Learn AboutOfferings of

of Occ Health— Page 16

1

…Check My NorthBay, Your Employee Portal, for News in

Real Tim

e…

Donna Dabeck (left), manager of talent acquisition, addresses a crowd of job candidates during the North-Bay career fair March 7 at Green Valley Administration Center. For a story and more photos on the seven-hour fair, see Pages 12-13.

NorthBay Honors Life, Legacy of Beloved CFO

See CFO, Page 17

LASERFocus SAFETY

Career Fair Frenzy!

Hundreds Cometo Learn About Opportunities

on

Nurses Find Waysto Aid OpEx Goals

Months of planning that re-sulted in changes in nursing operations, and adjustments put in place through a collaborative shared-governance process, are advancing our quality of care.

Operational Excellence (OpEx) goals can help NorthBay main-

It’s Patient Safety Awareness Week March 10-16 and NorthBay Healthcare is laser-focused on its many safety programs and initia-tives. Check out some recent and not-so-recent developments:s Plans are in the works to

announce NorthBay Safety Stars. See Page 14.s The Atlas Lift Coach Annual

Report highlights ways North-Bay can improve its record using available resources. See Page 15.s A new “Safety Saves” Pro-

gram will soon join a host of oth-ers. See Page 14.

On a rain-soaked Saturday, March 2, family, friends and the NorthBay Healthcare family gathered to cele-brate the life and legacy of Art DeNio with tributes, photographs and lots of memories.

The DeNio family and NorthBay senior leaders huddled under a small canopy to dedicate a permanent me-morial on the Green Valley campus

See NURSES, Page 10

3.13.19

2

TO REMEMBERDATES

IN THE NEWSPEOPLE

LETTERS

DATES

PEOPLE

NEW FACESWELCOMEWELCOME

LETTERS

03.15.19 CareWear Sale, NorthBay Medical Center Annex 1 & 203.18.19 CareWear Sale, VVH Café Conference Room04.02.19 Retirement Plan Meetings, GVAC Room 16004.03.19 Retirement Plan Meetings, VacaValley Health Plaza, Suite 29004.04.19 Retirement Plan Meetings, NorthBay Health Plaza, Suite 20404.16.19 Journey Through Grief 10-week session begins, NorthBay Bereavement Center04.24.19 Retirement Plan Meetings, Hilborn Administration Center, Suite 22904.26.19 Deadline for Nurse Camp applications05.03.19 Spine and Concussion Conference, GVAC05.18.19 Solano Wine & Food Jubilee, Harbison Event Center, Nut Tree07.19.19 NorthBay Guild Golf Classic, Eagle Vines

HR Night OwlsVisit March 15

1 to 5 a.m.

Human Resources Manager Robert Armijo and Director Mary Dugbarty

at your service.

VacaValley HospitalNorthBay Medical Center

Angelina BerryPatient Services Rep.Ambulatory Float PoolHilborn Administration Center

Marie BransonPatient Services Rep.Outpatient Rehab Support SpecialistNorthBay Health Plaza

Francisco CabreraDirector, Clinical EngineeringNorthBay Medical Center

Manean ChaneyClinical Lab Scientist IIClinical LaboratoryVacaValley Hospital

Palanivelu ChenapiahRespiratory Care Practioner IIRespiratory TherapyVacaValley Hospital

Tamiko EllisClinical Nurse IIIntensive Care UnitNorthBay Medical Center

Jilliann FarrellMedical AssistantAmbulatory Float PoolHilborn Administration Center

Maria Edelyn HechanovaUnit Clerk/Nurse Assistant1-West Med-Surg., VacaValley Hospital

Amy HuaClinical Nurse IIIntensive Care Unit, NorthBay Medical Center

Amanda Grace IraoOccupational TherapistNorthBay Medical Center

Danielle KeithStaffing/Scheduling SpecialistClinical Support ServicesVacaValley Hospital

Jared LeeClinical Nurse IIIntensive Care Unit, NorthBay Medical Center

Katrina NolascoClinical Nurse IIUnit 1800 Med- Surg., NorthBay Medical Center

Karen Opheim-VikstromGenetics CounselorMedical Oncology, VacaValley Wellness Center

Clarisa OrtegaMedical AssistantCardiology Clinic, Gateway Health Plaza

Ana Ortiz NavarroPatient Services Rep.Fairfield Center for Primary Care

Donna ParrotPhysician RecruiterHilborn Administration Center

Josefina PeralezMedical Assistant Ambulatory Float PoolHilborn Administration Center

Trisha RunkleCoordinator, Procedure Based ServicesMaterials ManagementNorthBay Medical Center

Pavandeep SanghaRespiratory Care Practitioner IINorthBay Medical Center

Richard SorianoPhysical Therapy AssistantRancho Solano Sports Rehab

Tanisha WallsHome Health AideHome HealthGreen Valley Health Plaza

3

Nurse Camp Founder a Hometown Hero Maureen Allain, R.N., a co-founder

of NorthBay Nurse Camp, has been selected by Travis Air Force Base as a Hometown Hero and, as one of a num-ber of heroes, will be honored during the 2019 Thunder Over the Bay Air Show March 30-31.

But first, she’ll be treated to a flight in a C-17 Globemaster III military cargo aircraft on a tour of the bay on Monday, March 25.

The four-hour flight over San Fran-cisco Bay will give her a front-row seat to panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Area.

“To be nominated and selected is such an honor,” said Maureen. “I be-lieve in community involvement and the positive impact we can have on the youth of our community. NorthBay has been so supportive of the Nurse Acad-emy and Nurse Camp over the last 15 years. I feel honored to be supported and encouraged by such a great organization.”

Maureen is excited about the opportunity to fly over the Bay Area and is hoping for a clear day so she can appreciate the bird’s eye-view.

“My dad was a SeaBee in the Navy but I did not grow up near a military base, so this will be my first time in a military plane,” she said.

