Sonoma Valley Hospital has made official an affiliation agreement with UCSF Health, the top-ranked medical center in California and one of the top five hospitals nationwide.
The deal received its final approval from the Sonoma Valley Health Care District Board during on Thursday night.
Administrators said the affiliation will improve health care in the Sonoma community by combining the expertise and resources of UCSF Health with the community care focus of SVH to provide a top-quality continuum of care for Sonoma residents.
“It’s the best of both worlds,” said Mark Laret, UCSF Health president and CEO. “Specialty care when needed, and ongoing, high-quality care when patients are ready to return home.”
SVH is an ideal partner, Lent said. “In today’s highly complex health care environment, hospitals large and small are coming together to provide a full spectrum of care for patients. “
Under the agreement, UCSF Health will provide the hospital with a new medical director, replacing the recently-retired Robert Cohen, MD. Sonoma Valley Hospital will continue operating as an independent district hospital, with a joint operations committee to oversee the partnership.
“This affiliation provides us with close ties to a world-class health care system and strengthens our ability to serve our community in a number of ways, enabling access to specialized services not currently available in our region,” said Kelly Mather, chief executive officer of Sonoma Valley Hospital.
The two hospitals have had an informal working relationship for several years in obstetrics, through which UCSF Health has served as a resource for SVH, providing education for OB nurses, supporting OB case reviews and conferring on high-risk pregnancies.
This was strengthened in 2015 when SVH joined Canopy Health, an accountable care network of independent hospitals and physicians started by UCSF Health, John Muir Health System and three physician networks (Hill Physicians Medical Group, John Muir IPA and Meritage Medical Network) that now spans the greater Bay Area.
The affiliation is the latest in UCSF Health’s growing partnerships. UCSF Health has affiliated with a number of Bay Area providers and health systems, ranging from UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland to John Muir Health, Dignity Health Bay Area, Washington Hospital Healthcare System, Golden Gate Urgent Care and Hospice by the Bay.
UCSF Health includes UCSF Medical Center, the academic medical center of the University of California, San Francisco, which is world-renowned for its biomedical research, graduate-level education and patient care. UCSF Health’s nationally preeminent programs include cancer, children’s health, the brain and nervous system, organ transplantation, and women’s health. It operates as a self-supporting enterprise within UCSF.
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