When it comes to preventive medicine, NorthBay Healthcare has three words for you: vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate! From COVID-19 vaccines and flu shots to childhood immunizations, health care experts agree it’s the best thing you can do to protect you and your loved ones from life-threatening diseases. Unfortunately, not only did the pandemic keep people away…
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The Western Health Advantage health plan was created to serve local employers and better control premium costs. Now co-owned by NorthBay Healthcare and Dignity Health (formerly known as Mercy Healthcare), it continues to grow and provide expert care for individuals and families in nine Northern California counties: Solano, Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, Colusa, Napa,…
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It’s been two years of pandemic pivoting, but that has only made NorthBay Urgent Care stronger and more flexible to serve the ever-changing needs of the communities it serves, according to Mary Jameson, director of Urgent Care, Primary Care in Vacaville and Women’s Health. The pandemic took hold just as NorthBay opened a second Urgent…
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Above: Emergency medicine physician Andy Lee, M.D., shows off a wireless, bedside “robot” used in NorthBay Healthcare to connect with stroke specialists at UC Davis Medical Center. Although NorthBay Healthcare has been offering tele-stroke services at its hospitals since 2010, it entered into a new partnership with experts at UC Davis Medical Center earlier this…
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Kinue Post was having pain in her shoulder and a persistent cough back in April of 2018. The 80-year-old Fairfield woman was moving slower than normal, and sleeping most of each day. A visit to the emergency room ended with a diagnosis of pneumonia, but the medications didn’t seem to make a difference. “We have…
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We’ve all experienced stomach pains — after a spicy meal or a stressful day — but when Jasmine Kaur’s sharp stomach pains persisted for more than a couple of months, even without a spicy diet, the Vacaville resident made an appointment to see her primary care doctor. The physician ordered some lab work to determine the exact cause of…
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Thousands Receive Their Pfizer Doses at Clinics, Drive-throughs It started with a couple of physicians, a handful of nurses and a respiratory therapist boldly rolling up their sleeves and receiving the first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at NorthBay Medical Center early one morning in December 2020. Fast forward many months later and NorthBay…
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On the heels of establishing two successful urgent care centers amid retail outlets in Vacaville and Fairfield, NorthBay Healthcare, in partnership with Carbon Health, will open a third NorthBay Urgent Care facility in the summer of 2022. An official groundbreaking in June at 416 Napa Junction Road in American Canyon brought together NorthBay and American…
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Nine NorthBay Healthcare nurses have received the coveted DAISY award since August, 2020, presented to honor their outstanding patient outreach. They are: Susan Pack, R.N., a nurse in NorthBay Medical Center’s Mother/Baby Unit; Jayne Nanalis, R.N., a nurse in NorthBay Medical Center’s 1800 Unit; Loida de Vera, R.N., program coordinator for the Joint Replacement Program;…
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Two veteran health care administrators with wide-ranging experience have assumed key leadership roles with NorthBay Healthcare. Wayne Gietz, who for the last five years guided NorthBay’s outpatient services, is the new president of NorthBay Healthcare Group. He succeeds Aimee Brewer, who is the new president and CEO of Sturdy Health in Massachusetts. Gietz has an…
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Larissa Chartrand, M.D. The Center for Primary Care in Vacaville welcomed another new physician to its team in November. Larissa Chartrand, M.D., is an internal medicine doctor who comes to NorthBay Healthcare from Miami Beach, Florida, where she was medical director of the primary care center and associate program director of the internal medicine residency…
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Nine NorthBay Healthcare nurses have received the coveted DAISY award this past year, presented to honor their outstanding patient outreach. Isabelle Johnson, R.N., a nurse at VacaValley Hospital’s 1-2 West, was singled out for the compassionate care she shares not only with her patients, but with her coworkers. MacKenzie Anderson, R.N., a nurse in NorthBay…
