12 North Bay health care leaders reveal how they are tackling staffing, other challenges

North Bay Business Journal asked 12 leaders of health care facilities and organizations serving the six-county region about new services and how they are finding and retaining talent.

Has your organization added or ended any health care services in the last year? Please explain.

Darryl B. Curry, MBA

Interim senior vice president, Napa–Solano area manager

Kaiser Permanente, 3285 Claremont Way, Napa 94558, 707-258-2500; 1550 Gateway Blvd, Fairfield 94533, 707-427-4000; thrive.kaiserpermanente.org

Darryl Curry joined Kaiser Permanente in 2007, serving in leadership roles in quality management and support services, and most recently as the chief operating officer in the Central Valley Area. He’s previously held positions at Shriners Hospitals for Children, UC Davis Medical Center, Fair Oaks Psychiatric Hospital, and Air Force hospitals.

He is a veteran of the Air Force, and has an MBA degree with an emphasis in Health Services Management from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

Darryl B. Curry: We have not removed any services. In fact, we have added or plan to add. We just opened a Level two Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Vacaville, which is a great asset for our community, allowing more babies to get the care they need closer to home.

In Vallejo, we will be adding patient beds in a new space at our Kaiser Foundation Rehabilitation Center in March.

Lisa Gammon, M.S.N., R.N., CPHQ

Chief administrative officer, chief nurse executive

Sutter Health’s Novato Community Hospital, 180 Rowland Way, Novato, 94945; 415-209-1300; sutterhealth.org

Lisa Gammon has been with Sutter Health and the hospital for more than 20 years in positions ranging from patient care manager to quality & patient safety director to director of nursing. She was recently named hospital chief administrative officer and chief nurse executive in 2022. She holds a master’s degree in nursing, leadership and management from Sonoma State University and a BSN from California State University, Chico.

Lisa Gammon: Novato Community Hospital has expanded many services for patients. One example is our gynecologic surgery program. This past year we added a new surgeon, Dr. Katherine Hsiao, who performs a minimally invasive fibroid surgery called Acessa.

We are the first hospital in Marin County to offer this state-of-the-art gynecologic procedure for women. Additionally, we have made investments in upgrading our surgical equipment and other medical technology.

Alicia Hardy

CEO

OLE Health, 1141 Pear Tree Lane, Napa 94558; 707-254-1770; olehealth.org

Alicia Hardy joined OLE Health in 2009 and was appointed CEO in January 2018. and has two decades of experience in the fields of education, mental health, and health care administration. Hardy cofounded and taught at a charter school in the South Bronx with the goal of reducing academic disparities in the community.

She is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and holds a master's degree in management and planning from the School of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley.

Alicia Hardy: Yes, in December 2022, OLE Health added mobile health to our array of services. We purchased and outfitted a Sprinter Van to create a mobile health center where individuals can get exams, connect with a provider, have labs ordered or medications reviewed.

The program is being launched with agricultural workers who live in farmworker housing, but we plan to expand the program to other areas and populations in 2023.

Steven Herber, M.D., FACS

President

St. Helena Hospital, 10 Woodland Road, St. Helena 94574; 707-967-7518; AdventistHealthStHelena.org

Dr. Steven Herber accepted an executive role at St. Helena Hospital in 2011 and became its president in 2014. received his medical degree and surgical residency training at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, where he later returned to teach in the Department of Surgery.

In 1998, he founded the St. Helena Institute for Plastic Surgery and has practiced in the upper valley for 24 years.

Steven Herber: Over the past year, we’ve added a Lung Nodule Program with direction and support from Kiran Ubhayakar, M.D. We continue to use our daVinci Robotic services and have extended the use of this technology.

Kelley Jaeger-Jackson, M.S.N., R.N., NE-BC

Chief administrative officer

Sutter Solano Medical Center, 300 Hospital Drive, Vallejo 94589; 707-554-4444; sutterhealth.org

Kelley Jaeger-Jackson has been with Sutter Health for a total of 34 years, starting as a bedside nurse at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento. She became the chief nurse executive at Sutter Solano Medical Center in 2017, and in the fall 2021, assumed the role of the hospital’s chief administrative officer.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from San Francisco State University, as well as a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix.

