North Bay Leadership Council Welcomes Sonoma Valley Hospital as a Member
North Bay Leadership Council (NBLC) is pleased to announce that Sonoma Valley Hospital is a new member of the organization. Sonoma Valley Hospital (SVH) is a full-service acute care district hospital located in the city of Sonoma, providing compassionate expert care to the 42,000 residents of the Sonoma Valley Health Care District. The Hospital has 24 acute care beds and maintains a 27-bed Skilled Nursing Facility. SVH is the sole provider of acute inpatient care in the Sonoma Valley and offers a 24-hour emergency room, inpatient services with an ICU, surgical services and outpatient clinical testing and treatment. In 2018, the Hospital announced an affiliation with UCSF Health to better serve the community.
NLBC’s Board Chair, Patty Garbarino, who is President of Marin Sanitary Services, said “NBLC is proud to have Sonoma Valley Hospital join us in our work to advocate for employers like them to support the healthcare system in the North Bay, and seek more workforce housing, better transportation, improved education and training of the workforce, and adapting to the impacts of climate change to lessen the fires, drought and storms that are wreaking havoc in our region.”
In recent years, SVH has undergone extensive renovation including completing seismic structural upgrades and opening a new wing with a modern Emergency Department and Surgery Center. In 2020, the Hospital opened the first phase of a new Outpatient Diagnostic Center which, when completed, will contain a state-of-the-art CT scanner and MRI. The Hospital is fully accredited by the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ), meeting national standards for healthcare quality and safety.
John Hennelly, president and CEO of SVH will be the NBLC member representative. Hennelly said, “The pandemic has underscored how important a robust healthcare system is to the North Bay. We are looking forward to working with other members of NBLC to ensure the high quality of our healthcare providers is maintained and supported as we continue through and beyond these challenging times. We are strong proponents of collaboration and appreciate that the members of NBLC are, too.”
In November, the voters approved a renewal of the district’s parcel tax measure, a great accomplishment in Hennelly’s first year. Prior to leading SVH, he served as CEO of St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, where he led a financial and operational turnaround, overseeing the 93-bed hospital’s 2019 sale to Santa Clara County. His prior experience includes executive positions at hospitals in Chicago, including at Presence Health, an 11-hospital system, and Saint Anthony Hospital. Hennelly holds a BA from American University in Washington, DC, and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He is fluent in Spanish.
SVH works closely with many healthcare providers to provide patients with a seamless continuum of care. They are affiliated with UCSF Health, the top-rated medical center in California and one of the top five hospitals in the nation according to U. S. News & World Report. This affiliation strives to improve healthcare for Sonoma Valley residents by combining the specialized expertise and resources of UCSF Health with the community care focus of SVH.
They also maintain service agreements with other hospitals and healthcare providers in the region including MarinHealth Medical Network, Meritage Medical Network, MarinHealth Medical Center, St Joseph’s Heath, California Pacific Medical Center, and Sonoma Valley Community Health Center.
