Gary Passama

Gary Passama retired as president and CEO of NorthBay Healthcare on March 31, 2017. An active blogger since 2010, here’s a collection of his work.

Rodney Would Understand

January 24, 2017
 

Forgive me, but this has been sticking in my craw for a couple weeks. Like Rodney Dangerfield, we in health care “get no respect” when it comes to our contribution to the economy. The default reaction is to look at health care as all cost and no benefit.

That’s so wrong, an example of muddled thinking among some pundits. In fact, it was an addled economic pundit talking on another topic who spurred my exasperation.

You see, health care is a local endeavor, even if in many locales it is provided by mega-systems. In Solano County it’s a major part of the economic engine.

Nonetheless, the local media’s “year in review” and “top stories” of 2016 made little or no mention of the contribution that health care providers, especially NorthBay Healthcare, made economically. In one list there was enthusiasm about some projects which may happen, but probably won’t.

No mention was made of the opening of the $58 million NorthBay VacaValley Wellness Center in Vacaville. At one point more than 100 construction workers were creating a three-story facility that is making a real economic contribution.

HealthSpring Fitness opened and created additional jobs. The expanded space for other services – including a regional state-of-the-art Cancer Center – in that building means there will be more high-paying jobs in the near future.

Meanwhile in 2016, construction began on a $203 million addition to NorthBay Medical Center. Combined with a new Welcome Pavilion for the hospital, this could be the largest construction project in the county in the next two years.

Looking at the various lists of 2016 achievements compiled by local media, there was no mention of this project to help revitalize the core of Fairfield. Between the construction jobs and the expanded number of hospital jobs that will become available in 2019, NorthBay Medical Center is providing a big boost to the local economy. You would think it would make someone’s 2016 list of notable achievements. 

If you combine the economic impact of NorthBay Healthcare and the two health care giants from Oakland and Sacramento, it comes to well more than $1 billion a year in Solano County.

Hence, it makes me feel a little like Rodney Dangerfield. He would understand my hurt feelings.

Comments

 
 

Post A Comment