Kelley Jaeger-Jackson: Since 2019, we have expanded primary care services in Vallejo with the addition of four physicians and three advanced practice clinicians, like nurse practitioners or physician assistants. Additionally, we expanded hours to the outpatient Cancer Center services, which included adding a full-time radiation oncologist.

David G. Klein, M.D., MBA

CEO

MarinHealth, 250 Bon Air Road, Greenbrae 94904; 415-925-7000; mymarinhealth.org

David Klein was as a general surgeon for 14 years. He served as president and CEO of Dignity Health’s Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center and before that, as president of the Baylor Scott & White Health All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Klein graduated from the University of Southern California, earned his medical degree from the University of New Mexico, and holds a master’s degree from the University of California, Irvine.

David G. Klein: MarinHealth has launched a new Women’s Heart Health Program, the first of its kind in Northern California. The program focuses on preventive strategies, screening, and innovative treatment protocols, including multidisciplinary care coordination, education, nutrition coaching, and cardiac rehabilitation — all geared toward the specific needs of women who are at risk of heart disease.

In addition to the Women’s Heart Health Program, we also added a new dermatology practice, podiatric sports medicine practice, and we expanded our orthopedics operations with 21 additional exam rooms.

Naveen Kumar, M.D.

Physician in chief

Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center, 99 Montecillo Road, San Rafael 94903; 415-444-2000; kaiserpermanente.org

Dr. Naveen Kumar began his practice at the San Rafael Medical Center in 2007 as an interventional radiologist and has served in multiple leadership roles including chief of interventional radiology (IR) and regional chair of IR.

Kumar received his medical degree from the UC San Francisco (UCSF) and, after a residency, returned to UCSF where he completed his residency in radiology and a fellowship in IR. He is a graduate from the Stanford Business School’s Innovative Health Care Leader Program.

Dr. Naveen Kumar: We’ve hired a urologist who has fellowship training in men’s sexual health. He sees patients for erectile dysfunction, infertility, and vasectomy reversals.

We have also been offering oral immunotherapy for peanut allergies in our Allergy Department. Peanut allergies can be devastating and life threatening so this is a way to reduce the severity.

Kelvin Lam, M.D., MBA

Chief medical officer

Canopy Health, 2100 Powell St., Suite 600, Emeryville 94608; 415-541-8165; canopyhealth.com

Dr. Kelvin Lam previously served as chief medical officer at Sutter Health Bay Area where he oversaw the quality and safety departments of 10 hospitals and three foundations with 2,500-plus physicians. He received his medical degree from UCLA and he is a certified physician executive.

Dr. Kelvin Lam: We had a large expansion at Canopy Health in 2022. We added new hospitals such as Seton Medical Center and Seton Medical Center Coastside, St. Rose Hospital, and Providence Hospitals in Sonoma and Napa counties.

The addition of these hospitals, coupled with Providence Medical Group joining our network, allowed us to further expand our footprint in the North Bay.

Dan Peterson, MHSA, FACHE

Chief executive officer

Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, 30 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa 95403; 707-576-4000; sutterhealth.org

Prior to assuming his current role in 2020, Dan Peterson previously served as chief administrative officer of Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport. He’s also served as CEO and administrator at the Surgery Center of Santa Rosa and in various roles at UCLA Health and the VA Greater Los Angeles Health System. Peterson holds a master's degree in health services administration from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Dan Peterson: In 2022, we opened our long-awaited three-story expansion tower, allowing us to increase in-patient beds by 50%, triple our bed space in the emergency department and add more procedure rooms overall.

Rachel Reader

Chief administrative officer

Providence Petaluma Valley, 400 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma 94954; 707-778-1111

Providence Healdsburg, 1375 University Ave., Healdsburg 95448; 707-431-6500; providence.org

Rachel Reader earned her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Cornell University with additional studies in applied economics and education and her master’s degree in health administration from the University of Washington.

Rachel Reader: In 2022 Healdsburg Hospital discontinued occupational health services following the retirement and relocation of the service provider.

Like many communities throughout the U.S., Healdsburg and Petaluma are served by a number of physicians nearing the end of their careers and leaving their practice at a faster rate than new physician is entering the market.

In light of these workforce dynamics, we are working diligently to design, test and implement new models of care that will enable continued access to high-quality care.

