Hospital CEO sees big year ahead
Kelly Mather | Special to The Sun
It’s hard to believe I’ve been with the Sonoma Valley Hospital community for one year. I’d like to review some of our achievements, and bring you up to date on our facilities upgrade and some new initiatives we’re launching.
We have been working straight out over the last year to finalize our facilities plan to be able to achieve compliance with the state-mandated seismic safety requirements while maintaining the hospital on its existing site.
In June, the Planning Commission approved our plan and just last week, the Design Review Committee approved our design. So, we’re set to go!
Here are some milestones you’ll see coming up:
• August, 2011 – We will resume room upgrades, thanks to continuing donations from our wonderful patients.
• September, 2011 – Repainting the entire building with a special anti-moisture paint. So we’ll have a new, fresh look, sealed from moisture, heading into winter.
• September, 2011 – Prima doctors move into their own building on First Street West. This will give doctors and patients an improved environment for quality care.
• October, 2011 – Our Physical Therapy department moves to its new, spacious building on Hwy. 12.
• Early Fall, 2011 – Relocation of our loading dock will give us one consolidated area for deliveries, creating more efficiency all around.
• November, 2011 – South Lot will be paved and ready for parking and staging construction equipment.
• January 2011 – MRI trailer will be moving to its semi-permanent location, pending its move into the building sometime in 2014. The new location will provide greater patient convenience and enhance our welcoming look.
As I look back over the year, we can take pride in the range and significance of our accomplishments. We are fast becoming a culture of quality and safety here in Sonoma Valley Hospital. We have once again received our three-year accreditation from The Joint Commission. In addition, our quality and patient satisfaction scores, as measured by industry standard, Press Ganey, moved from 67 percent patient satisfaction in August of 2010 to 84 percent – a level we’ve held for the last nine months.
That’s impressive by any standard, and a tribute to our new Chief Nursing Officer, Goni Naidoo, and our outstanding team of nurses and doctors, and also our Quality team, which is tracking every aspect of our performance.
Our partnership with Marin General is starting off with exceptional cooperation and benefits on both sides. Our new CFO, Rick Reid, has put us on a budget plan which we are confident will see us to stability in the coming year. MGH CEO Lee Domanico visited last week and candidly answered all questions.
He emphasized that the strength of the affiliation will help both hospitals flourish in the coming days of increased competition for healthcare services, especially from the looming giants, Sutter and Kaiser. He also stressed that the cooperation between our two hospitals will help provide both our communities with an extended range of healthcare services and excellent quality, and at reduced cost.
With our new energy, we have a new logo, which you may have seen in the Fourth of July parade, and a new look to our graphics.
Our new family practice physicians, Dr. Bozzone, who has been on leave with her new baby, and Dr. Malik, who is fast becoming a favorite with families, are a strong addition to our healthcare team. Dr. Perryman, our amazing general surgeon and bariatric specialist, is changing lives. Dr. Brown, our new orthopedic surgeon, along with the whole Total Joint Replacement team (Dr. Weiss, Dr. Harf, Anesthesiologist Dr. Licata, Nurse Navigator Janet Alexander and the whole physical therapy team) is putting people back on the path to active wellness. We are so grateful to them, and pleased with the work Prima Medical Group is doing to recruit and maintain these vital members of our community.
Finally, we’ve launched a three-month emphasis on healthcare for seniors and are planning a new “Active Aging” series of classes on balance, mental acuity, nutrition and home safety. We’re finalizing plans for a new Medically Oriented Gym for seniors and staff members, which will work in tandem with our cardio-rehab service. We’ve been visiting and listening to the needs of local retirement communities, and we’ve been sending out Dr. Brown and Occupational Therapist Bill Casey and others to speak about their specialties to seniors.
We are moving fast, we’re working hard, and every step we’re taking is to serve and bring health and healing to you and our whole community.
