North Bay Business Journal

From Marin to Mendocino, current hospital projects represent at least $550 million worth of combined construction spending.

And it’s a number that will double if and when one of the largest projects — the $500 million rebuild of Marin General Hospital — gets off the ground.

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.

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.

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.

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. …

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.

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.

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 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. …

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

SONOMA — The entire 12-member board of the Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation abruptly resigned earlier this week, the result of an apparent dispute between hospital management and the foundation over how to best attract fundraisers for the hospital

SEBASTOPOL — In its first real budget outlook since aligning with Marin General, Palm Drive Hospital reported improved cash flows while significantly lowering its deficit, all positive develops, though challenges still remain.

SONOMA — Staffing company founder Gary Nelson and his wife, Marcia, are making a $3 million gift toward an extensive upgrade of Sonoma Valley Hospital, including a new emergency department and other improvements, it was announced today.

SONOMA — Sonoma Valley Hospital will break ground this week on a $39 million upgrade that will bring the hospital in line with state-mandated seismic standards while significantly improving the 83-bed facility’s emergency department along with other improvements, officials said

(Listed alphabetically by the name of company) Click here to view photo gallery. Charles Fymes Arcadia Health Care 101 Brookwood Ave. # 204, Santa Rosa, 95404, 707-541-3600; 4340 Redwood Hwy. #F-123, San Rafael, 94903; arcadiacare.com, 415-472-2273 Charles Fymes started Arcadia Health Care’s San Francisco group of offices in 1993 after 28 years in the field [...]

SEBASTOPOL — The Palm Drive Healthcare District named current Chief Financial Officer Rick Reid as interim chief executive, replacing Charles Guenther, who himself was serving on a three-month interim basis.

SONOMA — Voters in Sonoma Valley on Tuesday easily passed a measure that extends for five years a $195 parcel tax that generates $2.8 million annually for the area’s public hospital.

SONOMA — Sonoma Valley Hospital is seeking a five-year extension of a parcel tax that provides more than $2 million in annual revenue for the district hospital, which officials say is vital to maintaining core and emergency services in eastern Sonoma County

SEBASTOPOL — The Palm Drive Healthcare District on Monday night unanimously approved an affiliation agreement with Marin General Hospital, a move that district officials hope will help Palm Drive Hospital achieve long-term financial stability.

SEBASTOPOL — The Palm Drive Healthcare District last night chose to advance affiliation talks with Marin General Hospital over four other proposals, a move that came earlier than expected.