Health Care: Sutter Health plans Novato surgery center

Sutter Health is expected to unveil plans Wednesday for a 9,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center in Novato.

The new facility for ambulatory procedures will be at the North Bay Regional Surgery Center, which is on the same medical campus as the Novato Community Hospital but in a separate building. The ambulatory surgery center is a joint venture between Sutter and local physicians. It is located at 100 Rowland Way and includes three operating suites and one endoscopy procedure room with room for expansion.

The project is a fraction of the size of the $200 million the organization pledged to spend to double the hospital last year, which included 47 new hospital beds and 95 doctors’ offices. Sutter spokeswoman Kathy Graham said those plans currently are on hold.

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Napa vintners Shari and Garen Staglin raised about $3 million for mental health research studies this month with the conclusion of the 14th annual Staglin Family Music Festival Sept. 13.

“We are extremely excited about how much impact our initial funding has on the advancement of research and subsequent funding,” said Brandon Staglin, Mr. and Ms. Staglin’s son.

“The approximately $5 million that has been provided by the festival in the last two years has resulted in nearly $45 million in additional funding for important projects around the nation.”

The family said several projects seeded by the nonprofit have since obtained other grants, including $21 million to the Staglin Music Festival Center of Cognitive Neuroscience from the National Institute of Mental Health.

The funding will support a study pioneered by UCLA professor Dr. Ty Cannon, which will be expanded into a larger, national research project called the North American Prodromal Longitudinal Study.

The project will study teens at risk of developing psychosis in hopes of identifying early indicators of the development of mental illness.

The music festival incorporated lectures by mental health experts from around the globe including Cambridge University cognitive neuroscientist Trevor Robbins and University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry professor Dr. Huda Akil.

In the 14 years of the festival, the group has raised about $83 million in direct and leveraged grants and it is considered the highest grossing charity wine event in the United States that does not include a wine auction.

Other research projects funded by the festival include those at Stanford University, UCSF, Rutgers University, Johns Hopkins University, Aldea Inc. of Napa and Sonoma and others.

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Approximately 19,000 more Solano County residents will have access to NorthBay Healthcare facilities after the nonprofit organization signed a multi-year agreement with Blue Shield of California last week. “This is really huge for us,” said NorthBay spokesman Steve Huddleston. “Before, for a lot of patients the closest facility was in Vallejo or Davis.”

The contract, effective Wednesday, opens the organization’s doors to the county’s CalPERS recipients who can now visit NorthBay’s Fairfield or Vacaville hospitals.

“We are delighted to have worked out an agreement with Blue Shield that will make NorthBay’s hospitals and physicians available once again to thousands of CalPERS members and their families who live in our community,” said NorthBay President and CEO Gary Passama.

The organization founded in 1960 also includes a network of primary care physicians and specialists and is currently completing several expansions.

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Sonoma County’s small community hospitals Healdsburg District Hospital and Palm Drive Hospital have both bounced back and are demonstrating their financial solvency this year.

So far, Healdsburg has more than doubled what consultants thought it could make this year, reporting a surplus of more than $1.1 million as of June this year.

According to a revitalization plan developed by officials in 2005, consultants estimated that the north county hospital would collect about $450,000 in excess cash by 2008. But with the help of the re-opened ICU, new emergency department and stroke institute, average daily visits increased by about 30 percent this year, according to Healdsburg CEO Evan Rayner.

A feasibility study also estimated that Healdsburg’s foundation could only solicit about $10 million from the community, but so far it has raised close to $14 million. In the last 15 months since the capital campaign began, the foundation established the Wetzel Family Emergency Department, the Patricia and Raymond Chamber ICU the Kozel Stroke Institute and the Dry Creek Rancheria Women’s Health Center.

“Revitalizing the hospital was always our dream, but we never imagined we would take it this far so quickly,” said foundation Chief Executive Officer Tobi Ferguson. “We support a lot of organizations in the community, but the hospital has really been our crowning achievement.”

With funds still rolling in, Ms. Ferguson warned that still more needs to be done. The hospital is in dire need of a technology update and new equipment, as well as funding for physician recruitment and retention.

The group is holding its second annual Girlfriends for the Cure fundraising fashion show Oct. 1 at Trentadue Winery in Geyserville. The event raised $125,000 last year and needs about $300,000 more to purchase a digital mammography machine for the hospital. For more information call 707-473-0583.

Not completely out of harm’s way but still far from where it was a year ago new Palm Drive Hospital Chief Executive Officer James Russell said he expects the bankruptcy proceedings to be over in about a month.

“I think the biggest reason for our success is that the community is beginning to regain confidence and there is a lot of renewed interest in the hospital,” Mr. Russell said.

The site will soon complete a top-to-bottom renovation of the 60-year-old hospital, which includes a new helipad and parking lot. The facility re-opened its ICU with a telemedicine robot this year and created a neighboring specialty practice that will work in tandem with the hospital.

In July, Palm kicked off a $10 million capital campaign that will allow it to expand its surgery and operating rooms, implement electronic health records and buy new equipment. Officials also say they would expand the hospital’s beds to full capacity of 49. It is licensed to serve that many but currently only has 37.

Also, after bankruptcy proceedings close, the group will likely sell about $15 million in certificates of participation, which is bond-like financing that will help settle debts with creditors. Palm received a $3 million bridge loan from the county Board of Supervisors earlier this summer.

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West County Health Centers has plans to double the size of its Sebastopol clinic this year after opening the site to pilot its electronic health records system in July.

The community clinic network was formed from the consolidation of the Russian River and Occidental Area Health Centers and added the Sebastopol site this summer. The new clinic currently has five exam rooms but will take over the neighboring medical offices recently vacated by a private health care doctor. The addition will give them another five rooms as well as an expanded waiting room space.

The group also hired a mental health services director last month, Dr. Isaac Ozobiani. Formerly with a Sacramento company, he has 20 years experience in the field and will be responsible for more than 600 mental health patients served annually. He is a licensed clinical social worker and has a doctorate in health services management.

West County Health Centers Executive Director Mary Szecsey was also recently awarded a three month sabbatical from the California Wellness Foundation and will be replaced by interim director Dr. Steve Bromer. Dr. Bromer is the clinic’s medical director and will serve in his new position until the end of October.

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Submit items for this column to

Ashley Furness at 707-521-4257, afurness@busjrnl.com or fax 707-521-5292.