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Remember what daily life was like before late February? It feels as if a decade of change has occurred in the past seven months.ABOVE: Intensive Care Unit Nurse Sherryl Oliva, R.N., wears an N-95 mask and face shield on the COVID-19 unit. Patients preparing for surgery are tested for COVID-19 at drive-through test sites (below)…
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In the mid-1990s, NorthBay Healthcare executives wanted to gain control of costs and provide better quality health care. They met with leaders at Woodland Memorial, who later brought the University of California, Davis, Health System to the table. The result was a new health insurance plan. Western Health Advantage was created to serve local employers…
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A ringing in the ear, a feeling of fullness or sudden silence — these issues are not to be ignored, as Barbara Battenburg discovered.ABOVE: Regular hearing checks by Wendy Schreuder (right) help keep Barbara Battenburg hearing well.The Vacaville resident was in a car with her husband in 2011 when she lost hearing in her left ear. “All…
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Darin Moore, 46, of Fairfield, knew he had diabetes for 20 years and did all he could to control it but when several low blood sugar incidents left him feeling out of control, he made the decision to get more help.ABOVE: Darin Moore (right) looks over his latest blood sugar reports with diabetologists (left to…
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Sprained your ankle? Broke your wrist? It’s time for O.U.C.H.! It’s better than it sounds. O.U.C.H. stands for Orthopedic Urgent Care at Hilborn.ABOVE: Physician Assistant Joe Mashinchi (right) takes a look at Dominick Baker during an orthopedic visit. Joe is the primary provider for the O.U.C.H. program, providing patients with connections to the right orthopedic…
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NorthBay Healthcare’s second Urgent Care Center was set to open in early March, with plans for a grand opening celebration. Then the COVID-19 crisis broke and those plans were shelved.ABOVE: J. Paz Rodriguez and sons Moises and J. Paz, Jr. check in for care at NorthBay Urgent Care Center in Fairfield.“Patients needed to be seen,”…
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It started out as just a wine and cheese tasting event at a local church 33 years ago, but NorthBay Healthcare Foundation’s most popular fundraising event has evolved into so much more through the years. So, Jubilee organizers say now is the time to call it what it is: A NorthBay event with even more….
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Three NorthBay Healthcare nurses are the proud recipients of the coveted DAISY award, presented to honor their outstanding patient outreach. Tiffany Song, Nora Maligaya and Christine Aye all received their awards at separate presentations in front of their nursing colleagues this year. Tiffany, a nurse in NorthBay Medical Center’s ICU, was singled out by the…
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Accolades from Across the Nation Pour in for Local Healthcare System ABOVE: Teams celebrate on hearing the news that NorthBay earns redesignation as a Baby-Friendly (top) and Magnet organization (bottom). NorthBay Earns Magnet Status — Again! With scores of NorthBay Healthcare employees across campuses and medical offices in Vacaville and Fairfield listening in, an August conference call…
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Installed just weeks before the opening of the North Wing, a new art project featured prominently in NorthBay Medical Center’s main corridor showcases the history, milestones and medical advancements of NorthBay Healthcare. Called “The NorthBay Way Wall,” it is composed of nine panels, hundreds of photographs and “Our Story,” of a hospital system borne from…
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NorthBay Healthcare has seen the addition of several new physicians in recent months including specialists in diabetes and cardiology as well as family medicine and otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat). Here is a look at some of the doctors: Sumera Ahmed, M.D. NorthBay Healthcare Diabetes & Endocrinology Center recently welcomed diabetologists Sumera Ahmed, M.D. to…
