For tens of thousands of Solano County residents, an important decision is at hand. Sadly, most people will spend more time considering a new car purchase than researching which doctor and health system to trust with their well-being and the lives of their loved ones.

There is one connection that is often overlooked: When you enroll in a health plan, you are selecting the options you and your family will have when it comes to a physician or specialist. It also determines where you will have your baby—if that’s in your plans—and how close you will be for everything from routine appointments to emergency care.

It was more than 60 years ago that a group of civic leaders and a handful of community physicians decided that Solano County needed an independent, community-focused health care system. They wanted a local choice, a not-for-profit provider of compassionate care and advanced medicine, close to home.

During the next six decades, NorthBay Healthcare evolved from a small, one-hospital operation, run by a few community doctors, to the county’s most comprehensive health system that serves local residents from their first day in this world through their golden years.

Today it has an extraordinary relationship with Mayo Clinic as a member of its renowned Mayo Clinic Care Network.

This year, members of CalPERS will be welcomed to our services as Western Health Advantage becomes an option for public employees. And a new partnership with Canopy Health (see related story, Page 24) will open doors to more who wish to come here for their care.

Every day we live by our founders’ guiding principles: Deliver extraordinary care, offer choices that other health care providers are unwilling or unable to, and ensure our patients benefit from advanced medicine without having to leave their community.

The current health care landscape in America is not easy to comprehend. Headlines during the past few months have injected uncertainty, unease and unwelcome discord. So as decision time arrives, I worry some may not deliberate fully and carefully.

This edition of Wellspring is our invitation—a “Choosers’ Guide”—for you to look long and hard at what is best for you and your family. When you explore your options, we believe you will choose NorthBay Healthcare.

Be well.

B. Konard Jones
President and Chief Executive Officer