Tarek Salaway

Senior vice president, Sonoma–Marin area manager

Kaiser Permanente, 401 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa 95403; 707-393-4000; thrive.kaiserpermanente.org

Tarek Salaway’s career includes being CEO for Providence St. Joseph Health Mission Hospitals; COO for USC’s Keck Medical Center and Norris Cancer Hospital; and executive director of Cardiovascular and Neurosciences for Stanford Health Care. Salaway joined Kaiser Permanente in 2019 as a senior vice president and area manager.

He holds master’s degrees of health care administration (MHA), of public health (MPH) with an emphasis in epidemiology and health services, and of arts in international relations (MA), all from the University of Washington. He also has bachelor’s degrees in political science and French literature from the UC San Diego.

Tarek Salaway: In 2022, we opened a new Urgent Care Clinic at our Santa Rosa Medical Center,. Other recent examples of this ongoing commitment include the mid-2021 opening of San Rafael Park, selected as a Top Project by the North Bay Business Journal, and our Mercury Way Medical Offices in 2018, which achieved LEED Zero Energy certification in 2021, one of the first buildings in the country to earn this recognition and an example of our shared mission of sustainability.

Michael J. Shulman, M.D.

Physician-in-chief

Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center, 401 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa 95403; 707-393-4000; thrive.kaiserpermanente.org

Dr. Michael Shulman joined The Permanente Medical Group in 2006 and served as Santa Rosa's Chief of Urology for over seven years before being appointed to his current post in 2017.

Dr. Michael J. Shulman: In early 2022 we opened our Urgent Care clinic. Urgent Care has been popular, with the number of visits increasing from 700 per month when we first opened to over 2,200 by the end of the year. ,.

In January we launched a new program called “Elevate” within the Department of Family Medicine to care for members with mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety.

We’ve also launched KP ACCESS. Spearheaded by our Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency, KP ACCESS provides medically uninsured Sonoma County residents with free evaluations and consultations from Kaiser Permanente medical specialists.

Considering the health care industry is increasingly challenged with finding and retaining enough heath care workers, what are the circumstances at your organization?

Curry: My colleague, our Napa–Solano physician-in-chief Dr. Chris Walker, and I both believe we offer a world class mission here of preventative health and helping people thrive in their lives. And we believe that is the reason many people actually go into health care. We want Kaiser Permanente to be known as the best place to work and it has been nationally recognized in a number of different ways for that.

We have been hiring and are working to reinforce the employment pipeline and help more people get into health care jobs. Kaiser Permanente Allied School of Health Sciences is training the next generation of mental health therapists through its Master of Science in Counseling program. We also collaborate with community partners like Touro University and other workforce training programs. Lisa Gammon

Sutter Health has been working hard on an overall staffing strategy to attract more health care workers, and we are replicating this strategy locally. We have an exciting year ahead expanding more gynecologic surgeries as well as our orthopedic care services to include spine surgery.

Hardy: We face the same challenges in recruiting and retaining talent as any health care provider. Our challenges are compounded by the fact that we are in an area with a high cost of living, and as a federally-qualified health center, we cannot compete with the pay rates offered by some of our competitors.

Thankfully, our mission is a huge selling point in recruitment and retention. Our providers choose to work here, because they want to help our community’s most vulnerable.

Herber: Resources across the country within the health care industry continue to be “tight.”This leads to higher labor costs for all organizations. As a result, we’ve consolidated services and cross-trained staff, seeking ways to maximize resources and abilities.

This restructuring of teams reflects the “new” organization we see evolving from the COVID years — responding to the leaner margins and the lessened resources.

Jaeger-Jackson: The bottom line is as an organization, our employees are our greatest asset – and our immediate focus is on creating a health care ecosystem that attracts and retains fantastic talent. We have much to be proud of at Sutter Solano, but this work will continue into the future.

Klein: Workforce shortages are very challenging for MarinHealth. This includes filling key positions such as primary care physicians, nurses, medical assistants, and technicians. It is not just a local issue but a nationwide problem.

The shortages are related to the fallout from the pandemic, people leaving positions due to retirement, the demands of the job, and the burnout of health care workers. That being said, we are increasing our recruiting efforts and implementing more robust recruiting incentives in order to fill positions.

