North Bay Business Journal

NOVATO — The Marin Community Foundation today said it will distribute to local health clinics $2 million in new grants from the Sutter Health Access to Care Fund.

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.

NOVATO — Registered nurses have reached a tentative contract settlement with Novato Community Hospital, A Sutter Health affiliate, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United announced today.

Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) of Petaluma said its microinverters are available in Switzerland, the seventh European country for sales and installations. …

The Sutter Health network of doctors, hospitals and other health care service providers announced its financial performance for 2012. …

Adventist Health, which has a number of North Bay locations, will transition responsibility for its revenue-management services to Cerner Corp. …

Smart Meetings magazine, a Sausalito-based resource for meeting professionals, received five nominations for the 2013 Maggie Awards. …

Systema Software, a Larkspur-based provider of claims administration software and services to the insurance industry, and Instec, a provider of policy administration services and technology to the commercial property and casualty insurance industry, formed a strategic alliance to offer an integrated insurance platform. …

Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards of Windsor has been named the top wine in two categories of the 24th annual restaurant poll in the April issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine. …

NOVATO — Novato Community Hospital today announced it is one of seven California providers to partner with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid on bundled payments, an initiative under the Affordable Care Act that seeks to lower health care costs while improving quality.

[Updated Wednesday, Jan. 16, 3:30 p.m.] GREENBRAE — Roughly a year after being dismissed from the long-running legal dispute between Marin General Hospital and Sutter Health, former hospital board chair Robert Heller was awarded $848,202 in legal fees and costs from the suit brought forth by the Marin Healthcare District, his attorneys said Tuesday.

Marin General, meanwhile, revealed Wednesday that it was awarded roughly $11 million in legal fees and costs as a result of being declared the prevailing party over Sutter Health.

SANTA ROSA — Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation today announced the formal opening of its North Bay Health Plaza in northwest Santa Rosa, where the physician foundation affiliated with Sutter Health will operate the Advanced Imaging Center along with a host of new services and physicians.

The planned opening is set for Jan. 22.

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. …

United Healthcare will roll out its Signature Value Alliance network geared toward smaller employers in all of Northern California in 2013, with Sutter Health serving as the foundation for the HMO product, the Minnesota-based health insurer said.

SANTA ROSA — Sutter Health will expand its Advanced Illness Management initiative into Sonoma County, marking the fist major expansion of the program that focuses heavily on late-stage chronic illness and best treatment options for such conditions.

SANTA ROSA — Social Advocates for Youth announced that Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa has offered the Warrack Hospital campus on Hoen Avenue as a donation, a development that would allow the nonprofit to increase its capacity nearly five-fold while adding a number of new services.

Mike Purvis is the chief administrative officer for Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa, an affiliate of Sutter Health. Mr. Purvis has been with Sutter in Santa Rosa for the past three years, helping to lead health systems’ efforts in rebuilding and relocating its current Chanate Road hospital to a $284 million facility on Mark West Springs Road just north of Santa Rosa.

As the health care sector moves toward wide-scale adoption of electronic medical records, the potential for personal-data breaches has significantly increased, creating a precarious legal environment for health plans and providers while class-action firms are carving out a lucrative niche in California.

Allen Wine Group LLP, a wine industry business advisory service and CPA firm, appointed Bill Atwood as general partner. …

Sunergy, Inc. appointed of Gary Houck of Napa to its board of directors and to the Sunergy management team. …

Carlton Jacobson has been appointed vice president of finance for the St. Helena Region for Adventist Health’s Northern California Network. …

Paul Selivanoff has been appointed vice president of finance, revenue management and physician services for the Northern California Network for Adventist Health. …

Tricia Williams has accepted a new position with the St. Helena Hospital Region for Adventist Healh, becoming the regional vice president of behavioral medicine and population health. …

Gastroenterologists Sumit Kohli, M.D., Paul W. Hornberger, M.D., R. Logan Faust, M.D., and Richard M. Auld, Jr., M.D., have joined Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, part of the Sutter Health network. …

Art Peck, the current president of Gap North America, has been appointed president of the new Innovation, Digital Strategy and New Brands Division. …

Christopher Huber has been named director of private client sales and marketing for Hanzell Vineyards. …

Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, part of the Sutter Health network, announced the addition of dermatologist, Helena Longin, M.D., to its roster of doctors in Santa Rosa. …

Brannan’s Grill in Napa appointed Thomas Hartwell as it’s new chef. …

Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty Tom Adams has joined Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty as senior counsel in the Land Use department in the firm’s Napa office. …

Michael J. Fish has joined Merrill, Arnone & Jones as a partner. …

The board of tustees of the Land Trust of Napa County appointed Douglas Parker as president and CEO, succeeding Joel Tranmer as the resident & CEO and John Hoffnagle, who served as the executive director of the Trust for 24 years. …

Tiburon resident Erik Zech has joined Pearl.com as chief financial officer, where he will lead the company’s finance, accounting, investor relations, treasury and corporate finance functions. …

CADE Estate Winery appointed Danielle Cyrot to the position of winemaker. …

SANTA ROSA — With construction well underway at Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa’s new $284 million hospital north of Santa Rosa, a second major health provider plans to lease space in a new medical office building next door.

Left Bank Brasserie in Larkspur will host “An Evening With CleanFish” dinner Oct. 4. …

Napa Tourism Improvement District has renewed its contract with AugustineIdeas, a media relations firm based in Roseville, for a second year. …

Grants totaling $2 million for six urban open space and recreation projects were recommended for the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District’s matching grant program. …

Sutter Health in Solano County awarded three local students $7,000 in scholarships from its Van R. Johnson Sutter Scholars program. …

Southern Trust Insurance Co. selected as its new claims management system the SIMS Claims by Systema Software, a Larkspur-based provider of claims administration software and services to the insurance industry. …

CrossCheck, Inc., a Petaluma-based provider of check guarantee and electronic check-processing services, today announces the opening of its newest sales office in the Phoenix area. …

SANTA ROSA — Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa announced that it has secured two anchor tenants for its forthcoming 80,000 square foot medical office building, which will be adjacent to the new $284 million hospital being constructed in northern Santa Rosa.

Sutter Health, which operates a number of North Bay hospitals and other care services, has filed plans with the state to launch its own health maintenance organization by 2014 and aims to offer a commercial health plan to employer groups.