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.

NAPA — Sixty-four percent of registered nurses at Queen of the Valley Medical Center who voted on Tuesday whether to affiliate with the California Nurses Association, an affiliate of National Nurses United, chose to do so.

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.

Throughout the debate and the recent implementation of health care reform, health experts and politicians alike have touted the shift away from the fee-for-service model to more coordinated care, leading to better outcomes and lowered spending.

Beginning this year, however, the financial health of hospitals will likely depend on just how well care is coordinated, as a relatively little-known yet critically important piece of the Affordable Care Act is enacted: the “Hospital Value-based Purchasing Program,” overseen by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

SANTA ROSA — Annadel Medical Group, an affiliate of St. Joseph Health, plans to open an after-hours primary care clinic in Santa Rosa staffed by both physicians and nurse practitioners, a move aimed at expanding access to care.

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.

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. …

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.

NAPA — Queen of the Valley Medical Center Foundation today announced it received an $11 million gift from the Herman family, the largest gift in the hospital’s history.

With the most recent gift, the foundation has raised $21.8 million of the $30 million capital campaign goal.

NORTH BAY — The Business Journal has selected 17 companies for our second annual Healthiest Companies Recognition Awards to be honored at the North Bay Business Journal’s 2012 Health Care Conference.

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.

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.

SANTA ROSA — The Annadel Medical Group has added 20 physicians over the past 10 months, an accelerating pace that makes it one of the fastest growing medical groups in the region at a time when health systems across the country seek to attract more physicians.