Our relationship with UCSF Health has proven very successful since it began in 2018 and has helped the Hospital better serve our community, especially during the current Covid-19 crisis as UCSF has provided support on several levels.
The future of this relationship was the topic of a closed meeting of the Board last month and at last week’s meeting I shared highlights of our recent discussions with UCSF on ways we might expand the affiliation.
The President of UCSF Affiliates has proposed further integration in the form of a Management Services Agreement. It calls for SVH Executive Leadership – our CEO, CFO and CMO – to be employed by UCSF, with SVH reimbursing UCSF on a pass-through basis. Under this agreement, the SVH CEO would continue to report directly to the SVHCD Board of Directors with a dotted line to the UCSF Affiliates President. The SVH CFO and CMO would continue to report to the SVH CEO, with a dotted line to the appropriate UCSF leaders.
Direct services such as operations improvement, quality and regulatory issues, strategic planning and development, and marketing could potentially be purchased from UCSF if desired. SVH would continue to provide services such as Information Technology, Human Resources, revenues cycle, and facilities management. In addition, UCSF may contract with SVH to provide certain services such as the diagnostic services already planned through our new Outpatient Diagnostic Center.
While the SVHCD Board has discussed these options and their benefits, it’s important to get feedback and comment from SVH leaders, medical staff and our community. To facilitate this, a community input session via Zoom videoconferencing has been scheduled for Tuesday, Oct 13 at 5:30 pm, with a presentation by Shelby DeCosta, the President of UCSF Affiliates. Click here for the Zoom meeting link. Use Meeting ID: 970 7717 4825, and Passcode: 333335. We encourage you to participate and share your thoughts.
Final recommendations regarding the UCSF relationship will be brought to the monthly Board meeting on November 5 for review and approval by the full Board.
Covid Situation Improves
In her monthly report, Chief Medical Officer Sabrina Kidd MD, said that the number of Covid-19 cases at the Hospital continues to decline and are currently at their lowest level since early June. She said the Hospital remains open and has seen an increase in the number of patients seeking elective care, which they can do with confidence as SVH continues to maintain strict protocols to ensure the safety of patients who visit the Hospital. SVH maintains a no-visitor policy with only those seeking services allowed to enter.
Dr. Kidd reported that the Hospital’s Incident Command Center, which was activated in February to monitor and respond to the pandemic, continues to meet and has begun to monitor the air quality situation which has become much worse in our area due to the fires in Sonoma and Napa counties. She said the Hospital has deployed more than 20 air scrubbers through the facility to maintain air quality at safe levels.
Emphasizing Patient Satisfaction
Ensuring that each patient is treated with compassion and provided with excellent, safe care, is an ongoing priority for the Hospital, which prides itself on treating patients like family. Recent studies have shown that patient satisfaction is directly related to how engaged Hospital staff is with their work.
At last week’s Board meeting, Chief Quality Officer Director Danielle Jones discussed a new initiative called Human Experience intended to accomplish just that. The first phase involves the Quality Department meeting with staff to gain input and insights into how the Hospital can further improve patient safety and care, and support staff in their work. This initiative will unfold over the next year or so and will implement creative new solutions affecting patient care at every level of the Hospital.
CEO Search Update
Board member Joshua Rymer, who is chairing the CEO Search Committee tasked to identify candidates to replace Kelly Mather who leaves for a new position at the end of this year, reported that the executive recruiting firm retained by the Board is actively looking for candidates. Rymer said there is still time for community members to share their opinions about the search and CEO qualifications. The committee has set up a separate email address to encourage community comment: svhnewceo2020@gmail.com. To maintain confidentiality, Rymer said emails sent to this address will go directly to the search firm and will not be seen by either the Board or the Search Committee.
Next Board Meeting
The next regular District Board meeting will be held on Thursday, November 5, at 6 pm. Complying with state regulations on physical distancing due to the coronavirus, Board meetings are being conducted by video conferencing. The public is encouraged to participate and video conferencing details are available on the Hospital website. Public comment is always welcome.
Sincerely,
Jane
Jane Hirsch
Chair of the SVHCD Board of Directors