North Bay Business Journal

The health crisis that is largely silent: Dental disease

an you imagine going through high school with dentures? Sabrina is a 16-year-old sophomore at a Santa Rosa high school. Sabrina is a good student, with a B+ average, but she has already missed several days of class this school year because of severe toothaches she began to experience over the summer. Sabrina’s family has no dental insurance, and she hadn’t had her teeth examined or cleaned professionally in more than two years.

Experts urge creating a culture of wellness

In order for wellness to be more than just a buzzword, employers need to take careful steps to adequately define what wellness means while promoting the concept as a partnership with employees that will engender an overall healthy environment. Employers should also expect to make a significant investment of both time and resources if they are to be successful. That was the prevailing message from a panel assembled for the North Bay Business Journal’s Health Care Conference, which discussed corporate wellness as a strategy in increasing employee productivity, reducing absenteeism and curbing ever-incresing health care costs, among other benefits.

Business News: Week of Nov. 28

Health Care Queen of the Valley Medical Center is celebrating the St. Joseph Health System Foundation’s 25th  anniversary by awarding awarding “On the Move” a $25,000 grant for its work in supporting the Napa community. The amount is part of a larger grant totaling $200,000 that is being distributed to wellness and preventive care programs [...]

Palm Drive weighing affiliation proposals from five suitors

SEBASTOPOL — The Palm Drive Healthcare District has received proposals from five health care organizations for possible affiliation, as the 37-bed hospital overseen by the district seeks a larger entity to assist in providing long-term financial stability.

Petaluma Valley gets commission award

PETALUMA — Petaluma Valley Hospital is among nine greater Bay Area hospitals and one of 405 national hospitals to be named a top performer on key clinical measures by The Joint Commission, the national accreditation organization of acute care hospitals and health care organizations.

St. Joseph Health System to hold forum on Affordable Care Act

SANTA ROSA — St. Joseph Health System–Sonoma County will hold a forum on the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and how it impacts consumers.

Q&A: Walt Mickens, Queen of the Valley: Hospital looks to future in midst of $130 million project

NAPA – Queen of the Valley Medical Center, the largest hospital in Napa County and the largest private employer, is facing a multitude of challenges – like all hospitals – as much of the health care industry undergoes significant change.

St. Joseph Health System grants $300,000 to nonprofits

SANTA ROSA — The foundation of St. Joseph Health System, which operates Santa Rosa Memorial and Petaluma Valley hospitals, has awarded five local nonprofits more than $300,000.

Palm Drive to ask for proposals from seven potential partners

SEBASTOPOL — Palm Drive Hospital’s board of directors is set to issue a “request for information” to a group of health care organizations the hospital said could be “potential strategic partners.”

Spotlight on Facilities Managers in the North Bay

Editor’s note: This is the Business Journal’s first Spotlight on Facilities Managers in the North Bay. According to the International Facility Management Association, professionals in this job usually are responsible for compliance with laws and regulations on real estate, efficient operations of buildings to limit waste in natural and human resources, safety for employees and environmental sustainability.

“People, place, process, technology,” is the association’s catchphrase for such a position. The following are facility managers identified from among the largest public and private North Bay employers.

Memorial resumes $15 million emergency department expansion

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital today announced it will resume the $15 million renovation of its emergency department in early 2012, a project that was postponed during the collapse of financial markets in 2008.

St. Joseph CEO in Sonoma County to oversee Northern California

SANTA ROSA — Kevin Klockenga, president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph Health System, has been appointed executive vice president for the Northern California Region as part of a restructuring of leadership for the health system that owns Santa Rosa Memorial and operates Petaluma Valley hospitals.

In his new role, Mr. Klockenga will oversee operations in Northern California, including Sonoma, Napa and Humboldt counties. It will be one of three regional divisions of the Orange-based health system, the other two being Southern California and West Texas/Eastern New Mexico.

Queen of the Valley names new CEO

NAPA — St. Joseph Health System announced today that Walt Mickens is the new president and chief executive officer of Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa. Mr. Mickens succeeds Dennis Sisto, who is retiring after a 13-year tenure at the 191-bed hospital and 24 years with St. Joseph Health System. He agreed to remain in his position until a successor was named.

Three-story addition to Queen of the Valley fully under way

NAPA — Queen of the Valley’s planned new acute care facility, a 72,000-square-foot, three-story addition that will help the hospital meet state seismic requirements, is under construction.

Hospital dedicates Peggy Herman Neuroscience Center

NAPA — St. Joseph Health System’s Queen of the Valley Medical Center has established the Peggy Herman Neuroscience Center, which officials said will significantly expand services while reducing the need to send patients with acute neurological conditions out of county for care.

Santa Rosa Memorial starts birthing center renovation

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital is undertaking a $444,000 renovation of its Family Birthing Center.

Large regional physician network planned

NORTH BAY — A leading Marin County doctors’ association is heading an effort to create a potentially powerful network of hundreds of North Bay physicians that, if successful, would significantly alter the region’s health care landscape.

Memorial names new director for acute rehab unit

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital announced today it has appointed Danny Arzanipour as the new medical director of the hospital’s Acute Rehabilitation Unit. In his new role, Dr. Arzanipour will be responsible primarily for evaluating and admitting patients to the acute care unit, overseeing the care and treatment of patients in the unit [...]

St. Joseph’s mobile dental clinic wins cash prize

SONOMA COUNTY — St. Joseph Health System — Sonoma County’s mobile dental clinic is among five winners to share in a $100,000 cash prize awarded to programs that offer accessible dental care to needy populations, it was announced today.

Memorial doctors perform angiogram from wrist

SANTA ROSA – Cardiologists at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital recently performed what they describe as a far less invasive procedure to examine the heart and arteries, making it the first hospital in Sonoma County to perform a procedure that could become the norm.