The theme of this year’s air show, which is head-lined by a performance of the U.S. Air Force Thun-derbirds, is “Honoring our Hometown Heroes.”

NorthBay Healthcare nominated Maureen, who has been an ICU nurse here for 28 of her 38 years in the nursing profession. She teamed up with friend and colleague Mary Hempen, R.N., now retired, to create Nurse Camp, which has inspired hundreds of young people to consider health care careers and specifically nursing as a profession.

The pair also founded the NorthBay Nursing Acad-emy, which sends registered nurses into classrooms and after-school programs at local high schools once a month, sharing speakers, presentations and tools

of the trade with interested students.And the crown jewel — Nurse

Camp – has provided hands-on ex-perience for 438 high school students during a four-day intensive deep dive into nursing at NorthBay Medical Cen-ter and NorthBay VacaValley Hospi-tals over a 15-year run.

Of the students who have at-tended Nurse Camp, 15 have gone on to earn their bachelor’s degree in nursing and have become nurses, and a couple even work for NorthBay Healthcare now.

In the meantime, Maureen contin-ues to serve patients in the ICU, and also fills in as an administrative co-

ordinator for the hospitals, directing patient place-ment and handling issues as they arise.

“How exciting!” said Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Traci Duncan. “Maureen is a salt-of-the-earth nurse — solid, calm, pragmatic, excellent common sense, a source of wisdom for all. We are pleased Travis agreed that she deserved to be hon-ored as one of our Hometown Heroes.”

The air show will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 30 and 31 and admission is free.

In addition to the headliner event, other per-formers scheduled include the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team as well as the F-22 Raptor and C-17 Globemaster III demonstration teams. There will be static displays from flying units from around the nation, Travis’ own aircraft and displays from both CalFire and the California Highway Pa-trol. There will also be a fun zone for children, 10 and under.

Static aircraft on display during the 2017 air show included T-38 Talon, T-41C Mescalero, A-10 Thunderbolt II, B-52 Stratofortress, F-16 Fighting Falcon, KC-135 Stratotanker, C-12 Huron, Cessna C-206, Cessna C-310B, Piper Archer III, C-182 Skyline, MH-60R Seahawk, California Highway Pa-trol helicopter and the newest F-35 Lightning II.

She’ll Soar Before Air Fair

Maureen Allain, R.N.

4

Million Dollar Man

Join in Planning OurFiesta Parade Entry

Want to join the committee that plans NorthBay Healthcare’s participation in the 2019 Fiesta Days parade? Now is your chance. The committee is recruiting new members.

The theme of our entry this year will be “Committed to Our Community: Past, Pres-ent and Future.” It not only coincides with the parade’s theme, but will give us a chance to celebrate NorthBay Medical Center’s 60th an-niversary.

The parade is Saturday, May 25, in down-town Vacaville. It starts at 10 a.m.

The parade planning committee meets a couple of times prior to the event. If interest-ed, contact Human Resources Manager Robert Armijo at RArmijo@NorthBay.org, or call him at ext. 3316.

NorthBay Healthcare Advantage President and Vice President of Strategic Development Elnora Cameron (left) and Joelyn Gropp, as-sistant vice president of facilities development, congratulates Chris Matthews, director of Real Estate, for being honored with an I Am NorthBay Award. Chris was recognized for saving the organization at least $1 million in the past year on savings from property taxes. Not only was he able to save property taxes this year, because of our nonprofit status, but was able to get the organization reim-bursed for property taxes paid during the last five years.

Honoring Commanders, Honorary CommandersNorthBay Healthcare participated in the Travis Regional Armed Forces Com-manders Night at Jelly Belly March 6, honoring both military commanders, including Major General Sam Barrett (top, left), and honorary commanders. NorthBay Foundation Board members serving as honorary commanders are (above, left to right) Nancy Meadows-Trigueiro, Candy Pierce and Heidi Campini, posing here with Nancy’s assigned commander, Lt. Col. Aaron Webb. Honorary Commander Tracey Clifton, R.N., (bottom photo, center) poses with NorthBay’s Senior Director of Physician Contracting and Ambula-tory Financial Operations Leard Mita (left) and husband Brent Clifton.

5

Volunteer dentists and assistants work on patients during the CDA Cares event at the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo.

NorthBayEmployeesVolunteerfor Event

Hundreds of patients were lined up before 6 a.m. on March 7 at the Solano County Fair-grounds in Vallejo for free dental care.

The two-day California Dental Association’s CDA Cares event was expected to help some 2,000 people in need of services that ranged from cleanings and fillings to extractions and temporary partial dentures.

NorthBay is a major spon-sor of the event and had volun-teers helping with check-ins and releases, as well as pharmacy needs. NorthBay donated more than 5,000 doses of acetamino-phen, amoxicillin, azithromycin and ibuprofen for the patients.

Dan Ford, Pharmacy clinical practice manager, helped to run the pharmacy area of the event. It wasn’t his first time. “Three years ago, I was ‘voluntold’ by Art (DeNio) and I thought it was a good cause and enjoyed it,” he said. “My wife is a dentist, so we volunteered together that year. And for me, it’s all a little nostal-gic as well, because my wife and I met at a volunteer dental clinic in San Diego.”

Terese Davis, director of Pa-tient Access, was also a repeat volunteer at the event.

“I volunteer mainly to give back to the underprivileged,” she explained. “I started volunteering years ago when Art rallied the

team to come out and volunteer. And it was great, we actually got to talk with people about insur-ance and how to connect with Medicare.”

For Terese, the best part is seeing the change patients go through.

“The end result is wonderful.

You see patients who come in with no teeth or severe problems with their teeth and they won’t smile. But then, when they are leaving, they are smiling and happy and don’t feel like people are staring at them,” she said. “It’s very rewarding to see that transformation.”

Tammy Evans, Pa-tient Access manag-er, (left) and Felicita

Neideffer, Patient Access analyst, chat

during the event.

