Sonoma Valley Hospital September Board Meeting Highlights
September 21, 2023Leer en español
To our Sonoma Valley Community,
The Board meeting had a new look this month! Bringing care into the community is a pillar of our Strategic Plan and is at the core of what we do. With the intention of improving community accessibility, our September 7th meeting held at Vintage House was a great success – members of the public attended in person and on Zoom creating a warm and friendly atmosphere with a light lunch served by our hospital’s Café Vitality. We are looking forward to doing this again, at other community partner locations, so be sure to check the SVH website for times and locations.
Community Partnership: Our meeting host, Stacie Morales, Executive Director of Vintage House, gave a wonderful overview of the organization’s mission and history, and highlighted their key programs, particularly those in collaboration with our hospital. We are so pleased to have a longstanding partnership with this valuable community resource.
Physical Therapy: Our CEO, Mr. John Hennelly, presented two requests for Board approval – both thoroughly discussed and recommended by the Finance Committee. For the first was a comprehensive report on the expansion of our Physical Therapy Program in Sonoma with the aim of doubling our current capacity. Physical therapy is a cornerstone of our healthcare services, benefiting primary care patients, aiding in post-operative recovery, and supporting individuals with occupational health needs. Currently, the service is operating at 100% capacity, and wait times for appointments exceed six weeks. Mr. Dave Pier, ED of the SVH Foundation, reported on the Foundation’s interest in taking on this project for their next fund-raising incentive. The Board enthusiastically gave their approval.
Seismic Compliance: The second project presented for approval by Mr. Hennelly concerns our fourth Strategic Plan pillar, Seismic Compliance. As we’ve discussed before, Senate Bill 1953 calls for all California hospitals to meet seismic standards by 2030. The State has established milestones, the first of which is performing an analysis by 2024. The board gave its approval for the initial phase of this project.
Medical Excellence: Ako Walther, M.D., Chief of the Medical Staff, presented an in-depth semi-annual report. Dr. Walther highlighted three key areas:
- New members of the medical staff
- Medical staff quality, as measured by reviews
- New medical staff leaders, whose goals are cultivating cohesion within leadership, fostering a strong partnership with the new ER physician group, and establishing robust connections with local primary care practitioners
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sujatha Sankaran’s, report focused on our hospital’s systems to improve care, echoing Dr. Walther’s report of a seamless onboarding of our new ER group. Of Dr. Sankaran’s report, I particularly enjoyed her slide on “How Our Systems Impact a Patient.” This slide showed how a hypothetical elderly patient, presenting to the ER after a fall, may interact with many of our staff during the course of evaluation and treatment, offering multiple touchpoints for us to provide excellent, comprehensive care.
Financial Update: CFO Benjamin Armfield reported our fiscal year, which commenced on 7/1/23, is off to a promising start with higher volumes (up 5%) and effective expense management (down 5%).
Mr. Armfield reported our hospital has received an interest-free loan of $3.1 million through the state of California, administered by HCAI and CHFFA. We qualify for the Distressed Hospital Loan Program not because of our financial situation, but because we are a rural community hospital defined in the Loan Program as having medically underserved populations and/or areas, distance to nearest alternative hospital, and predominantly Medi-Cal/Medicare payor mix. These funds will allow us to reduce existing liabilities, fuel our growth, and support strategic initiatives expanding access to care throughout the Sonoma Valley.
Next Board Meeting: Our next regular District Board meeting will be held on October 5, 2023. Please check our website for the meeting location, agenda and Zoom link. We look forward to seeing you there.
Thank you for your unwavering support and trust in Sonoma Valley Hospital. At the core of all our endeavors is a commitment to providing exceptional patient care for all in our community.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Warmest regards,
Judith Bjorndal, M.D.
Chair, Board of Directors
Sonoma Valley Health Care District
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