Kumar: Across the country we’re experiencing a demographic shift where we have an aging population that needs a lot more care. The percentage of older adults is rising, and by 2030 more than one in five people will be age 65 and older.

We need a steady pipeline of primary care physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals to care for that population. In addition to physicians, we need to leverage our care teams and utilize nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, nurses, medical assistants in a team-based model, all working interdependently to provide comprehensive care.

Lam: Canopy Health is a local health care network. So we don't have the same issues that front line workers face. We support our partners who are providing front line care and offer help with the transitions of care for members so they are less abrasion for their staff when serving our population.

Peterson: As stated, we have made  a lot of progress this past year, and our net positive staffing numbers are very encouraging. Having said that, we also had an uphill climb given that our challenge was to not only stay net positive, but increase staffing significantly for our expansion tower.

At this point we are fully staffed, but have a lot more work ahead of us to convert the remainder of our increased travel workforce to permanent hires.

Reader: Healdsburg Hospital and Petaluma Valley Hospital are likewise challenged with finding and retaining enough health care workers. Our turnover, vacancy, and time-to-fill job metrics are twice as high as what they were pre-pandemic, with some postings receiving zero qualified applicants for eight months or longer.

As an organization we’ve had to adjust our recruitment strategies, including hiring the largest volume of resident nurses and partnering with universities and allied health schools to develop talent pipelines.

We’re also working hard to support connection and community, professional development pathways, and robust benefits programs so that those caregivers who currently serve at our hospitals feel inspired to continue their careers with us.

Salaway: We understand the value and need for mental health support and so we are doing our part to meet the shortage by offering a Master of Science in Counseling program at the Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences.

Our goal is to grow the next generation of licensed marriage and family therapists via this program. Our employees who participate in the program are eligible for tuition assistance of 75% of the total cost of tuition.

We are also pleased to have our long-standing partnerships with Sonoma State University, the College of Marin, Dominican University and the Santa Rosa Junior College, and other educational institutions to prepare health care professionals at all levels, including nurses, doctors, medical assistants, and techs in a variety of specialties, such as pharmacy and surgical.

Shulman: The Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency started in 2018, training Family Medicine physicians to counteract the primary care physician shortage in the US. This year we matched our new class of six Family Medicine residents who will start in July. Family Medicine training is three years, and we have graduated two classes of residents so far.

What is your organization’s top priority for 2023 and why?

Curry: We want to address all the preventable things that we really specialize in - high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes care, mental health, cancer prevention to stop the effects of any delayed care during the pandemic. We also want to be able to offer our patients the same day or next day for most things without having to go to an emergency room.

Gammon: Novato Community Hospital’s top priority for 2023 is providing excellent patient care through programs that improve staff well-being and engagement. We truly believe that creating a positive work environment improves patient safety and patient satisfaction.

We recognize that health care is a challenging market to recruit in, so retaining and promoting the development of our current staff and bringing on new hires is the focus of every leader across our organization.

Hardy: Our top priority for 2023 is expansion. This year, we have several large expansion projects on the horizon. First, we hope to expand our physical footprint in Calistoga.

So we are looking at various options that would allow us to have a larger health center to be able to see more patients and offer additional services.

Also in Napa County, we are very close to opening a health center in American Canyon, which is the only major population center where we don’t have a physical presence. Outside of Napa, we are looking to expand our operations in Fairfield (in Solano County).

We currently have two health centers in Fairfield and are looking to build a flagship location that will be more accessible via mass transit and be able to serve more patients.

Finally, we are in the process of merging with another FQHC in Yolo County.When the merger is complete, we will effectively double in size and be able to leverage programs, services, and expertise from CommuniCare Health Centers for our patients in Napa and Solano.

Herber: Our top priority is and remains patient care for our community. From our 24-hour emergency care, Adventist Heart and Vascular Institute, Coon Joint Replacement Institute, Martin O'Neil Cancer Center and Behavioral Health units, we remain committed to our heritage by providing patient-centered, quality care.

Jaeger-Jackson: All of Sutter continues to focus on improving access to care by increasing the number of physicians who practice with us. Additionally, we are also building on the digital advancements we made during the pandemic.

Klein: Primary care physicians are the lynchpin of any health care system. . Despite the importance of this role, recent studies show that by 2025, the shortage of primary care physicians in California alone will be 4,100.