6

NorthBay VacaValley staff took compassionate care to a whole other level when they converted a waiting room into a wedding chapel to help fulfill the wish of a dying patient.

Cynthia Giaquinto, program manager for Orthopedics and the Joint Replacement Program, heard about the event from staff members a few days afterwards, when they casually mentioned “we had a wedding the other day.”

Apparently, it all happened on Dec. 31, 2018, when the termi-nally ill patient expressed a wish to see her son get married.

“Dec. 31 also happened to be the patient’s and her husband’s anniversary, so her son and fian-cé chose this date to marry, and the family asked if they could use our surgical waiting room for their little ceremony.”

When Loida de Vera, JRP pro-gram coordinator, and Lili Zara-goza, restorative nurse assistant, heard the request they felt they could help make the wish come

true.The two went about the hos-

pital and borrowed several of the beautiful poinsettias that were in different departments, along with some holiday decorations. They put sheets on tables to look like linen tablecloths and moved the furniture to give the impression of a small chapel. They located some silk flowers in a storage area and wrapped them in gauze with a big bow to create a bou-quet.

“When the family returned they were stunned and said that they never expected such a

transition in the waiting room,” Cynthia recalled.

The patient, with her nurse from 2-West, Ana Lisa Alcantara Hall, at her side, was able to at-tend the ceremony along with more than 30 family members and friends.

“There was not a dry eye in the ‘chapel’ as the happy couple celebrated with our patient.”

The patient passed away in VacaValley Hospital about 30 days later, Cynthia said.

“It truly was staff exemplifying the NorthBay Way in caring for this patient and her family.”

Staff Movesto MakeWedding

Wish Reality

NorthBay Healthcare is proud to be part of a peer support group for those affected by do-mestic violence.

New Leaf provides a safe place

for people to connect with other survivors who share similar ex-periences on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. The location of the meetings is available by registering for the

group which can be done by call-ing (707) 820-7288.

New Leaf is presented by the Solano Empowerment Collabora-tion.

NorthBay Supports New Leaf Program for Victims of Domestic Violence

Poinsettias, bed linens and extra seating transformed a waiting room into a wedding chapel at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital.

7

NorthBay Healthcare leaders turned out to be part of the moving and shaking when the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce hosted a Movers and Shakers breakfast Feb. 28 at the Opera House in downtown Vacaville. At the NorthBay table (above, left to right) were Vice President of Public Affairs Steve Huddleston, Direc-tor of Public Relations Diane Barney, Director of Real Estate Chris Matthews, President and CEO Konard Jones, Assistant Vice President of Managed Care Steve Davis and Public Relations Specialist Sally Wyatt. Konard had a chance to meet Assemblymember Jim Frazier (above, left to right), Solano County Supervisor John Vasquez and retired Reporter Publisher, local colum-nist and artist Richard Rico.

#HealthTipTuesday FanEarns $50 Amazon Card

Advances in cancer treatment and genetic counseling will be the subject of the next #OurDocTalk on the NorthBay Facebook page (Facebook.com/ NorthBayHealthcare).

The hus-band and wife team of NorthBay on-cologist/hema-tologist Brian Vikstrom, M.D., and NorthBay ge-netic counselor Karen Vikstrom will team up for the chat, which will be held from 12:30 to 1 p.m. today.

#OurDocTalk is a series of live chats on Facebook where follow-ers of the NorthBay Facebook page can ask questions and get answers live during the stream-ing video discussion. Questions can also be e-mailed in advance to Robin.Miller@NorthBay.org.

Vikstrom& Vikstrom

Team Up

We’re Moving and Shaking

Congratulations are in order for Sandra Lopez, an EMG technician at the NorthBay Center for Neurosci-ence.

Sandra is the winner of February #HealthTipTuesday drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card. She won by post-ing comments and sharing the health tips posted each Tuesday on the NorthBay Facebook page (Facebook.com/NorthBayHealthcare).

You could be the next winner. Just post a comment and share our #HealthTipTuesday posts and you will be automatically entered in the March drawing. Comment. Share. Win!

Sandra Lopez shows off the gift card she won by comment-ing on and sharing #HealthTipTuesday posts on Facebook.

8

From Mail to Online

Dr. Lopez Offers Expert, Thorough Care

Feedback Policy

FYI publishes letters written to administration and staff of NorthBay Healthcare, as well as social media posts and excerpts of patient reviews. Editors of FYI reserve the right to edit them for length and content. We suggest letters be limited to 250 words in length.

We typically withhold names of patients unless they specifically request to be named.

If you’ve received a letter you’d like to share, or want to write a letter to share with fellow employees, please e-mail it to dbarney@northbay.org.

Dear Dr. Lopez:

I want to thank you for all that you have done since you started working with me in April 2018. Thank you for the time, energy and expertise that went into your response to my difficulty speak-ing above a whisper. I had been having what I thought was a pri-vate (and unsuccessful) struggle with that problem. When you shifted me into “action mode” I was scheduled for an X-ray

the same day. Shortly after that came a completed referral to Dr. Kristin Woodbury. She is great. It was a relief to see movement in a positive direction. The refer-ral by you is but one example of what an amazing experience it is being a patient under your care. When Dr. Shahmir was not satis-fied with the periodic infusions of Venofer he had been prescribing, he called on you for your ex-pertise and an entire new world

opened up for me: treatment, lab work and analysis, and adjust-ments for the next cycle. All of this with regular feedback and support from you directly.

Not only do I thank you, my body thanks you when I walk, and when I lift the light weights.

I really appreciate and am thankful for all that you and your staff are doing to support me at NorthBay.

— A Rio Vista patient

A Great Patient Experience To Jennifer Shoemaker, program manager for Patient Experience:

We consider ourselves fortu-nate to have found such a skilled, caring and compassionate facility as NorthBay Medical Center.

