St. Joseph Health — which includes Santa Rosa (Calif.) Memorial Hospital and Petaluma (Calif.) Valley Hospital — and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco have signed a joint venture agreement to enhance and expand neonatal and pediatric services.
Through the joint venture, UCSF Health will continue to provide consultative services to women with high risk pregnancies at the UCSF Prenatal Diagnostic Center in Santa Rosa.
"St. Joseph Health and UCSF have enjoyed a longstanding relationship in meeting the healthcare needs of residents of Sonoma County," Stephen Wilson, MD, PhD, CMO of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco, said in a prepared statement. "We respect the mission and vision of St. Joseph Health and we are excited to be entering into this deeper partnership to better the health of families in Sonoma County."
UCSF has provided medical education and specialty physician services to the Sonoma County community, many of these programs in collaboration with St. Joseph Health, according to a news release. For the past 16 years, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital has had an agreement with UCSF to operate its UCSF intensive care nursery.
UCSF outpatient pediatric specialty practices will also partner with Annadel Medical Group pediatricians to expand the availability of UCSF subspecialty care available at a clinic located in one of Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital's facilities, officials said. Services available include hematology, endocrinology and diabetes, gastroenterology, cardiology, neurology, organ transplantation support and nephrology. Additionally, St. Joseph Health will expand obstetrical care at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Through the joint venture, St. Joseph Health, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals will also work together on:
- Developing telehealth consult services
- Providing opportunities for UCSF medical students and residents to participate in clinical rotations at St. Joseph Health facilities including Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and Petaluma Valley Hospital.
- Creating educational programs for physicians, nurses and support staff
- Continuing to grow the obstetrical, neonatal and pediatric service lines through program development.
"The most profound impact of this affiliation on the community will be greater access to specialty coverage," Todd Salnas, president of St. Joseph Health, Sonoma County, said in a prepared statement. "Utilizing telemedicine technology, this will benefit not only residents in Sonoma County but also residents in Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte and Napa counties by integrating UCSF's many strengths, resources and expertise in perinatal and pediatric care with the clinical expertise already available at our St. Joseph Health facilities."
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