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NorthBay’s Biggest Accomplishment Exceeds Expectations In 17 years at NorthBay Healthcare, Assistant Vice President Real Estate & Facilities Development Joelyn Gropp has led the design of eight new buildings and scores of remodels and tenant improvements. But, without a doubt, the $200 million North Wing takes the crown. It was easily the largest project, both…
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With the opening of the new North Wing at NorthBay Medical Center comes The Shaw Family Kitchen, which opened for use Oct. 1. ABOVE: Staff and visitors can enjoy respite in a bright and spacious dining area. Photo credit: Photographs © 2019 Sasha Moravec The new nutrition services area includes a 6,000-square foot kitchen and…
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Not one for the spotlight, local philanthropists Al and Patt Shaw prefer to support their favorite causes without fanfare. But that changed when the Green Valley couple realized they had the means to make a significant impact on NorthBay Healthcare’s future and to serve as an inspiration to others in the process. ABOVE: NorthBay’s mission…
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Just steps away from the Welcome Pavillion at NorthBay Medical Center is a brand-new visual and interactive tribute to NorthBay Healthcare’s most loyal supporters: the donors who have, through the decades, shared the vision and determination to build and sustain a healthcare system that would provide top-flight healthcare for our friends, neighbors and family members…
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New, freshly painted walls of the North Wing provided an empty canvas for NorthBay Healthcare leaders to fill with vibrant, unique art selections, and touched off a decision to upgrade art throughout the hospital. “We know that art has healing qualities,” explained NorthBay Healthcare Group President Aimee Brewer. “So we teamed up with ACS (Art…
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The North Wing at NorthBay Medical Center features advanced imaging services with the most up-to-date equipment. ABOVE: Radiologic Technologist Melanie Adams positions the Diagnostic Imaging Department’s new fluoroscopic imaging equipment (above), which displays continuous X-rays on a monitor. Photo credit: Fred Greaves The inpatient Diagnostic Imaging Department on the first floor of the new wing…
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One department you’ll never see on a hospital tour of NorthBay Medical Center is Central Sterile. That’s because everything inside — all the tools used for surgeries and procedures — must be kept pristine and infection-free to ensure the safety of patients. If you could enter those hallowed halls, located on the first floor of the new North Wing,…
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PACU is the Place for Patient Transitions Patients awaiting surgery or recovering from post-surgical anesthesia will spend some time in a post-anesthesia care unit, or PACU, under the watchful eyes of nurses whose main tasks are to manage airways and alleviate pain. ABOVE: Patients recover in bright, spacious areas in the new post-anesthesia care unit….
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They may look like they belong in a posh hotel, but patient rooms on the second floor in the North Wing are fully equipped to handle a patient’s urgent needs at a moment’s notice. ABOVE: Former NorthBay Healthcare President and CEO Gary Passama and wife Judy (left) were among the first to take a tour…
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The pièce de résistance in Surgical Suite No. 7 arrived in November and promises to help NorthBay surgeons deliver the most advanced techniques for patients in the years to come. It’s the da Vinci Surgical System, which offers surgeons an advanced set of instruments to use in performing robotic-assisted, minimally invasive surgery, via a console…
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Rare is the time you’d want to be wheeled into a surgical suite, but if fate happens to bring you to one of the eight operating rooms in NorthBay Medical Center’s new North Wing, know that they are all filled with the latest equipment, technology and talent found nowhere else in Solano County. ABOVE: J….
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Although the newly opened North Wing may seem like it’s the center of NorthBay Healthcare’s universe, it’s actually only one of a number of projects that have come to fruition in the past three years. The North Wing was actually the final piece of a three-phase project at the NorthBay Medical Center campus in Fairfield….