Please extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to EVERY-ONE who cared for my sister dur-ing her surgery and recovery. She has a long way to go but she has been set on the path by NorthBay.

I cannot begin to remember everyone’s names — from front

desk to 1800 unit, to ICU, neu-rologists and neurosurgeons to nurses and CNAs, lifters, café and kitchen staff and those who kept the place clean — You are all wonderful and will always have a place in our gratitude and prayers.

— A patient’s family

For Kevin Miller, D.P.M.:

So far, so ... great!!! Couldn’t ask for a better doc to care for my feet!

— Posted on Google

Good Doc, From Head to Toe

To NorthBay Board of Directors and Senior Staff:

I send you all my love and good wishes for a happy and joy-ous life.

Recently, I had the pleasure of staying at the NorthBay Medi-cal Center, Unit 1800, for almost

two weeks as I suffered from an infection. I am in absolute gratitude to your staff, doctors, medical professionals, nurses, nursing assistants, and all those who cared for me. Your team was absolutely spectacular, and from the bottom of my heart I want to say thank you!

I hope you reward your staff, not only for their medical knowl-

edge, but also for their attitude of caring and compassion that they show to patients. This level of love and compassion cannot be taught, only demonstrated from the purest of hearts.

I am still in the process of recovering and I hope to be 100 percent soon. I could not have done this without you all.

— A patient

Patient Grateful for Compassionate on Unit 1800

9

Is your get up and go, getting up and going? Learn about an amazing new way to treat enlarged prostate that won’t require ongoing medica-tion or surgery during a live lecture by NorthBay Healthcare urologist Herkanwal Khaira, M.D.

Dr. Khaira will present informa-tion on UroLift during Doc Talk Live events scheduled for from 6 to 7 p.m. April 30, at the Hampton Inn & Suites, 945 Hartle Court in Napa and at 6 p.m. on Sept. 12, at the same location in Napa. Talks are also slated from 10 to 11 a.m. on June 27 in Fairfield and from 1 to 2 p.m. Dec. 12, in Vacaville.

For more information and tickets, visit: https://bit.ly/2XELyAB

Decision on Genetic Testing is a Good StepNorthBay Healthcare Genet-

ics Counselor Karen Vikstrom is cheering on a recent decision by the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS), which is call-ing for an increased use of ge-netic testing for those diagnosed with breast cancer and their rela-tives who might be at risk.

“Genetic testing is helpful in creating a personalized treat-ment plan for women with breast cancer,” noted Karen. “Typically, it is offered to people who meet testing criteria, but the trend is to start offering it to all patients, and ASBrS is the first to come out and recommend this.”

The new recommendations follow a study that found a simi-lar rate of genetic mutations in breast cancer patients who did not qualify for testing under pre-vious criteria and those who did.

The study’s co-author, Dr. Pe-ter Beitsch, said the society has

“embraced” his research “and is rewriting their ge-netic testing statement to alert their members that genetic testing should be made available to all their breast cancer patients.”

The new guidelines also recommend re-evaluating breast cancer patients who underwent genetic tests in the past to check for newly identified breast cancer-linked genes.

So much has changed in the past 20 years, since the first guidelines were published by the National Comprehensive Cancer Center (NCCN). Back then it cost about $5,000 for a patient to be tested, and that was for only two genes: BRCA1 and BRCA 2. Now there are dozens of genes linked to breast and other cancers, all of which can be tested for as low as $200.

Because the guide-lines became so complex, disease-causing mutations went undetected in many cases, said Dr. Beitsch.

“NorthBay Cancer Cen-ter has a comprehensive genetic counseling and testing program, where women can learn about

their options and get tested the same day using a saliva collec-tion kit, should they decide they would benefit from knowing their genetic status.

“As of now, some insurance companies will not pay unless a woman meets NCCN testing criteria,” Karen explained. “At NorthBay Healthcare, if a patient does not meet criteria, they have the option to pay out-of-pocket. Testing can be done for a fairly low cost, which may give many families peace of mind.”

Dr. Khaira WillDiscuss Urolift

Save the Date! Blood Drive April 26It’s not too early to mark your calendar for NorthBay Healthcare’s next blood drive. The conference center at the VacaValley Wellness Center has been re-served from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Friday, April 26, so be sure to put it on your calendar. Watch the next editions of FYI for details about how to schedule an appointment in advance and stories on blood drive champions in our organiza-tion.

Karen Vikstrom

10

The new café in the three-story North Wing is nearing completion.The photograph shows the new and im-proved servery, which includes a grill, deli, hot entrée and soup area. There will also be a convenient “Grab and Go” area (not pictured), according to Annemarie Golz, Facilities project and development manager.

New Wing’s Café Sparkleswith New Grill, Deli and More

tain a commitment to our com-munity to continue to remain an independent, community-based health system, providing com-passionate care, advanced medi-cine, close to home.

“With our OpEx initiatives,” ex-plained Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Traci Duncan, “we wanted to ensure we have the right blend of staff to fit patient care needs and acuity at any given time. We’ve built staffing matrices to be able to flex staff-ing for those times when patient acuity is higher, so we can have enough staff to meet the com-plex needs of our patients.”

She added, “In order to have the financial means to flex up

and add re-sources, we must also flex down when appro-priate.”

Another goal is to provide adequate rest and meal breaks for the patient care staff, reducing long patient care hours for nurses.

Nursing initiatives put in place so far will contribute toward the health system’s overall goal of achieving $30 million through en-hanced revenue and some annual recurring savings.

Complicating the process im-provement of late has been the relentless “code capacity” situ-ation in both hospitals, Traci re-ports. “Because we’ve had many more patients than beds for the last three months or more, it’s

been grueling, especially for the nursing staff.”

Hampered by ab-sences and illnesses, the nursing staff has responded as it always has, Traci said. “They’ve

answered by going above and beyond what we would ask dur-ing times when we are not expe-riencing weeks-long overflow.”