Many older physicians are experiencing burnout, while others are opting to transition out of medicine, and medical students are choosing other specialties. Add to this the high cost of housing in Marin and Sonoma counties, and this makes it very challenging to recruit new primary care physicians. Consequently, recruiting primary care physicians and ensuring our community has access to the care they need is our number one priority.

Kumar: Our top priority is to make sure that we retain the people that we have and also recruit effectively for our open positions so that we have talented, well-trained people in place to provide an excellent care experience for our patients.

Lam: Growth. We expanded in two counties last year, so we want to keep that momentum in 2023. Canopy focuses on serving our community and offering high-quality care. We are a Bay Area owned and operated network. Our goal is to create seamless pathways to care that are coordinated between our health systems.

Peterson: We are committed to improving our staff’s daily work experience by increasing recognition, offering more training and pathways to grow in their careers, and providing more wellness enhancements. We will also be growing our workforce in 2023.

Reader: Caring for our caregivers so that they can, in turn, best care for our communities, is paramount to our goal of being a great place to work and receive care.

Salaway: As an organization we are making major investments to build the pipeline of new, culturally diverse mental health professionals.

The Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Scholars Academy is a $30 million initiative launched in 2020 that supports the training of new mental health professionals committed to working for Kaiser Permanente in California.

To date we have enrolled and provided tuition support for 236 Kaiser Permanente employees across the state in master’s and doctoral degree programs in mental health and behavioral health science through the Mental Health Scholars Academy, preparing them for positions in the Kaiser Permanente mental health workforce.

Additionally, we are investing in recruiting and retaining therapists. Since 2015, we have increased therapist staffing by 30%. Our recruitment, education and training efforts have resulted in our hiring hundreds of net new mental health clinicians since January 2021.

Shulman: A key area of strategic focus is recruiting and retaining the best workforce. We also recognize that different communities have different needs, and we are committed to hiring a diverse workforce.

Please describe one cost-efficient change you made to your organization in 2022 and how it worked out.

Curry: It is not just one thing. It is everything. Kaiser Permanente’s mission is to provide high- quality affordable health care to our members and the communities we serve. It is a team effort. From physicians and nurses to pharmacists to our environmental services staff, everyone is part of this system and is safely caring for patients through our integrated system of care. We aim to be cost-efficient by providing people the care that they need when and where they need it.

Gammon: We collaborate within the larger Sutter Health network and with partnering hospitals to improve the patient experience in our emergency department, surgery department and in-patient care settings.

Jaeger-Jackson: Sutter Solano’s focus for 2022 was expanding access to our services. Because of this, we were able to improve our cost efficiencies, resulting in a significant improvement in our reimbursement and expense management through economies of scale.

Klein: MarinHealth and UCSF have a long-standing strategic partnership and shared goal to further improve the quality of care and the patient experience using technology and more coordinated services.

As part of this commitment MarinHealth launched a new electronic medical record system called APeX, the UCSF version of EPIC, the largest and most widely used medical record system in the world. n addition to clinical efficiencies, the system also has helped us to achieve more operational efficiencies as well, resulting in an improved revenue cycle, more coordinated care, and reduced wait times.

Kumar: One exciting innovation has been the e-visit. Available 24/7 with no appointment, e-visits offer our members quick, convenient online care for many health concerns such as flu or COVID-19 symptoms, urinary tract infections, pink eye, and other conditions depending on the member’s age, location, and medical history.

We enhanced our transitions of care and repatriation process to get patients into in-network hospitals to improve coordination of care. This way, we can be more accountable through the entire process and deliver a good patient experience, allowing members to see the doctors that know them best.

Peterson: Simply increasing the size of our facility makes us significantly more cost effective. Anytime we can find ways to increase our services and serve a greater number of patients at our existing location, utilizing the majority of our existing overhead infrastructure, there will be economies of scale.

Reader: With the increase in hybrid and fully remote working models, our organization was afforded the opportunity in 2022 to evaluate our real estate portfolio and redesign the way we occupy our physical properties. This included consolidating administrative leases to fewer locations.

