in offering a new health plan for employers and individuals

The Marin Community Foundation will help oversee a philanthropic effort on multiple sclerosis research, according to Jansssen Research & Development, a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, which established the fund. …

Dr. Michael Caccavale, an interventional radiologist, has joined Redwood Regional Medical Group in Santa Rosa. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a BS in physiology and public health. …

Sutter Medical Foundation announced that board-certified urologist Dr. Kadee Thompson has joined the foundation in Vacaville. …

The Northern California Center for Well-Being said it will offer technical assistance for implementation of Sonoma County’s new smoking ordinance, which will prohibit smoking in multi-unit residences in unincorporated areas of the county. …

Both Marin General Hospital and Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital received “A” grades on the Hospital Safety Score from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. …

Marin General Hospital received certification from the Joint Commission for its stroke program and, for the second year in a row, was given the Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association. …

SANTA ROSA — Gary Greensweig, D.O., will leave his post as chief medical officer for Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and other St. Joseph Health facilities in Sonoma County after 33 years of practicing medicine and working toward establishing the health care organization locally as an integrated system that treats the region’s most vulnerable patients.

In an effort to gauge how the region’s major employers are dealing with continued economic uncertainty, the North Bay Business Journal reached out to major companies with a series of employment-related questions, in addition to identifying the top human resources professional at each organization.

The results, from tech to health care, to hospitality to manufacturing, show that many of the major players are faring better, some even thriving, but challenges nonetheless remain.