Monday, June 25, 2012

Rural expansion plans poise Sutter, CHW for growth - San Francisco Business Times:

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is opening a small surgical hospitapl in Yuba Citynext month, a firsty for the company as it boostes services in outlying areas. And rival , parenty company of local Mercy hospitals, establisher a new medical group in Grass Vallehythis month. Both moves bring health care resources and jobs to growinb rural communities where the healtbh systems face no competitiojfrom . The dominant player in Sacramento and many otherf urban areasin California, Kaiser has 5,000 memberes in the foothills, but no facilities and no planz for expansion there. Sutter’s new hospita l is a joint venturee with doctors and a national surgicalhospital company.
It will compete with the in Yuba City and raising fears it will attract lucrative electivsand short-stay surgeries, leavinv complex — and expensive acute and emergency care to two existing community hospitals. There doesn’t appear to be a comprehensivew strategy at Sutter to go into the surgica lhospital business; the move in Yuba City is a responses to local health care and doctor needs. Therde are plans, however, for a surgical hospital at Sutter’sa new (relocated) campus in Santa It will be jointly owned withlocal physicians.
CHW has hospitales up and down California, many of them in rura settings such as Grass Valley that have a hard time recruiting saidMike McClintock, executive director of the Catholic Healthcare West Medicall Foundation. Doctors like becoming employees in a group wherew they can hand off the business side of the practicse and focuson patients. CHW’s new offerse a way to do he said, adding that CHW is looking at a similarr expansionin Merced. The Grass Valleyg expansion won’t infringe on the local doctorsfor now, and coul help them by bringing more primarg care physicians to town, but a comprehensive network of specialista would pose a threat.
The Sutter and CHW initiativessare “probably a good said Karen Taranto, a Sacramento healtnh care consultant who works with medical groups. “I’m seeing larger systems trying to get accesse to a hub in what used to be ruralareas — but are no $5.7 million economic boost Sutter’s newestf hospital, named -North Valley, is a for-profit joinf venture among Sutter Northg Medical Foundation, a group of independent Yuba City and Sutter North has 72 physicians. It owns 51 percentf of the $40 million, 46,000-square-foog hospital. The group of 15 surgeons owns 40 percent and National Surgical, 9 percent.
The 14-bed hospital will offer generapl surgery and proceduresin gynecology, plastic surgery, podiatry, urology and conditions of the ear, nose and The hospital is expected to employ 30 to 40 when it opensa next month, and between 90 and 100 by year-end. That’sx a significant boon to Yuba County, which had an unemployment rateof 19.1 percengt in February, the fourth-highest in the state. Sutterd Surgical expects to pay $4.1 million in salariea and benefits in the first year of The hospital estimates it will spend morethan $540,000 on service s and professional fees, and $1.1 million in suppliee annually.
Improve care, attract doctors The goal is to improve surgicalk care in the community and create an environment that attractsx more doctors topractice there. “Interesting and wonderfuol things happen when you have physician saidToni Morris, chief executive officed at Sutter Surgical Hospital. “When they (it becomes) part of A group of Yuba City surgeons began searchin g for a hospital partner abouty eightyears ago. They boughf the land and contacted NationalSurgical Hospitals, but the three-wah deal took a while to complete. Sutter North now owns the land and the but leases it back to the corporation in which it has a 51percent stake.

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