Salaway: Kaiser Permanente continues to implement and advance minimally invasive surgeries and care. Minimally invasive surgeries bring together the elements needed to provide the highest level of care to our patients in a safe, efficient, and cost-effective manner, with the ability to provide targeted treatment and prompt healing. Patients often recover faster and some can return home the same day as their surgery.

Shulman: A change that we have made in recent years is emphasizing our Pharmacy Mail Delivery Service. By using this service, many of our patients can get their prescriptions delivered to their door while saving time and a trip to the pharmacy. It’s another way we are offering convenience to our members.

As a health care professional, what is your top strategy for ensuring your own wellbeing?

Curry: I am making it a point to get home and work out. I exercise six days a week. I like to play basketball and lift weights. I also listen to meditative music through the Calm app and quite frankly, it works. I will open up the app, play some music and it gives me a chance to reflect on whatever I may be experiencing. My faith is also an enormous influence and part of my overall wellness.

I use my drive time home to reflect on my day. Reflection allows me to relax, reduce stress and gain clarity. I’m constantly recharging my batteries each day, so that I can bring my full self to work, to serve our members, community and amazing staff.

Gammon: It’s important to take downtime, invest in maintaining your own health and happiness and be present with family and friends.

Herber: Emerging from the pandemic, health care as an industry under a lot of pressure and it’s stressful to be a leader in a hospital. I follow the advice I give to my team and patients.

Find balance with family time and meaningful pursuits outside of work. The joys and challenges of caring for our community makes this work full of purpose and that helps.

Jaeger-Jackson: For me personally, I recharge when I am able to spend time with my “fRamily,” and no, that is not a typo. I have three adult children—two daughters and a son—all of whom are married to amazing life partners!

I am also fortunate to have two beautiful granddaughters and a husband who holds down the fort and keeps our household running. The “R” in “framily” is the loving non-related family that I am fortunate to have. I LOVE spending time and being present with them, whether it is at family barbecues, playing bocce ball or cornhole. We also have some fierce cribbage tournaments!

Klein: When I’m not at work, I love being outdoors. I enjoy playing golf, biking, or hiking the trails in Marin. I love all that the Bay Area has to offer, especially some of the amazing restaurants or just grilling at home.

Kumar: As leaders, we need to model what we want our people to do. First, we need to make sure that we regularly take time off. Often we don't feel like we can take a vacation because there's too much to do. But taking time for vacations and spending time with friends and family is really important. This fuels mental and emotional wellbeing.

The second thing is to stay active; going outside for a walk and/or getting exercise in whatever way suits your lifestyle. It’s especially important for those in health care because we need to stay healthy in order to effectively care for others.

Lam: I make sure to spend time with my family and take time for self-care. For me, that is time to unplug from technology, exercise regularly, and eat well. Making sure my mind and body are taken care of is the key to my well-being.

Peterson: We all hear a lot of talk about work/life balance. I think we succeed in this through our perspective rather than any specific time allocation formula. I’ve known people who work very few hours yet still choose to be miserable with their work/life balance.

I’ve also known people who work unbelievable amounts yet have no issues because they have chosen to enjoy their lives in whatever they are doing. Much of this comes down to perspective and the choice to be happy. I once heard, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives, and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” Focusing on the things that matter ultimately makes all the difference.

Reader: Outside of work I try to set family time or physical activity as “sacred” activities. At work, prioritization is key, along with short practices to recharge throughout the day such as square breathing or mindfulness.

I also like to weave fun into my professional routine – a mentor once told me, “In health care we take care of people and do serious work, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun doing it,” and that’s stuck with me throughout my career.

Salaway: It is important that my team dedicates time for themselves and do all the things that enrich their lives, like connecting with family and friends, or getting exercise while enjoying the beautiful outdoors that our amazing communities in Marin and Sonoma offer us. This is key to our overall well-being. We all need to find time for the activities that fill our cup and reinvigorate us.

Shulman: The best strategy for ensuring my wellbeing is to take care of my physical and mental health. I do this by eating a plant-based diet, taking regular breaks, practicing self-care activities such as reading or playing the piano, and focusing on gratitude.

I also gain strength and inspiration from my incredibly committed colleagues and our mission-driven work to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and improve the health of our members and the communities we serve.

Building and maintaining relationships and being connected to and supported by friends, family, and colleagues all help reduce stress and improve communication, promoting problem-solving and creative thinking.

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