As NorthBay Health charts its road to economic recovery, it does so with several new faces on its executive team, all committed to dynamic leadership and creative approaches to building a sustainable health care system that will continue to serve the community for years to come.

Paul McGinty, President of NorthBay Health Foundation. Paul came to NorthBay in March from Humboldt County, where he served as Chief Philanthropy Officer for Providence Health’s two hospitals on the North Coast. For more than 10 years, he guided a philanthropic campaign leading the St. Joseph Hospital and Redwood Memorial Foundations.

“It was important to find the right person to guide the future of our foundation, which meant taking the time necessary to search far and wide,” noted B. Konard Jones, NorthBay Health President and CEO. “When you meet Paul, recognize his enthusiasm and hear his vision for taking us to the next level, you will know that it was worth the wait.”

Paul understands the importance of his role in NorthBay’s economic recovery plan, and is already at work organizing donor events and fundraising efforts. (See “NorthBay Health Foundation Presses Forward with Vision, Vigor” for more details the evolution of the Foundation.)

Sheniece Smith, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel. Sheniece joined NorthBay Health in October 2021. She is responsible for the legal, risk management, public relations, marketing and physician compensation departments. Prior to this role, she served as Vice President General Counsel for Hannibal Regional Healthcare System where she had direct oversight for legal, risk management, clinical information systems and technical services and securities.

Sheniece joined the Hannibal Regional team in 2019 after working at Children’s Hospital of Orange County for more than 10 years in various roles, including Chief of Staff to the CEO and Associate General Counsel.

Sheniece is also an adjunct professor at USC Gould School of Law where she developed and teaches a health law and policy course. Sheniece has a passion for helping the community and remains involved in volunteer activities to help the underserved.

Her work has been recognized with the Top 100 Healthcare Visionaries Award presented by the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare earlier this year, by the Orange County Business Journal which named her one of OC’s 500 most influential leaders in 2018, and by Senator Lou Correa who presented her with the Women Making a Difference Award.

Heather Resseger, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer. Heather has taken on the role of Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer. Heather has worked at NorthBay since 2016, most recently serving as Assistant Vice President of Quality and Care Management.

Heather said she considers the Chief Nursing Officer job a dream come true, giving her a chance to work closely with front line nurses and patient care teams in delivering excellent care.

“I love nurses and being able to connect with staff in this role is very exciting,” she said.

Heather has been a nurse for nearly 20 years with wide-ranging experience, from bedside as an ICU and telemetry nurse, to management roles at facilities in Oregon and California. Prior to joining NorthBay Health in 2016, she served as director of nursing operations at Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, Oregon, and was director of inpatient nursing at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital before that.

She has extensive experience at both large and community-based medical facilities. At NorthBay, she oversees quality reporting and care management; she has worked with physicians and nursing leadership to improve data collection and analysis; helped implement a Daily Safety Briefing; and introduced several new programs including Clinical Documentation Improvement, Safety Saves, and the Journey to Zero Harm.

Heather will be working with clinical teams to streamline work flow within the hospitals to improve efficiency and ensure quality and safety.

Longtime leader retires. Steve Huddleston, who served as Vice President of Public Affairs from 2008 to 2020, retired in July and will not be replaced. His work in health care followed a 32-year career as a journalist — writer, editor and finally publisher of the daily newspaper in Vacaville. At NorthBay, he oversaw government affairs, community outreach, public relations and communications.

“We wish Steve well in his retirement and thank him for all his years of service to NorthBay Health and to our community,” said Konard. “He will be missed but not forgotten.”