North Bay Business Journal

Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa and Kaiser Foundation hospitals in Santa Rosa and Vacaville were the three North Bay facilities on latest list of the nation’s top performers in “key quality measures” by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of U.S. health care organizations. …

Northern California Center for Well-Being on Sept. 14 held its annual “Celebration of Dreams,” honoring local health care professionals and individuals for improving overall health in the region: Amy’s Kitchen, Gary Pace of West County Health Centers, Zuli Baron of St. Joseph Health, Andrea Michelsen of Kaiser Permanente and Hannah Early, a student at Analy High School. …

Two Petaluma orthodontists recently purchased a 7,500 square-foot former Wells Fargo branch at 301 Washington St. and plan to remodel it for their private practice. …

North Bay Cancer Alliance, a Santa Rosa-based nonprofit, launched a new website, a new brand and renewed focus on expanded community programs. …

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. …

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. …

GREENBRAE — Marin General Hospital today said an independent arbitration judge declared Marin Healthcare District, which owns the hospital, the “prevailing party” in a long-running dispute with Sutter Health, which severed ties with the facility more than two years ago.

GREENBRAE — Both sides in a long-running feud between Marin General Hospital and Sutter Health are claiming victory in last week’s arbitration ruling awarding $21.5 million to the hospital district.

On June 12, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors recognized June as National Dairy Month. …

Napa’s AUL Corp., America’s largest national provider of used car service contracts, announced the launch of a new logo and corporate identity. …

Larkspur-based mFoundry, a mobile banking and payments provider, announced Eli Lilly Federal Credit Union launched ELFCUmobile, a full-featured mobile banking solution that includes native mobile applications, mobile Web and SMS/text banking. …

The Marin Home & Garden Expo, presented by the Marin Builders Association, was held the weekend of June 2 and 3 at the Civic Center Fairgrounds, and featured the presentation of the MBA Leadership in Sustainability Awards. …

Wells Fargo announced a $15,000 grant to help Alta Heights Magnet School in Napa replace 30 laptops that were stolen from a classroom over Memorial Day weekend. …

The Stroke Center at Sebastopol’s Palm Drive Hospital has received a Superior Performance award from the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program, a national independent hospital accrediting organization recognized by the federal government. …

Three outpatient clinical programs in Sutter Medical Network, which is Sutter Health’s physician network, recently were recognized for statewide best practices in the California Association of Physician Groups’ annual Standards of Excellence Survey of medical group features and capabilities. …

For the first time in its six-year history, two organizations tied for Nonprofit Organization of the Year in the Napa Community Awards. …

GREENBRAE — Marin General Hospital today said it was awarded $21.5 million from arbitration in the long-running dispute between the hospital and Sutter Health, which operated the facility until it ceded control nearly two years ago.

Legislation to help prevent the extinction of California’s native coho salmon was approved by the State Assembly on a bipartisan vote. … This June, Sonoma County is joining communities across the globe to raise awareness of elder abuse, and to encourage actions that empower older adults, educate the community and enhance intergenerational relationships. … Athleta opens a store in Palo Alto. .. Sutter Solano Medical Center announced the purchase of a new Hana Fracture Table.

Petaluma Valley Hospital, operated by St. Joseph Health, received a one-day strike notice from the California Nurses Association for June 13, part of a wider strike to be held that day primarily at Sutter Health–affiliated hospitals throughout the North Bay and state.

SANTA ROSA — In an effort to address a long anticipated shortage of primary care physicians in Sonoma County, Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Rosa Medical Center will launch a family medicine residency program aimed at both recruiting and retaining doctors to the region.

NOVATO — Grants totaling $2 million were distributed by the Marin Community Foundation to various health care agencies in Marin County as part of a$10 million, five-year grant established by Sutter Health.

SANTA ROSA — Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa today announced it selected Irvine-based Hammes Company to develop an on-campus, state-of-the-art medical office building as part of the new $284 million hospital just north of Santa Rosa.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital announced recently it would close two clinics in Lake County. … The Northern California Center for Well Being, which focuses on employee wellness throughout Sonoma County, recently entered into a contract with Fairfield-based Partnership Health Plan. … Dr. Bo Greaves of the Santa Rosa Community Health Centers was presented with the 2012 Family Physician of the Year award by the California Academy of Family Physicians. … The board of directors of TriVascular, Inc. appointed Christopher G. Chavez as chairman, CEO and president. … Palm Drive Hospital is expected to make a final decision within the next month on an electronic medical records system that could bring the 37-bed facility in line with its strategic partners while improving care. … The Petaluma Health Care District will host a community forum on health care reform on Thursday, May 3, from 6–8 p.m. … On Saturday, May 5, West County Health Centers will participate in the Sonoma County Human Race.

SANTA ROSA — Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, the physician arm of Sutter Health in the Bay Area, will undergo a significant expansion of services in Sonoma County, with much of it being consolidated into 19,000 square feet of newly leased space at the Landmark Executive Center on Airway Drive.

Sutter Health, the parent company of Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa, today said today its 2011 net income dropped to $634 million from $878 million the previous year across the 24-hospital system, a decline of nearly 28 percent.

GREENBRAE — Marin General Hospital has finalized the addition of a sixth medical practice to an expanding network of clinics it will now operate, a development seen as pivotal for the hospital as it looks for ways to attract and retain physicians amidst an increasingly consolidating, reform-driven health care landscape.

Construction continues to progress at the site of Sutter Health’s forthcoming $284 million new hospital, next to the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Northern Santa Rosa, that will replace its aging, seismically unfit Chanate facility. … Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa announced the appointment of Vincent Morgese as the hospital’s executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief medical officer. … Clinic Ole in Napa recently celebrated an open house for its newest location on Old Sonoma Road at the county Health and Human Services campus. … The Marin County Board of Supervisors approved a contract of more than $500,000 to Homeward Bound, which will provide housing and case management services for mentally ill homeless people in Marin. … Tim McDonald of Cloverdale was recently elected to the board of directors at Alexander Valley Healthcare, formerly known as Alexander Valley Regional Medical Center. Mr. McDonald previously worked as a senor executive in HR at Watson Pharmaceuticals, PriceWaterhouse, Paramount Pictures and MTV. …
St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, formally known as Red Bud Community Hospital, received a $25,000 donation from Rotary Club of Clearlake.

SANTA ROSA — Registered nurses and Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa have reached a tentative agreement for a new collective bargaining contract for some 350 RNs represented by the California Nurses Association, the union announced today.

GREENBRAE — The judge arbitrating a lawsuit to recover more than $120 million transferred out of Marin General Hospital into the Sutter Health system has dropped former Marin General Hospital Corp. board Chairman Robert Heller from the case.

Mike Purvis is the chief administrative officer for Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa, which will soon be relocated from the aging Chanate facility, the former county-run Community Hospital, to a brand new, $284 million medical campus next to the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts.

Mr. Purvis will be a panelist at the Business Journal’s health care conference on Nov. 30, where he will discuss the new hospital and how it will impact Sonoma County.