She added, “I cannot say enough about how proud I am to lead this team of professionals. It’s been tough, but the patients have received excellent care.”

The next steps in the nursing OpEx campaign include imple-menting a tele-sitter system to reduce reliance on in-room sitters, and to develop RN and CNA float pools to decrease the burden on nurses who often work long hours.

Nurses ...(From Page 1)

If painful, worn-out joints are slowing you down, NorthBay Healthcare orthopedic specialist Andrew Brooks, M.D., may have the answer.

Dr. Brooks will discuss the latest advancements in joint surgery and how it can help you get back in your game during Doc Talk Life: Painful Joints, a live lecture from 6 to 7 p.m. April 9 at Hyatt Place, 173 Old Davis Road in Davis.

Light refreshments are at 5:30 with the doctor’s presentation at 6 p.m. Dr. Brooks will give similar presentations in Fairfield on Aug. 21 and in Vacaville on Nov. 20.

For more information or to register for the free event, visit: https://bit.ly/2Tyw8yx

Dr. Brooks’ Talk Will Focus onReplacements

11

Leaders Address Code Capacity Concerns

NorthBay Healthcare AcademyBrings Speakers to PAL Center

With “Code Capacity” issues challenging both of NorthBay Healthcare’s hospitals since Janu-ary, senior managers issued an email last week to all employees to share details of ongoing efforts to both relieve immediate capac-ity issues and to help with long-term solutions.

“Unfortunately, this is not an issue unique to NorthBay,” stated the email from North-Bay Healthcare Group President Aimee Brewer and Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Traci Duncan. “Surrounding hospital facilities are experiencing simi-lar capacity issues. Additionally, the recent cold, rainy weather combined with a second round of cold and flu, is contributing to the current code capacity situa-tion. And, to further compound the issue, as you may be aware, Solano County has limited hous-ing support for the homeless.”

The email shared a list of action items, starting with over-scheduling on acute care units for hold coverage, affecting the Emergency Department, the ICU and the Same Day Center. Other

items included:Resource nurses, managers

and leads have been pulled into staffing as needed.

Nursing education and prac-tice (CNS/Educators) have been pulled in to support patient care.

All vacated positions are open and we are actively hiring to fill those positions. (We are using travelers as temporary/additional support during these winter months).

Care management, rehab ser-vices, and clinical support servic-es (ex: EVS, Security) have been included in these efforts.

Additional physicians have been added to hospitalist shifts to support capacity.

February Shared Governance was cancelled (along with many other trainings and meetings) to ensure all hands on deck and onsite at the hospital facilities.

Code capacity calls between campus leadership and admin-istrative coordinators have been

occurring every four hours, seven days a week.

The care management team has been holding daily meetings and calling to place long-term patients. Every effort has been made to find housing and place-ment for patients when they are ready for discharge.

“What we really need is all hands on deck,” said Traci. “Please make every effort to come to work for your scheduled shift.”

The email acknowledged an unusually high rate of last-minute call-offs, which creates havoc for those working.

“We want to continue to un-derstand the barriers to providing safe, effective care and invite you to share any additional thoughts or ideas you have with us,” said Traci.

Aimee agreed, expressing ap-preciation for the staff.

“We remain grateful for your commitment to NorthBay and are confident we can successfully navigate these challenging days by continuing to work as a team,” said Aimee.

Situation is NotUnique to NorthBay

Healthcare Academy students got a look at the field of public relations thanks to a recent presentation by Di-

ane Barney, NorthBay director of Public Affairs and Robin Miller, NorthBay’s social media/online specialist. The pair described their backgrounds in journalism and what is in-volved in public relations in the health care industry. They

also led the group through a social media competition, handing out T-shirts to the first students to post selfies on Facebook, Instagram and other social platforms. NorthBay Truama and Fairfield PAL team up on the fourth Monday of

each month at the PAL “Career Cafe” program to conduct presentations, provide hands-on activities, answer ques-tions and provide resources to students with the goal of

inspiring the health care and emergency service leaders of tomorrow. To sign up as a speaker, contact Brenna Benja-min at 646-4448 or email her at bbenjamin@northbay.org.

12

Scores Throngto North Wing

Career FairScores of eager job seekers filled the lobby of

NorthBay Healthcare’s Green Valley Administra-tion Center before the Career Fair opened at 1 p.m. on March 7, and by the end of the seven-hour event, more than 275 had passed through the doors, according to Donna Dabeck, talent acquisition manager.

They came from far and wide, some with many years of experience and others new grads. They said they heard about the ca-reer fair through Facebook posts, Indeed.com, friends and family members. They signed in, waited in line to hear firsthand about what special features await on 2 North, or to have one-on-one conversations with NorthBay nurs-ing leaders.

Others sat at a bank of computers to apply for positions and sign up for NorthBay Health-care’s Talent Search option.

“We met with a large group of highly mo-tivated potential candidates seeking careers in nursing, and all surrounding disciplines and support services. It was refreshing to see the excitement for an opportunity to work for North-Bay,” said Elizabeth Scott Paulson, clinical man-ager for 2 North, following the event.

Jim Bollig, senior director of Perioperative Services, NorthBay Surgery Center at VacaValley, Wound care and Hyperbaric Medicine, agreed.

“It was clear, after speaking with so many interest-ed applicants, that NorthBay is recognized as a great place to work. I heard ‘Magnet Recognition’ mentioned several times, as well as ‘family’ when they referred to NorthBay,” he said. “We also heard from several who were excited see our plans for ERAS (Enhanced Recov-ery after Surgery), in addition to the new technology that we will be implementing.”

At one point, Donna was encircled by dozens of attendees, as she welcomed them to NorthBay and offered nuggets of insider information. Many scribbled down notes as she talked.

“NorthBay is a popular place to work, and it may

Both Jim Bol-lig (left) and Elizabeth Scott Paulson (below) were on hand to answer job-seeker questions about all the new technol-ogy that will be available in the new wing, as well as the emphasis that will be placed on Enhanced Recovery after Surgery.

See CAREER, Page 13

13

take a few tries, but don’t get discour-aged. Keep sending your resumes and make sure you check that it can be ‘searchable,’” she advised. “That allows us to revisit your resume every time a potential position opens up.”

She also recommended that candi-dates be as detailed as possible in the “more about me” section of their applica-tions.

“If you have any kind of special skills, or have taken any kind of classes that show us you have an interest or training in other areas, such as labor and deliv-ery, cardiac catheterization or the NICU, that will help.”

She told groups that some units at NorthBay work eight-hour shifts, while others work 12-hour shifts, and that all NorthBay nurses will have obtained their bachelor’s degrees in nursing by the end of 2019 in order to be hired. She also explained that NorthBay Medical Center’s ICU is a high-acuity facility where train-ing in a cross-section of skills — cardiac, trauma, neuro — would be most desir-able.

One candidate asked about openings in surgery.

“We look for a minimum of two years of surgical experience,” she explained, “but we also have an ambulatory surgery center, so keep a lookout for positions that open up there.”

Other candidates had interview ap-pointments that had been pre-arranged and met in a separate conference room

with nurses Debra Mason, Evelyn Prakesh, Sonnel de Guia and Maureen Allain.

“We know there are great nurses who live in our area, but work elsewhere. We were glad to see that validated by the response. We feel confident this last push in recruiting for 2 North will fulfill our recruitment goals,” said Jim.

Career ...(From Page 12)

A large number of career fair attendees arrive within the first hour (above), wait-ing in turn to ask ques-tions of Donna Dabeck and Angie Parsons (above), and to take informa-tion about available open-ings (left).

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Putting a Major Focus on Safety Issues

Nursing Shines Light on Its Quality Milestones

It’s Patient Safety Awareness Week March 10-16, the perfect time to review NorthBay Health-care’s efforts to promote com-munication, streamline reporting systems and ultimately make our facilities a safer place for patients and employees alike.

TeamSTEPPS has had a home at NorthBay facilities for more than a decade, but three years ago the decision was made to re-energize and reintroduce the training, going unit by unit, to ensure that everyone in clinical facilities was on the same page. It’s also a part of New Employee and New Physician Orientation.

TeamSTEPPS, which stands for Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety, is an evidence-based set of teamwork tools aimed at optimizing patient outcomes by improving communication and teamwork skills among health care professionals.

According to Todd Pelletier, patient safety program manager, more than 1,500 staff and physi-cians have been put through the training since June 2016.

“A lot of it is about commu-nication and making everyone comfortable in speaking up if they see something that’s not

right,” he said. “We’re trying to instill that level of confidence in all our staff and physicians, to create a culture that emphasizes safety.”

Additionally, the organization-wide culture of patient safety survey, which occurred in Sep-tember, pointed toward a few key opportunities, one of which was our overall reporting culture, according to Heather Resseger, director of Quality.

“The key guidelines are to establish trust, encourage report-ing, eliminate fear of punishment and examine errors, close calls and hazardous conditions.”

Changes are being made to the Risk Identification Reporting (RIR) system, which should make the reporting process easier, said Todd.

“We’ve eliminated some steps that were superfluous and con-fusing, and we’re making cat-egories clearer, so anyone who submits will be able to accom-

plish it more quickly and be con-fident they’re doing it correctly,” he said.

Plans also call for introducing a new reporting system, which will be open to staff, patients and visitors alike.

Called “Safety Saves,” it will debut later in March, said Heather. Watch for signage and collection boxes to be placed in numerous spots in both of North-Bay hospitals.

“Staff will have the opportu-nity to fill out a card when they are part of something that cre-ated or witnessed a save. We will welcome input from patients and visitors, as well.”

And while the notes can be left anonymously, Heather and Todd hope that NorthBay employees will include their name, so the Patient Safety team can follow up with them.

Watch for more details on Safety Saves in the next edition of FYI.

The Nursing Division at NorthBay Healthcare will celebrate its safety “super stars” on Friday, March 15, at NorthBay Medical Center and NorthBay VacaValley Hospital, ac-cording to Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Traci Duncan.

“We have experienced some phe-nomenal results around our efforts to prevent infections in the hospital. We want to acknowledge the amaz-

ing efforts of our teams to keep our patients safe,” said Traci.

The celebrations are planned for Units 1600, 1700, 1800, NICU and ICU at NorthBay Medical Center and 1-West and 2-West along with ICU at VacaValley. The celebrations are designed to honor units that have gone long periods without certain types of hospital-acquired infec-tions.

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Atlas Offers Ways to Do Even Better When it comes to the use of

safe patient handling techniques and equipment, NorthBay Health-care is doing great, but could be doing even better.

That’s what the Safe Patient Handling and Mobility (SPHM) committee learned during a recent recap of 2018 Atlas Lift Coach Program statistics.

Those statistics indicate that NorthBay employees interacted with Atlas Lift Coaches more than 20,246 times in 2018, but that number is down over the previ-ous year. The number of lift/transfer injury claims increased, from 12 in 2017 to 26 in 2018, resulting in an increase in workers comp claims from $56,153 in 2017 to $301,828 in 2018. Many of these involve improper body me-chanics and not using equipment such as Pink Slips and the Liko Gol-vo, expained Kyle Rose, Atlas’ senior program manager.

The committee’s goal is to prevent employee injuries while enhancing patient mobility and safety, and it’s important to continue to focus on the culture of safety that has been ingrained throughout NorthBay through the years, Kyle added.

“Overall, NorthBay is do-ing very well regarding its use of Lift Coaches and safe patient

handling equipment, but we could be doing better. We encourage nurses to remember to use the Lift Coaches and rely on teamwork, as much as possible, when moving and repositioning patients. Teamwork can be as simple as asking a fel-

low staff member for help, rather than working alone.”

The Atlas Lift Coach Program was rolled out in 2012 at North-Bay Medical Center and expanded to VacaValley Hospital in 2013. In 2016, Lift Coaches became avail-able 24/7 in both hospitals and expanded to include the medical groups. Through the years, the program has helped markedly reduce staff injuries and work-ers’ compensation claims, noted

Linda Pryor, Risk Management Program manager.

In both hospitals, lift coaches record every assist and all equip-ment uses on iPads, which record the information on dedicated software. Among 2018 equip-ment use statistics, Lift Coaches were most commonly called upon to help reposition and boost patients in bed. They did this 16,922 times at NorthBay Medi-cal Center, and 10,271 times at VacaValley Hospital. They also help with intentional turning of patients every two hours to reduce and prevent hospital-ac-quired pressure injuries, perform lateral transfers and a move from bed to chair and from chair to bed, among other tasks.

For 2019, the committee’s goal is to work with the Atlas Lift Coach program coordinators to implement a Patient Mobility As-sessment at the bedside for leg-islative compliance, to continue to participate in skills fairs and at New Employee Orientation, to focus on reducing slips, trips and falls, and to coordinate a “Mobil-ity is Medicine” Workshop in May.

For a copy of the 2018 an-nual report, contact Linda at ext. 4193.

Video of Open Staff Now On Portal

Did you miss the Open Staff presentation by NorthBay Healthcare President and CNO Konard Jones in January and February?

Don’t despair. A shortened version in video form can be found on My NorthBay, your employee portal, as well as questions and answers shared during the presentations.

Linda Pryor, (right) risk manager and co-chair of NorthBay Healthcare’s Safe Pa-tient Handling and Mo-bility Team, chats with Atlas Lift Tech Vice President Trae Mac-Donald when the Atlas team visited both of NorthBay Healthcare’s hospital campuses in November to film video.

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Calling all wine, brew and food aficionados, music lovers and silent auction fans! The 32nd an-nual Solano Wine & Food Jubilee — a benefit for the programs of NorthBay Hospice & Bereavement — is on tap for May 18 at the Harbison Event Center at the Nut Tree in Vacaville, and tickets are on sale now. The event promises to offer everything that guests have come to enjoy most about this perennially sold-out affair.

The evening begins as the sun slips behind the Vaca Valley hills, when ticketholders stroll about the grounds of the historic Har-bison Event Center, sampling small bites and award-winning beverages offered by more than 115 of the area’s best restaura-teurs, vintners and breweries. A popular silent auction offers browsers opportuni-ties to bid on ex-otic getaways, wine country experiences, sports memorabilia, artwork and jewelry.

When the tasting portion of the evening concludes around 9 p.m., ticketholders move over to the Nut Tree Pavilion area, to enjoy rides on the Nut Tree train and carousel, and dance to one of the area’s most popular bands, The Time Bandits.

But, before dancers take the floor, the top prize in the Jubi-lee Raffle will be announced. This year it is either a $15,000 Dream Vacation, provided by Wasserman Travel — in memory of Wendy Wasserman-Kellogg,

former NorthBay Healthcare Founda-tion board mem-ber — or $15,000 in cash. In addition to the dream vacation, there is a Tribute Prize this year: A private tour of Pixar Animation Studios, in honor of Adam Burke, former Foundation

board member. Another $10,000 in cash will also be awarded, according to Jim Kellogg, raffle chair. There will be 12 winners of $125, 10 winners of $500, one winner of $1,000 and one $2,500 winner.

Raffle tickets are $35 each or three for $100. They can be purchased by calling (707) 646-3133, purchased with a credit card by fax at (707) 646-3135, or in person at NorthBay Health-care Foundation, 4500 Business Center Drive in Fairfield; Jackson Medical Supply, 506 Main St., Vacaville; or Wasserman Travel, 366 Merchant St., Vacaville. Odds

of winning are about one in 100 as only 2,500 tickets will be sold.

All proceeds from this year’s raffle will benefit NorthBay Hos-pice’s Dream of a Lifetime pro-gram, a wish-granting project for adult hospice patients.

The Jubilee was established to benefit the programs of NorthBay Hospice & Bereavement, assuring patients are never charged for hospice or bereavement services. Presenting Sponsors for the 2019 event are Al and Patt Shaw, Dr. Lee and Valerie Freeman, Dennis and Alex Landis, DPR Construc-tion, Western Health Advantage, Heidi Y. Campini, Paradise Valley Estates and Before The Movie.

Tickets to the 2019 Jubilee, for those aged 21 and older, are $100, or $125 on the day of the event, if not sold out. The event gets under way at 5:30 p.m. for VIPs and 6:30 p.m. for general admission. For more information, contact Susan Cianci, Foundation program coordinator, at (707) 646-3131, or go to www.north-bayc2c.org.

Ticket Sales Booming for Jubilee

Revelers at the 2018 Jubilee dance the last of the evening’s festivities away to music performed by The Time Bandits. The popular dance band is slated to perform at the 2019 event.

Don’t-Miss-EventReturns to Nut Tree

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CFO... (From Page 1)

President of NorthBay Health Advantage and Vice President of Strategic Devel-opment Elnora Cameron shares an anecdote with the audi-ence. Former President and CEO Gary Pas-sama (below left), gets a hug from Madeline DeNio while cur-rent president and CEO Konard Jones waits his turn.

Chaplain Natalya Johnson (above) instructs Art’s grandchildren to place their hands on his legacy stone. Vice President of Ambulatory Services Wayne Gietz (below) helps with decorations at the Celebration of Life event. to honor NorthBay Healthcare’s chief financial officer for the

past 18 years who passed suddenly in December. The stone, unveiled by his three grandchildren, is just

below the second-story office window where Art worked. Its plaque reads: “In Memory of Art DeNio: Some people will test you, Some people will teach you, And some will bring out the best in you. Thank you, Art, for bringing out the best in us.”

CEO Konard Jones thanked the family for coming and al-lowing the NorthBay family to pay respects, telling them, “I know it might open up a scar, but hopefully we bring some joy in sharing our cherished memories today.”

The event then moved inside where long tables were deco-rated by staff. Coordinated by Art’s executive assistant, Janet Flaner, teams from Finance, Revenue Cycle Management, Supply Chain, Patient Access and Communications and Patient

See CFO, Page 18

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Members of Patient Access and Communications pose with Art’s family in front of a Giant’s ballclub themed table. They are (left to right) Felicita Neideffer, Terese Davis, Jamie, Madeline and J.R. DeNio, Catherine Benjamin, Tammy Evans and Linda Johnson.

CFO...(From Page 17)

Financial Services all contributed.One table featured pages from

the PAC Times newsletter, which paid tribute to Art, surrounded by Giants memorabilia. Another table celebrated his love of the Golden State Warriors, while an-other featured one of his lifelong passions: race horses. “Art-isms” were scattered throughout.

Former President and CEO Gary Passama was the first of about a dozen who spoke in front of some 200 guests. He remem-bered meeting Art in the 1970s at Herrick Hospital in Berkeley, and missing a first opportunity to hire him at NorthBay.

When the chance came up again, he didn’t hesitate. “I knew who I wanted and made the offer to the best candidate — 21 years later.”

Gary remembered a time in the early 2000s, when NorthBay was struggling.

“Art told our senior leader-ship we could turn it around, and went on to tell us several improvement ideas. A year later, we were back on track. We owe much to that day when Art in-spired us.”

He also spoke to Art’s stalwart

reputation with investment bank-ers and rating agencies.

“He did it by telling the truth,” said Gary. “He was a man of in-tegrity. They not only liked him, they trusted him,” noting that when NorthBay sought a bond sale to fund construction proj-ects, they had more investors than bonds to sell.

“He’s the reason we were able to grow and do so much,” he said. “Art DeNio made a differ-ence — a huge difference.”

Blake Edwards, a partner of Ernst & Young, remembers making a cold call, when he was just a rookie 18 years ago, and

speaking to Art. “That cold call and first project set an amazing run for our client/advisor rela-tionship for 18 years with North-Bay,” he recalled. “NorthBay was my very first client.”

Zach Kau, an investment banker with Cain Brothers, said Art was not only a client and a friend, he was a mentor in the world of finance.

“In total we raised over $250 million for NorthBay, together with Art and his team. The mon-ey from these projects would help transform NorthBay for decades; and there’s no question

See CFO, Page 19

Art’s love of the Warriors was de-picted on the table (at left) with (left to right) Adriana Arias, May Flor Udan, Catherine Benjamin, Kit Grib-ben and Marisa Neri. Art’s friend Blake Edwards (at right) brought his daughter Piper to the ceremony, explaining that she and Art had a spe-cial bond over their love of horses. “It’s not often you get to share your best friend with your daughter,” he said.

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that Art knew that,” he explained.President of NorthBay Health

Advantage and Vice President of Strategic Development Elnora Cameron said she and Art bond-ed over a shared vision of North-Bay’s future.

“Several nights each week, we’d be working late, and we were able to have undisturbed conversations about everything, from his grandchildren and horses to books and politics. But mostly NorthBay,” she said. “He came at it, and everything he did, with the best intention. He loved this company and did everything in his power to make it financially sustainable.”

A touching slideshow presen-tation narrated by Janet Flaner shared that Art was nothing like the stereotypical CFO — seri-ous, somber and only focused on spreadsheets.

“He had the biggest heart, and always went out of his way to know what was going on in your life,” she said. “In 18 years, I could never keep him on track for a meeting because he would always stop and ask someone how it was going. He was round-ing before rounding was popular.”

Theo Rallis, senior director in Finance, extended NorthBay’s thanks to Art’s family for sharing him through the years.

“He had a special place in our hearts,” he said, noting “he was our work patriarch, and played a very distinct role in our lives.”

Debbi Burns, director of Finance, said Art was a chame-leon who could blend in with any crowd, from board members and executives to horse breeders and day laborers.

“At times he was the life of

the party, other times he mixed in with the crowd, but he al-ways made new connections and friends,” she said, noting he could walk NorthBay’s hallways and know employees by name.

“Art always had NorthBay’s best interests in mind and all business decisions he made were in support of our continued effort to preserve our financial health and independence,” said Debbi. “We will do our best to honor his legacy and carry forward as he would have wanted.”

CFO...(From Page 18)

Nurse Camp Applications Are Now AvailableApplications for the annual

NorthBay Nurse Camp 2019 are now available online at NorthBay.org/NurseCamp.

Nurse Camp will be held June 18-22 and the online application must be submitted by Friday, April 26.

Thirty students will be se-lected to attend this year’s camp. All teens living in Solano County or attending Solano County high schools who are interested

in nursing are welcome to ap-ply. Designed to give local high school students a firsthand look at the nursing profession, the four-day camp is taught by work-ing registered nurses from a variety of hospital departments, including the ER, ICU, Labor and Delivery, Surgery, NICU, Mother/Baby, Med-Surg and the Trauma Center.

As part of the online applica-tion, students are asked to write

short essays on who their biggest role model is and why, a time when they made a difference, and what super power they wish they possessed and why.

Once a student is accepted into the program, a $100 non-refundable tuition payment is required. For further information, email NurseAcademy@NorthBay.org.

Art DeNio’s family, (left to right) Jamie, J.R., A.J., Addison and Madeline, pose by the stone erected on the ground floor, just out-side his second-floor office, which reads: In Memory of Art DeNio. Some people will test you; Some people will teach you; and some will bring out the best in you. Thank you, Art, for bringing out the best in us.”

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