Two health care providers vying to operate Petaluma Valley Hospital

Two bidders are vying for the right to operate Petaluma Valley Hospital, following a series of public meetings to gather input on four proposals, the Petaluma Health Care District announced this week.

St. Joseph Health, which is the current hospital operator, and Prime Healthcare Services, a for-profit hospital management company with headquarters in Ontario in San Bernardino County, both move on to the next stage of review. The district currently is engaged in a 60- to ?90-day evaluation of potential bidders.

After the evaluation process is complete, the district board is tasked with making a recommendation to the public. That recommendation likely will go before voters in November.

Both proposals specify that the bidders will operate the hospital as a nonprofit entity.

“From the start, our goal was to identify and provide the community with options that maintain the high standard of community care PVH is known for and ensure long-term financial stability for the facility,” Petaluma Health Care District CEO Ramona Faith said in a statement. “Both providers who engaged in the bidding process have committed to maintaining their focus on quality, patient care and community health programs should their bids be successful.”

District officials said Tuesday the current due diligence process has included “thorough evaluations of hospital operations and finances, study and analysis of the current and future health care needs of southern Sonoma County.”

The district held stakeholder interviews and several community forums allowing the public to provide input on the area’s health care priorities.

In October of last year, the district invited four bidders to continue the process. Less than a week after the last public forum was held, the district announced St. Joseph Health and Prime Healthcare Services had completed their bids and were continuing with the process.

St. Joseph Health in Sonoma County is part of St. Joseph Health Ministry, based in Orange. The ministry operates 16 hospitals in Northern California, Southern California, Texas and New Mexico.

Prime Healthcare Services, the for-profit hospital management company based in San Bernardino County, operates 38 acute care hospitals in 11 states. Prime Healthcare proposes operating Petaluma Valley Hospital through its nonprofit affiliated partner, Prime Healthcare Foundation.

Every year since 2009, Prime Healthcare Services has donated debt-free one of its hospitals to the foundation, operating them as nonprofit facilities, said Mike Sarian, president of hospital operations for Prime Healthcare Services.

Sarian said Petaluma Valley Hospital was an “excellent fit” for the foundation’s growing network of hospitals that includes eight facilities in two states with assets of more than $700 million.

“The Petaluma community deserves to continue having access to compassionate, quality health care, and we are confident that Petaluma Valley Hospital and its patients will benefit greatly by joining our family of award-winning hospitals,” Sarian said in a statement.

Todd Salnas, president of St. Joseph Health in Sonoma County, said his organization was committed to “taking care of the community” as a local health care provider. He said St. Joseph’s commitment extended beyond the hospital to Petalumans’ broader health care needs.

St. Joseph Health’s network of health care services in the North Coast, which include several hospitals and a bevy of outpatient services, is perfectly suited to meet those needs, he said.

“We’re a local health care system, not only in Sonoma County but in the region,” Salnas said. “Petaluma Valley Hospital is an important partner in that regional network we’ve established.”

Salnas cited partnerships with the growing Annadel Medical Group and health insurance plans such as Western Health Advantage.

The district said Tuesday that it has entered into a “60- to 90-day quiet phase” to examine the offers for a number of issues, including “addressing possible shortcomings and working collaboratively to incorporate changes the district feels are desired and needed.”

Dennis Dugan, a labor organizer for the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which recently won the right to organize about 135 technical and service employees at Petaluma Valley Hospital, said the union does not have a position on which provider would be best for patients and hospital staff. The union, which has been negotiating a contract with hospital management since last summer, said the district should seek facility and service improvements from the bidders.

“Regardless of the name on the door, we believe that the Petaluma Health Care District, because of the lease renewal, is in a good position to implement higher standards of accountability and oversight at Petaluma Valley Hospital,” Dugan said.

After an operator is chosen, public forums will be scheduled to inform the public of the district’s final selection.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.