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If finding True North is synonymous with finding life’s purpose, then NorthBay Medical’s Center’s newly opened North Wing is aptly named. For a hospital, it delivers on all fronts: There are 22 sleekly designed patient rooms with high-tech features at every turn. Eight new surgical suites with the latest and greatest tools that technology can…
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After three years, construction on NorthBay Medical Center’s new North Wing was deemed officially complete when the California Office of Statewide Health & Development (OSHPD) completed final inspections on July 17. Immediately after that, move-in plans ramped up.ABOVE: NorthBay Medical Center’s new North Wing is home to 22 patient rooms, a large and brightly decorated…
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NorthBay Healthcare recently welcomed a new obstetrician/gynecologist to the Center for Women’s Health. Stella Huang, D.O., earned her medical degree at Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Vallejo and holds a master’s degree in epidemiology from Stanford University School of Medicine. In her new role at NorthBay she is the Inpatient Women’s Health Services…
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Physicians Team Up to Get Officer Back on his Bike Tony Blencowe, 46, was doing the job he loves when he felt a pinch in his neck. The California Highway Patrol officer was on his motorcycle taking a quick glance over his left shoulder when he felt something snap. It was a motion he’d made…
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Everyone wants to be healthy, but no one enjoys mulling over health plans and insurance models. PPO? HMO? It’s an alphabet headache! Yet the decisions you make will impact you and your family for years to come. When you choose a health plan, it’s just the first step on your path to good health. Make…
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ABOVE: The care team for Gerald Simoni (center) includes his girlfriend, Jean Eldridge and NorthBay Center for Primary Care staff (left to right) Tammy Ingham, M.A., Victoria Satterwhite, M.A., and Ali Hassani, M.D.Mary Jameson remembers the first time Gerald Simoni called her. “He was 98 years old and he was taking a vitamin a day,…
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It’s never fun for kids or adults to develop a high fever or to wrench a back muscle, but why does it always seem to happen on a Friday? Or late in the afternoon? If your physician isn’t available, does this mean a trip to an emergency room? NorthBay Healthcare has another solution: Care ’til…
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Want to pick the perfect physician for you and your family? Kelly Rhoads-Poston is ready to help. Prior to joining NorthBay Healthcare 20 years ago as a marketing representative and health plan specialist, she worked in the insurance industry. She understands the complicated health insurance landscape and goes out of her way to help others…
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Inspiration Streamlines Spine Program NorthBay Healthcare’s collaboration with Mayo Clinic has paved the way for patient-friendly improvements in the NorthBay Spine Program. In November 2018 Edie Zusman, M.D., director of the NorthBay Center for Neuroscience, and Christopher Rumery, M.D., a specialist in pain management, visited the Mayo Clinic’s Phoenix location, leaving with copious notes and…
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More than 30 students (right) from throughout Solano County who were selected to participate in the 2019 NorthBay Nurse Camp were able to take part in hands-on activities during their four-day session, exploring Surgery, Labor & Delivery, the Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Department and the Cardiac Catheterization Lab. It was a lively, friendly group of…
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Since opening its second Fairfield health center in November in NorthBay Health Plaza — located across the street from NorthBay Medical Center — OLE Health has reached a growing population of those most vulnerable when it comes to finding health care. Many local residents now have access to convenient, seamless and comprehensive health services they didn’t before its opening….
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Nominate a Special Nurse. Visit NorthBay.org/DAISY Healthier Living • A six-week class offered several times during the year, taught in conjunction with Solano Public Health and the Area Agency on Aging. Classes are free but space is limited. Call (707) 646-5469. Caregivers’ Support Group • For anyone involved in caring for a loved one with…
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NorthBay Urgent Care began as a vision intended to offer great patient access in a retail setting, and after its first full year of service, has been deemed a proven success, according to Wayne Gietz, vice president of NorthBay Healthcare’s Ambulatory Division. Instant Visits, an Instant Hit Instant Visits is a new service offered through…
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NorthBay Healthcare has welcomed two radiation oncologists to the NorthBay Cancer Center team. Stephen J.M. Banks, M.D. and David John Tate, M.D. have worked together for many years and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience. Both are board-certified by the American Board of Radiology. Dr. Banks grew up in Connecticut and earned his medical…
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Nominate a Special Nurse. Visit NorthBay.org/DAISY Healthier Living • A six-week class offered several times during the year, taught in conjunction with Solano Public Health and the Area Agency on Aging. Classes are free but space is limited. Call (707) 646-5469. Caregivers’ Support Group • For anyone involved in caring for a loved one with…
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