Sonoma Valley Hospital has released the annual update to its three-year rolling strategic plan revealing a near-term focus on maintaining quality of care, expanding services and on renewing the parcel tax upon which it relies for around 5 percent of its funding.
The 2017-19 plan was developed by a committee of board members, physicians and hospital leaders.
“We have done a great job in executing the strategies in prior years, but a lesson I’ve learned is that improvement is a process and not a destination,” said hospital CEO Kelly Mather in a blog post about the plan. “The plan provides an evolving view not just of the hospital’s role, but of the challenges we must address in today’s ever-changing health care environment.”
Four of the specific goals for Sonoma Valley Hospital detailed in the plan include:
Remaining in the top quarter in quality measures (according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
Identifying new and enhanced service and revenue opportunities
Expanding services based on community need
Asking the community to renew the hospital parcel tax in 2017; last year the tax provided nearly $3 million out of the hospital’s $56 million in operating expenses.
Mather noted that in 2016, the hospital focused on increasing access to physician specialists in Sonoma by adding two new general surgeons, expanding cardiology care, and adding specialists in nephrology and podiatry.
The hospital also focused on community outreach with a goal of improving the quality of life in Sonoma with health screenings, education and partnerships.
The strategic plan details some challenges faced by health care providers nationwide, as well as some specific to Sonoma Valley.
MediCal payments (which result in lower service reimbursement for hospitals) have jumped from 7 percent of the hospital’s patient payments to 20 percent in Sonoma in less than two years. Overall, commercially insured payer volume has dropped from 24 percent to 20 percent, equating to more than $2 million less in revenue per year.
In terms of hospital usage, inpatient admissions this year at SVH were up slightly (4 percent) after having declined rapidly “for many years,” according to the plan.
Emergency department visits have increased by more than 20 percent in the last two years and are now expected to hold steady at around 10,500 annually.
Admissions from emergency room services also are projected to continue to increase.
The market for outpatient procedures for Valley residents is projected to grow by 3.6 percent from 2014 to 2017. SVH has a high market share in lab, radiology and rehabilitation, with a year-over-year increase in orthopedic surgery. General surgery declined this past year.
The hospital currently has specialists in urology, general surgery, bariatrics, orthopedics, ENT, spine, vascular, cardiology, pain management and nephrology. Mather said that an announcement of new doctors arriving in Sonoma would be forthcoming in the next few weeks.
The plan notes that in terms of patient satisfaction, over the past 12 months, SVH has scored above the 60th percentile in six of the nine areas surveyed, which is described by hospital officials as being “above average compared to hospitals in the nation as monitored by CMS.”
In other news, for the third straight year, Sonoma Valley Hospital has been recognized for its environmentally-friendly practices by the nonprofit Practice Greenhealth. The “Greenhealth Partner for Change” award recognizes improvements in sustainable environmental practices like waste reduction, recycling, conservation and source reduction programs.
The hospital also received a special award “for making substantial progress in reducing the environmental impact of the surgical environment.”
Specific environmental programs noted by the hospital include the replacement of 103 toilets with low-flow models, which reduced its water use by more than half; overall recycling efforts which have increased recycled content by 5 percent in the past year; and a switch to 100 percent green cleaners for floors and windows.
The hospital’s conservation green team includes Kimberly Drummond, Sarah Dungan, Laura Gallmeyer, Nancy Large, Kathy Mathews, Rosemary Pryszmant, Karen Clark, Lucia Padilla, Bob Harrison, Allan Sendaydiego and Ken Jensen.
Email Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: