4

New VideoBlogs Start

in 2018— Page 5

1

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

Real Tim

e…

01.03.18

The Season of GivingScores TakeEROs; SomeDeparturesare Delayed

NorthBay Healthcare Corporate Board Member Ben Huber (center) is honored with the NorthBay Healthcare Foundation’s Spirit of Philanthropy award during a special event at the Green Valley Administration Center Dec. 13. It was an evening of fanfare and festivities as the Foundation celebrated the 30th anniversary of the NorthBay Cancer Center, honored this year’s Christine Franklin Award winner and accepted a $200,000 legacy donation. See story and more photos, Pages 10-11.

There was no shortage of elves from NorthBay Healthcare as our organization fanned out across Padan and Fairview Elementary schools in December bringing holiday cheer to the staffs and students. For a story about our 2017 Adopt-a-School program, see Pages 14-15.

Nearly 60 NorthBay employ-ees — with tenures ranging from three years to 46 years here — in December accepted the offer of early retirement.

“It is an understatement to say they will be sadly missed,” President and CEO Konard Jones said in an email to all employees.

“They are not only consum-mate professionals, but good friends. Many of them have been part of the NorthBay fam-ily for decades. Combined, this ensemble of retirees represents nearly 1,200 years of experience in NorthBay,” Konard added.

On Friday, Dec. 29, 43 retirees said their farewells to co-work-

See ERO Page 7

INSIDE

Shining a Spotlight on Legend, Legacies

New Hires 2Letters 8Urgent Care Coming 9

Fit & Fun a Success 12ABC Hosts Holiday Party 13Fix This Campaign Next 18A Guild Celebration 19

2

TO REMEMBERDATES

IN THE NEWSPEOPLE

LETTERS

DATES

PEOPLE

NEW FACESWELCOMEWELCOME

LETTERS

April AlvizCertified Nurse Assistant1-West Med-SurgVacaValley Hospital

Shelby BallewClinical Nurse IIIntensive Care UnitNorthBay Medical Center

Romulo BautistaClinical Nurse IIUnit 1800 Med-SurgNorthBay Medical Center

Gregory BradleyCertified Nurse AssistantUnit 1800 Med-SurgNorthBay Medical Center

Scott ChandlerRespiratory Care Practitioner IIRespiratory TherapyNorthBay Medical Center

Heather CranfordMedical AssistantCenter for Primary Care — Hilborn

Vincent CruzClinical Nurse II1-West Med-Surg, VacaValley Hospital

David FullenSecurity Officer ISecurity, NorthBay Medical Center

Tori GarciaNurse PractitionerCenter for Women’s Health

Shannon HarcusClinical Nurse II1-West Med-SurgVacaValley Hospital

Aaron HightEmergency Room TechnicianEmergency ServicesNorthBay Medical Center

Michael JonesSurgical TechnologistSurgery, NorthBay Medical Center

Tiffany KimClinical Nurse IIIntensive Care UnitNorthBay Medical Center

Anna LobustaClinical Nurse IIUnit 1600, NorthBay Medical Center

Julie McCoulfMedical AssistantCenter for Primary Care — Hilborn

William McKenzieDirector, Environmental ServicesEnvironmental ServicesNorthBay Medical Center

Angela NellasOutpatient Resource SpecialistOutpatient Case Management NorthBay Healthcare Group

Eufemia NgayaClinical Nurse II1-West Med-Surg, VacaValley Hospital

Freslaya PamintuanCertified Nurse Assistant1-West, Med-Surg, VacaValley Hospital

Rubie ParsonsUnit Clerk/Nurse Assistant1-West Med-Surg, VacaValley Hospital

Donald PottsNutrition Services SupervisorNutrition Services, NorthBay Medical Center

Danielle PounceyMental Health TechnicianCenter for Primary Care — Green Valley

Tiffany PrimeroCertified Nurse Assistant1-West Med-Surg, VacaValley Hospital

Janine Joy PusposClinical Nurse IIUnit 1800 Med-SurgNorthBay Medical Center

Luba RepchakClinical Nurse IIIntensive Care UnitNorthBay Medical Center

Rachelle ReyesRespiratory Care Practitioner IIRespiratory TherapyNorthBay Medical Center

Bernadad RuizFood Services WorkerNutrition ServicesNorthBay Medical Center

Desiree SantanaPatient Services RepresentativeCenter for Primary Care — Hilborn

Hiroko SugaClinical Nurse IIUnit 1600, NorthBay Medical Center

Ruth TongkhoyamClinical Nurse IIIntensive Care UnitNorthBay Medical Center

Lauren WildsUltrasonographerSolano Diagnostics ImagingVacaValley Wellness Center

3

Stepping Upfor a Couple

in Time of NeedWhen Marvin McGregor, R.N.,

practice manager for Specialty Care Services, came upon a car accident last year, he didn’t think twice about stopping to help an elderly couple get care. After all, it’s the NorthBay Way.

Marvin was returning to the office around 7 p.m. on Nov. 28 when he noticed the taillights of a vehicle that appeared to have crashed on the opposite side of Neitzel Road. As he approached, he heard a woman on the pas-senger side of the car screaming. The car’s airbags had deployed, and the driver’s seat was empty.

Three feet from the car he found a man lying on his back.

“I asked how he was and he said his back hurt but he had to get to his wife,” Marvin said. “He started to get up, but I advised him not to. I told him I would check on his wife.”

Marvin went to the wife, held her hand and assured her an ambulance was on its way. Mean-while, her husband started to sit up, determined to get to his wife.

“I told the man that I was a nurse and would keep an eye on his wife if he would continue to lie down. Hearing that I was

a nurse offered him a sense of relief and he asked if I was with Kaiser or Sutter.

“I proudly told him I worked at NorthBay and returned to care for the wife until the ambulance arrived about 10 minutes later. I briefed the paramedics and a police officer, and waited until the gentleman was immobilized and put on a gurney.”

The patient was told he would be taken to NorthBay.

“I wished him luck and said ‘we’ would take good care of him,” Marvin added. “This couple

lived on Travis Air Force base and was on their way to dinner. They had experienced a horrible accident and what they needed at that time was a calming pres-ence.”

Because of HIPAA rules, Mar-vin never heard how the case turned out, although he’s curious.

“Marvin inspires me each day in so many ways, and this is just yet another example of his selfless dedication to serving the needs of others,” said Justine Zilliken, assistant vice president, specialty and surgical services.

Marvin McGregor was not only quick to help a couple in their time of need, but he’s also quick to humbly downplay his involvement.

Bill McKenzie has been named director of Environmental Services. He has served as in-terim director of EVS for the past six months.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce that Bill has joined the NorthBay Health-care team,” said Greg Duncan, assistant vice

Interim Environmental Services Director Takes the Jobpresident of Facilities Operations. “He has done an amazing job with EVS, including numerous operational improvements, and a very successful Joint Commission survey in September.”

He can be reached at extension 5170. Bill McKenzie

4

She’s Our5,000th Like on

Facebook!If you haven’t spent your

gift certificate from the NorthBay Healthcare Board of Directors yet, there is still some time.

The $35 certificates — a token of appreciation from the board of directors to employ-ees — were mailed in Novem-ber. Employees have been encouraged to spend them in the hospital gift shops, where Guild members have assem-bled an array of gift items and logo wear.

If you choose not to use the gift certificate, don’t let it go to waste! You can transfer the gift certificate to one of several of NorthBay’s outreach funds, such as the Employee Emergency Fund, or the H.E.R.O. Fund. Employees may also opt to transfer the certificate to NorthBay Healthcare Foundation, and designate that it be used for a specific program or service, such as the NICU, the Adult Day Center, A Baby is Coming, or NorthBay Cancer Center.

Questions? Contact Tim Johnson in the Foundation at (707) 646-3132. Lost the cer-tificate? Contact Lorie Jarvis in HR at ljarvis@northbay.org or at (707) 646-4934 for a reprint. Certificates are valid through Jan. 31.

It’s Timeto Use YourCertificate

NorthBay Healthcare President and CEO Konard Jones (left to right), Chairman of the NorthBay Healthcare Corporate Board Mark Sievers and longtime Board Member and immediate past Chairman Ben Huber pose outside the newly named “G. Ben Huber Board Room” at the Green Valley Administration Center in Fairfield.

Honoring Longtime Board Chairman

The NorthBay Healthcare Facebook page hit a major milestone in December thanks to a NorthBay employee.

The page got its 5,000th follower on Dec. 7 and that follower is Joanne Ramirez, a patient access ambassador at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital.

To celebrate, NorthBay Public Affairs gave Joanne a surprise gift to celebrate: 5,000 Amazon pennies (a $50 Amazon gift card), tucked nicely in a #NorthBay mug packed with candy.

“What? How nice!” a sur-prised Joanne said when pre-sented with the cup at work.

Joanne Ramirez was surprised with a $50 Amazon gift card thanking her for being our 5,000th like on Facebook.

5

NorthBay Leaders Taketo the Blogosphere

With 2018 comes some en-terprising new bloggers to My NorthBay, your employee portal, with some familiar faces and some exciting offerings.

Two video blogs will debut to-day, along with two more tradi-tional-style blogs, and all can be easily found on My NorthBay.

NorthBay Health-care President and CEO Konard Jones is kicking off the video-blog ex-periment on the portal, with 90-second seg-ments aimed to reach the organization’s 2,800 employees with messag-es on everything from health care industry trends to budget deci-sions.

NorthBay Vice Presi-dent and Chief Nursing Officer Traci Duncan is also dipping a toe in the video blog waters, of-fering a biweekly dis-cussion under the title, “Compassionate Care at NorthBay.”

“We thought about NorthBay Nursing,” said Traci, “But we wanted to be more inclusive —to focus on all the many things we’re doing at NorthBay that comes under the heading of com-passionate care.”

And coming soon in 2018 will be a “Did You Know” video blog by NorthBay Healthcare Group President Aimee Brewer.

Just like that of other blog-gers, all entries will be archived on the portal and easily acces-sible.

Joining the more traditional

blogger lineup is Director of Se-curity Jon Read and Manager of Security Tyler Jobson, with a blog focusing on “NorthBay Security.”

“The idea will be to keep em-ployees in the loop on how we’re watching out for their safety, and

what they can contribute to make our campuses safer places,” said Jon.

Rounding out the new blogs is “It’s Your Money,” a financial/retirement-focused blog helping keep employees informed of financial is-sues and choices. It will be edited by the Public Affairs department, with contributions from Lin-coln Financial Advisers and the Human Resourc-es Department.

“While all the new blogs launched this month are for our internal audience, we just recently added two new blogs for our external audience on NorthBay.org,” said Diane Barney, director of

public relations. Added last fall were “Nourish,”

by the Nutrition Services staff and “Your Wellness” by the Public Affairs staff. They joined a lineup that featured the “Hard Hat Report,” chronicling construction updates on campus; NorthBay Healthcare Foundation’s Commitment to Care blog; Living with Diabetes 101; and Spare Yourself the Trauma.

Comments, suggestions and feedback are welcome on all the blogs and can be posted right on the site.

Konard Jones

Traci Duncan

6

Melinda AbuegClinical Lab Scientist II, (34)

Nancy BoydPharmacy Tech II, (33)

Remedios CasianoClinical Nurse II, (12)

Janice ColombSr. Systems Analyst, Clinical, (38)

Carmelita CostaClinical Nurse II, (10)

Carol DaumOccupational Therapist, (19)

Mary DickeyDirector of Quality, Patient Safety & Accreditation, (32)

Ramon DomulotFood Services Worker, (18)

Danny DrabekClinical Nurse II, (12)

Ray EasterlingEnvironmental Services Aide, (16)

Karen FariaASC Business Office Manager, (10)

Michele GrinnellCardiovascular Radiology Tech II, (11)

Judy GonzalesNurse Practitioner, (12)

Diane HarrisDirector, Women’s Health Outpatient, (10)

Jenny HarrisClinical Nurse III, (19)

Charla HarrisonManager, Hospice, (11)

Margarita HernandezEnvironmental Services Aide, (12)

Brynn HerronImaging Support Specialist, (18)

Gretta IglesiaClinical Nurse IV, (28)

Diane IrbyDirector, Medical Staff Relations, (22)

Shirlyn JacobsDirector, Financial/Administrative Services, (13)

Sue JefferyProcurement Specialist, (31)

Elizabeth LagmayClinical Nurse IV, (27)

Amparo LaurianoActivity Aide, Adult Day Center, (17)

Kathy LefevreNurse Practitioner, (9)

Janice LindseyClinical Pharmacist II, (19)

Shelia LovejoyCentral Services Technician, (28)

Nestor LucasCertified Phlebotomy Tech, (22)

Melinda ManuelClinical Nurse IV, (13)

Merlita MarriottCertified Nurse Assistant, (15)

Nancy MeagherMedical Professional Practice, (40)

Tony MolinaStationary Engineer I, (27)

Susan MunroeMedical Dosimetrist II, (24)

Vicki NorrisInfection Preventionist, (14)

Victoria PattonClinical Nurse II, (14)

Dale PaulsonClinical Pharmacist II, (14)

Richard PenmanHealth Information Management Coder II, (11)

Sandy PerezManager, Adult Day Center, (17)

Sharon PersekAdministrative Support Specialist, (26)

Jane PflummClinical Nurse IV, (41)

Linda PribbleHospice & Bereavement Coordinator, (4)

Janet RalstonAdmission Specialist, (7)

Marilyn RansonPublic Relations Coordinator, (19)

Kathleen RhonePharmacy Technician III, (17)

Bonita RondezHealth Information Management Coder II, (17)

Vern RushingDiagnostic Imaging Systems Administrator, (18)

Doreen SavageActivity Coordinator, Adult Day Center, (8)

Christine SimonInpatient Case Manager, (31)

Mary VanEckPatient Account Representative III Medicare, (46)

Janice SheetsClinical Coordinator, (35)

Eileen SmithManager, Business Solutions & Operations, (42)

Denise SteedPatient Services Representative, (15)

Arletta StonebrakerExecutive Assistant, (34)

Patti StutteClinical Nurse II, (34)

Ruben TomellosoEnvironmental Services Aide, (30)

MaryLou UntalClinical Nurse II, (21)

Doreen WeberPatient Account Representative, (29)

Constance WilliamsInpatient Case Manager, (15)

Karen WilmoreCardiac Ultrasound Tech III, (23)

Taking Early Retirement Offering:

7

ERO ...(From Page 1)

Some Cuts More Visible Than OthersA number of budget cost-

cutting decisions have been made across the NorthBay Healthcare system. While the goal is to make them as indiscernible as possible to patients, there are a few that may affect patient care offerings, according to Aimee Brewer, president of NorthBay Healthcare Group.

When Eric Hassid, M.D., announced plans to leave his NorthBay practice in January, it was decided to suspend the Functional Medicine Program, at least for now, according to Wayne Gietz, vice president of Ambulatory Services. Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM), which also operated under the Center for Integrative Medicine alongside Functional Medicine, will not be affected by the decision.

Another area affecting patients is the downsizing of the Adult Day Center Program.

For 20 years, NorthBay has served those in early stages of dementia and Alzheimer’s with a highly regarded program to allow them to participate in stimulating exercise and activities. It also served as respite for caregivers.

The program has always served all patients regardless of their ability to pay, resulting in major subsidies by NorthBay, as much as $1 million per year.

Longtime program Manager Sandy Perez and two staff members decided to take the Early Retirement Offering. The combination of the increased cost and natural decrease in staff members resulted in the difficult decision to reduce the number of patients who can participate at one time from 35 to 24.

Eleven families were notified in December that their loved one could no longer be served by the program in 2018.

Also impacted by the Early Retirement Offerings is the Hospice & Bereavement program, which will be losing its business office manager, volunteer coordinator and hospice manager.

“We have some succession planning underway to help with

these open positions and will be shifting some duties to others. While efforts are being made to continue Journey through Grief classes and the veterans support group, the suicide survivors support group and the widows support group will be temporarily suspended while we look for additional leaders of these important support groups,” said Wayne.

“With the reduction of 59 individuals — many long-term employees — through the ERO program, it may take some time for us to realize the significance of all of the departures,” said Konard Jones, president and CEO.

“A few positions will be replaced, but in most cases, we must learn to get by with our reduced staff size. These are some of the sacrifices that need to be made in order for us to weather this storm and come out stronger on the other side. And during these tough times, it’s more important than ever that we are creative in how we solve problems,” he said. “It is equally important that we continue to put our patients’ care first.”

Sacrifices Now WillHelp NorthBay

Weather the Storm

ers as they finished their final day. Another 16 remain at work into 2018 as they were granted delayed departure dates. The exceptions are needed to provide more time to redistribute work-loads.

Departments affected by early retirements span the organiza-tion, from security to nursing, to finance and public affairs and more. Most retirees were feted in

some way as departments orga-nized celebrations for their retir-ing colleagues. Given the size of the group leaving it was impos-sible to organize a systemwide celebration.

“As they depart, we must make a solemn promise to these individuals to maintain the in-tegrity of our health care system as they have done by help-ing us develop our culture of compassionate care, advanced medicine, close to home,” Ko-nard remarked. “They spent their careers here making this a great

place to work, a center of excel-lent care, a truly comprehensive health care system, a trustwor-thy provider of care for each and every patient and the leader in health care in Solano County. Without them, we certainly would not be where we are today.”

He had a message to those who continue their careers here.

“Yes, we must be creative and we must be ready and willing to adapt, all the while maintain-ing the exceptional level of care that our team is providing to our patients.”

8

Letters Policy

FYI publishes letters written to administration and staff of NorthBay Healthcare. 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 mranson@northbay.org.

To the Joint Replacement Program:

I would like to thank everyone involved with the Joint Replace-ment Program during my shoulder replacement Aug. 21. This is my second time. I had a knee replaced about three years ago by Dr. An-drew Brooks.

I have a problem with anesthe-sia and at my pre-op at VacaValley Hospital they assured me I would be called before the operation. I was called three times and the problem was taken care of at sur-gery. This really meant a lot to me.

My stay at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital was excellent. The nurses and staff went above and beyond in making sure I was taken care of. My wife was also given a roll away bed for my two nights.

I think it’s wonderful that you furnish lunch to us before we are discharged.

Dr. Rob Peterson has been fantastic. He could not have done

more. He always makes sure to answer all questions and explains everything. Dr. Peterson, you are great.

Dr. Peterson’s medical staff, as well as his office staff, always goes above and beyond in their duties.

Cyndy (Giaquinto), who was in charge of the Joint Replacement Program, came by to see me at the hospital and called home to make sure I was doing OK. Thanks

Thanks for Staff’s Support After Knee Replacement

so much.The program is excellent and

thanks to everyone involved. I think every hospital in the

United States should copy your program.

I’ve had four ankle surgeries and one knee replacement in At-lanta, and none of those experi-ences were anywhere near equal to yours! Thanks again for a great experience with your program.

— A Joint Replacement patient

Planning to buy tickets to the 2018 Solano Wine & Food Jubilee through payroll deduction? If you haven’t signed up, time has almost run out for that special opportunity.

The deadline to sign up for this ar-rangement is Jan. 5, 2018, with a limit of four tickets per employee. To purchase tickets through payroll deduction, contact Susan Cianci, pro-gram coordinator in NorthBay Health-care Foundation, at (707) 646-3131, or SCianci@NorthBay.org.

The 31st annual event is set for 6:30 p.m. on May 19 at the Harbison Event Center at the Nut Tree. “Early Bird” ticket pricing is currently $75. The ticket price goes up to $100 after Open That

Bottle Night on Feb. 24, and will be $125 on the day of the Jubi-lee, if the event is not sold out.

The venue, with its “wine country casual” theme, proved to be so popular with ticketholders last year that organizers made arrangements to return to Vacaville in May.

Sponsors are lining up already to help support this event, noted Craig Bryan, Jubi-

lee committee chair. Presenting Sponsors are Al and Patt Shaw, Lee and Valerie Freeman, DPR Construction, Western Health Advantage, Wise Auto Group and Dennis and Alex Landis.

For more information visit www.wineandfoodjubilee.org.

Deadline Nears to Buy JubileeTicket Through Payroll Deduction

9

A special #OurDocTalk chat will be streamed via live video on the NorthBay Facebook page on Jan. 24.

The Facebook Live chat with Dr. Caesar Djavahe-rian, M.D., will focus on urgent care and will include a live tour of the new NorthBay Urgent Care office in the Nut Tree Plaza shopping center in Vacaville.

Dr. Djavaherian is a co-founder of Direct Urgent Care, which is partnering with NorthBay to open the new facility on Jan. 10. The chat is designed to not only show off the new facility but allow people to ask questions about what types of care the facility can provide.

#OurDocTalk, is a series of live Facebook chats designed to connect NorthBay providers with the community to answer questions on a variety of issues. Interested followers who visit NorthBay’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/NorthBayHealthcare) will be able to post their questions and comments live, and the doctor will reply.

Urgent Care Nearly Ready to Open

#OurDocTalk Features a Tour

The X-ray room at NorthBay Urgent Care has started to take shape.

Dr. Djavaherian

The Nut Tree Plaza ticket booth for the train ride can be seen just outside the entrance of the NorthBay Urgent Care office.

Work continued at a furious pace in the weeks up through December, as contractors in a variety of specialties hustled to complete their tasks at the new NorthBay Urgent Care center in the Nut Tree Plaza in Vacaville.

Plans call for a Jan. 10 VIP reception with civic leaders, board members, Vacaville Chamber of Commerce representatives and others in the morn-ing, to be followed by a ribbon cutting.

“After that, we’ll be open for business,” said

Wayne Geitz, vice president of Ambulatory Services.An affordable and convenient alternative to the

hsopital emergency room, NorthBay Urgent Care will take up about 4,000 square feet, situated adja-cent to the vintage Nut Tree train and carousel.

NorthBay is partnering with Direct Urgent Care, an innovative medical practice that operates similar high-tech, patient-centric facilities in the Bay Area, all in retail centers. The center is equipped with accelerated lab testing and X-rays.

10

Celebrating Legendary Legacies

Ben Huber takes the microphone after

recovering from the surprise of being honored with the

NorthBay Healthcare Foundation’s Spirit

of Philanthropy award during a special dinner Dec. 13 at the

Green Valley Administration

Center. On hand to honor him were

NorthBay Healthcare President and

CEO Konard Jones (center) and retired NorthBay President

and CEO Gary Passama.

NorthBay Healthcare Board Member Gary Falati presents flowers to Pat Taylor. She came to honor the memory of her sister, Bess Day, who dedicated $200,000 to NorthBay Healthcare Foundation.

Longtime civic leader G. Ben Huber’s three decades of vision-ary stewardship were recog-nized Dec. 13 when the 50-year Fairfield resident was presented the NorthBay Healthcare Foun-dation’s “Spirit of Philanthropy” award.

The award was presented

during a special event com-memorating the 30th anniversary of the NorthBay Cancer Center, which opened in 1987. That was the same year that Huber joined NorthBay Healthcare Founda-tion’s board of directors, em-barking on a 30-year tenure of visionary leadership for Solano

County’s only independent, com-munity-based, non-profit health care system.

Huber first arrived in Solano County in 1965 when he and a colleague established Explo-sive Technology, a successful and respected firm manufactur-ing pyrotechnic devices for the military and aerospace industry. That same year he joined the Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Com-merce and served on its board of directors for many years. He was named the chamber’s first Citizen of the Year in 2016.

Huber also served the Fairfield community as a member of the City Council for many years.

His tenure at NorthBay Health-care began in 1987 when he joined the NorthBay Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors. During the next 30 years, he served as director, vice-chair and chairman of various NorthBay Healthcare boards, and during

Ben Huber Wins Spirit of Philanthropy Award; Cancer Center Turns 30

See LEGACIES, Page 11

11

the course of his leadership over-saw development of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, NorthBay Cancer Center, NorthBay Hospice & Bereavement programs, as well as its stroke, heart and vascular and trauma programs.

Also during this time, the organization achieved the highly sought-after Magnet designation for Excellence in Nursing, and collaboration with Mayo Clinic Care Network.

Huber is only the third person to receive the “Spirit of Philan-thropy” award. It was presented earlier in 2017 to Al and Patt Shaw, for their generous sup-port of NorthBay’s Dream of a Lifetime program, the Hospice & Bereavement and We Honor Vet-erans programs, as well as their commitment over many years to be top sponsors of the Solano Wine & Food Jubilee.

In 2016 the award was pre-sented to Heidi Campini for the significant contributions she and her husband, Jim Lawrenz, made through the years. Jim was president of NorthBay Health-care Foundation when he lost his battle with cancer in 2013.

Legacies ...(From Page 10)

Also honored during the evening was Dolly Rivero Mendieta, who received the Christine Franklin Award for 2017. Dolly, a project/event coordinator at Genentech, a biotech firm that manufactures cancer drugs, among other things, has been a huge supporter of NorthBay Healthcare, organizing “Strike Out Cancer” at the River Cats for several years, raising thousands for the NorthBay Cancer Center. The award is named after Christine Franklin, who was a longtime NorthBay Guild member and cancer patient who used her illness as a platform to educate the community about breast cancer. She died in 2012.

NorthBay Board Member Gary Falati honored Pat Taylor, sister of Bess Day, a longtime Fairfield public servant who donated $200,000 to North-Bay in her estate plan.

Staff, physicians and NorthBay Healthcare patient Margarita Lopez pose with the cake commemorating the 30th anniversary of the NorthBay Cancer Center. Margarita’s touching testimonial focused on the care and support she received from her Cancer Center team.

Dolly Rivero Mendieta (left) with Dr. James Long; cancer survivor Margarita Lopez (above) shares her testimonial; and longtime Guild member Catherine Zimmerman (below right) with her daughter Catherine Tooby. Mrs. Zim-merman is the wife of Intercommunity Hospital founder Dr. Richard Zimmer-nan, who passed away in 2009.

12

More than 60 women from their 30s to their 80s turned out for “Fit & Fun,” a fundraiser at NorthBay HealthSpring Fitness on Dec. 5, benefiting two Vacaville Soroptimist clubs.

Women were invited to enjoy full access to the facility from 5 to 8 p.m., including the natatorium’s three heated pools, a whirlpool, indoor track and exercise equipment. Some took advantage by participating in a wide range of classes, from Total Strength and Aqua Fitness to Pilates, Power Cycle and TRX Boot Camp.

A special presentation on Mindfulness Meditation with Tina Clay was offered to answer questions on how mindfulness meditation can assist with healing, depression and more.

Two cooking demonstrations were offered by NorthBay Healthcare Registered Dietitian Laura Hitt and featured healthy holiday appetizers, which the audience was invited to sample.

“It was a great event, and as Soroptimists, we really appreciate the chance to partner with HealthSpring Fitness. It not only helped us raise funds, but allows us to put the focus

NorthBay HealthSpring Fitness knows that January is a time for keeping resolutions, and getting in shape is No. 1 on many lists. To encourage NorthBay Healthcare employees to achieve success in that endeavor, HealthSpring is offering three new membership packages to make it just a little bit easier.l The first option waives the

registration free and provides a

free “Journey’ consultation. Month-ly membership dues are based on membership type.l The second waives the regis-

tration free, offers a free Journey consult and a personal program design for $225 at signing. The personal design is created during six 25-minute one-on-one train-ing sessions with a fitness special-ist. Monthly dues are based upon membership type.

Women Wowed at Fit & Fun Event

l The final option waives the registration fee and Journey consult and provides four 50-minute Swedish massages for $240 at signing. The monthly membership dues vary upon membership type.

Special rates still apply for NorthBay Healthcare employees.

For more information, visit HealthSpringFitness.org or call (707) 624-8090.

HealthSpring Eager to Help You Start Your Fitness Journey

on our organization, which is dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls in our own community,” said SI Vacaville President Colleen Berumen. “We

encouraged ticket sales and invited our friends to come learn about healthy choices, as well as about Soroptimist International. It was a great pairing.”

13

A Caroling We GoNorthBay Healthcare Carolers stopped by Green Valley Administration Center (at left) on their tour. They include (left to right) Dan Ford, Cody Zamora, Helen Losefa, Shauna Felgentreff, Gay Lee Butterfield, Linda Paniero, Jaime Clemente and Karen Harris.

Santa Visits Families at ABC Program

Dreams came true for 248 children from 79 families on Dec. 22 when the ABC (A Baby’s Coming) Program hosted a holiday party featuring a bilingual Santa Claus (left), a therapy dog named Gina (above with owner Paula), and stuffed animals for every child courtesy of Petco., and toys donated by the employees, the Guild, board members and the community.

ABC Program staff (above, from left) Ashley Riley,M.A.; Tori Garcia, N.P.; Ann Marie Ziomek, N.P.; and Lisa Littlefield, R.N., enjoyed the party.

14

NorthBay Elves Make Dreams Come TrueNorthBay Healthcare “elves” once again

heaped on the holiday cheer, delivering gifts and parties to students of Fairview Elemen-tary School in Fairfield and Padan Elementary School in Vacaville.

Every classroom at the two schools was “adopted” by NorthBay staff members, who fulfilled the wishes of teachers and children alike. A record 70 parties took place in December, just before school let out for a winter break.

Early in December, teachers at each school were asked to complete a “Wish List” for their classroom and choose a date for a class party. Wish list items included everything from paper and pencils to books, games and playground balls.

Sylvia Spanos and Stacy Andersen or-ganized the lists and gave every NorthBay

Healthcare department an opportunity to choose a class to adopt. Employees then purchased needed items and made plans to throw each class a holiday celebration. No classroom was left out. The classroom celebrations have

Students in Leslie Farwell’s class at Fairview Elementary School (at left) gave a thumbs up after receiving new coats, thanks to their adoptive NorthBay family. The third-grade class was adopted by Yonja Arnold and her family, and Lorie Jarvis. A team from Patient Financial Services (below) meets up with Adopt-a-School Coordinator Sylvia Spanos (far right) before delivering their goodies to the classroom.

Fairview Principal George Porter (at left) and NorthBay Healthcare President and CEO Konard Jones are surrounded by happy children.

Santa just might have some explain-ing to do. Two Mrs. Clauses ran into each other at Fair-view Elemen-tary — aka Gretchen Shilts and Shauna Felgentreff.

See ELVES, Page 15

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included pizza parties, cookies, cupcakes, donuts, presents for the children and teacher — and even a surprise visit from Santa.

The holiday parties began Dec. 19 at Padan.

“I saw happy tears from Padan staff and super smiling, curious faces from the students,” Sylvia said after the first day of parties.

NorthBay Healthcare has cho-sen to adopt Fairview Elementary School and Padan Elementary School because these schools are in low-income areas of their respective communities and teachers often scramble for basic supplies and learning materials. As school budgets are stretched, teachers often reach into their own pockets to purchase their classroom needs.

NorthBay Healthcare first adopted schools for the 2005 holiday season, making this the 13th year employees have brought good cheer to local schools.

Elves ...(From Page 14)

Fairview Elementary School Kindergarten teacher Laura Gay holds up cartons of Play-Doh to the delight of her class and Health Information Management Elves Angeline Guzman (left) and Maily Sithixay.

Eric Jansen, R.N., and Christine Wal-lis, R.N., of the VacaValley Hospital Emergency De-partment (above), present gifts to Denise Nelson’s first grade class at Padan Elementary School while two students (left) demonstrate how to eat pizza.

View the Adopt-A-School slide show on NorthBay.org

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A special guest brought some extra holiday cheer to the North-Bay Adult Day Center’s annual holiday party on Dec. 14.

Santa — also known as Dan Silva of Fairfield — sur-prised the gather-ing as they were singing Christmas carols. He passed around gifts and sweets, with the help of several Adult Day Center aides.

Santa and his helper, Mary Silva, have volunteered to deliver gifts to program partici-pants for the past three years, report-ed Sandy Perez, program manager.

The center was festively decorated in red and green and participants were treated to eggnog and holiday goodies.

Adult Day Center EnjoysSome Holiday Cheer

Santa Claus spreads holiday cheer at the Adult Day Center in Vacaville to Michael Cayabyab, who was assisted by the center’s Noemi Medina (left), Doreen Savage and Sapna Boyapati.

Use Matrixto ReportLeaves

of AbsenceAs a reminder during this

cold weather season, NorthBay Healthcare employees should use the Matrix Absence Manage-ment System to manage leaves of absence.

If an employee is going to be out more than three days and will be treated by a health care provider, they should contact Matrix to discuss options.

Matrix can be reached at 866-533-3438 and is available 24/7/365.

You can also access Matrix on a smart phone by downloading the app from the APP store on iPhones, or searching for Matrix eServes for android apps on Google Play.

For those that have intermittent FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) certifications, there is a change to the timeline for reporting absences in the upcoming 2018 year, according to Tina Jackson, Human Resources services manager.

Any absence related to FMLA days should be reported to Matrix within 48 hours of the absence date, rather than the guideline of reporting it within the pay period.

“We hope you don’t get sick, but if you do and need the time off, please remember that reporting to Matrix does not replace required reporting through the process identified in your unit,” said Tina.

Further questions can be directed to your HR team.

NorthBay Adult Day Center staff (from left) Amparo Lauriano, Doreen Savage and Sandy Perez, joined in the Christmas celebration. All three retired Dec. 29.

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Holiday Spirit Comes to The LeavenNorthBay Healthcare elves

joined with community leaders Dec. 14 as they delivered holiday cheer to The Leaven on Dana Drive in Fairfield.

Youngsters at the center were treated to crafts and snacks and listened as Fairfield Vice Mayor Chuck Timm and County Supervisor Jim Spering read “The Night Before Christmas.” Then came the countdown and lighting of the facility’s Christmas tree.

Those on hand credited the youngsters for their hard work throughout the year, including NorthBay Vice President of Public Affairs Steve Huddleston who thanked the students for taking

such good care of the Dana Drive location, which offers youth a safe place to go after school when parents are still at work. Operating costs to

run the program are covered by NorthBay Healthcare through the Community Benefit Program and The Leaven staffs and operates the center.

Fairfield Vice Mayor Chuck Timm

(left) and Solano County Supervisor Jim Spering, read “The Night Before Christmas” story on the big screen

to youth at The Leaven on Dana

Drive.

Fairfield Police Chief Randy Fenn visits with students at The Leaven on Dana Drive before their Christmas party and tree lighting event.

The open enrollment deadline to sign up for Covered Califor-nia is Wednesday, Jan. 31. For anyone who wants to be a North-Bay Healthcare patient, there’s really only one option: Western

Covered California Deadline is Jan. 31Health Advantage, according to Kelly Rhoads-Poston, marketing representative and health plan specialist.

Have questions? Call Kelly at (707) 646-3313.

18

New Campaign Focus: ‘Fix This!’Joint Replacement

Patients Share TheirAmazing Stories

Do your knees feel more like rusted hinges on a good day? Do your hips creak and protest on a long or short walk? Does your

shoulder ache with little ef-fort?

If so, the next NorthBay healthcare marketing campaign is aimed at you, with a simple message: “Fix This.”

It launches in 2018 with print

advertisements and digital displays planned in local and regional publications and online.

Several patients have been invited to share their stories via video, including Richard Burke, an ultra marathon runner, who had his right knee replacement in 2015. It was so successful he returned to surgeon Andrew Brooks, M.D., when it was time to replace his left knee.

“This will keep me going for years to come,” said Richard.

It was a Blue Metallic Chev-rolet Corvette that convinced Donald Otis to have his knee re-placement. Upon retirement, he bought the car, but had trouble getting in and out.

“It was worth it,” he says.The campaign will be

accompanied by several presentations by Dr. Books, who specializes in hip and knee replacement, as well as partial

knee replacement.In an effort to extend the

exposure of the NorthBay Joint Replacement Program, Dr. Brooks will offer his presentation in three locations: one in Vacaville, one in Fairfield and one in Davis.

Each presentation begins with registration at 5:30 p.m., followed by the lecture from 6 to 7 p.m., saving time for questions from the audience.

The first session will take place Jan. 25 in the first-

Dr. Andrew Brooks

floor conference room at the VacaValley Wellness Center, 1020 Nut Tree Road in Vacaville.

The second presentation will be Feb. 21 at Hyatt Place, 173 Old Davis Road in Davis.

The final presentation will be March 21 at Green Valley Administration Center.

There is no cost to attend the presentations, but reservations are requested. Email Events@NorthBay.org or call (707) 646-3280.

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Guild Feted at Holiday BreakfastNearly 70 NorthBay Guild volunteers were

treated to a sumptuous breakfast, a large array of raffle prizes and praises from Aimee Brewer, president, NorthBay Healthcare Group, and Konard Jones, president and CEO, at the annual Guild Holiday breakfast on Dec. 11.

The breakfast, held for many years at Outback Steakhouse and funded by NorthBay Foundation board member Stanley Davis, is a popular gathering for the hard-working volunteers.

Guild members brought unwrapped toys to be donated to the ABC Christmas Party before settling in to enjoy their breakfast. Aimee greeted the crowd and then told them their work has never been more valuable or needed. She then read a letter from Konard, who thanked them for their time and dedication to NorthBay.

NorthBay Foundation President Brett Johnson introduced several NorthBay Foundation board members who helped pass out raffle prizes for everything from a slew of gift cards and bottles of wine to a propane fire pit.

Aimee Brewer read Konard Jones’ letter of gratitude to the volunteers before inviting them to enjoy a delicious buffet breakfast (below).

Foundation board members Skip Thomson and Bill Fell (left) and Guild members Robin Tolvtvar and Lauretta Graham (above) were all in the holiday mood.

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TO REMEMBERDATES

IN THE NEWSPEOPLE

LETTERS

DATES

PEOPLE

NEW FACESWELCOMEWELCOME

LETTERS

01.31.18 Employee gift certificates expire02.10.18 Family Trip to Academy of Science, San Francisco 02.24.18 Open That Bottle Night 02.28.18 Open Staff meetings — VVH Cafe Conference Room03.01.18 Open Staff meetings — GVAC Conference Room 15403.02.18 Open Staff meetings — NBMC Annex03.06.18 Open Staff meetings — Hilborn Admin05.19.18 Solano Wine & Food Jubilee06.23.18 Baseball Game — Rivercats

Rose’s Legacy Delivers Happy Feet to StudentsSanta’s little helpers from

NorthBay delivered happy feet to two local schools in December. Twice as many kindergartners as last year got new shoes and socks, thanks to the annual program that honors the memory of Rose Kennedy, a NorthBay finance manager who lost her battle with cancer in February 2013.

For the past five years, kinder-gartners at Fairview Elementary School received the gifts thanks to an endowment fund in memo-ry of Rose. This year, kindergart-ners at Padan Elementary School also received new shoes.

Teresa Pierce, a manager in Health Information Management, led the effort to provide 25 pairs of shoes to each school.

“To put a smile on their faces, that’s what it’s really all about,” said Teresa. “We want to make this Christmas special for them.”

Rose’s husband Michael Shafer was able to attend both school presentations. “It’s heartwarming,” he said. “It always made Rose very happy.”

During the 2012 Adopt-A-School program, Rose learned

that many kindergartners wore shoes that were either too big or too small, and they often asked to take their shoes off during class because their feet hurt. Many students in these low-income schools wear hand-me-down shoes and struggle

to have warm clothes dur-ing the winter months. When Rose learned of their plight, she and Michael took action and bought shoes for the class

they adopted. The endowment fund keeps the effort running each year.

Fairview Elementary School Principal George Porter (far left) and Teresa Pierce (left) help children try on their new shoes. Michael Shafer (below), husband of Rose Kennedy, looks at a tribute to her memory.