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.

Insane With Joy

January 20, 2015
 

There is a magazine I began receiving almost automatically when I turned 50 (quite some time ago).  We all get this magazine upon achieving that milestone.

I must admit it has interesting articles about being older, although when I read it at my athletic club while I am on the treadmill, I quickly screen it so no one knows I am that old. Looking around me early in the morning while I am huffing and puffing I suspect most of the rest of the patrons get the magazine too.

A recent article about dogs and the impact they have on people's good health struck a chord. It touted the ability of dogs to go insane with joy any time of the day for any reason. My two miniature schnauzers are certifiably insane.

Coincidentally, recent developments in health care made me insane with joy. For instance, the big Sacramento-based healthcare system is in a tussle with one of the large health plans. The insurance behemoth claims the mega-health system is among the most expensive with whom they contract. Health plans always say that about every provider when they are involved in negotiations.  In this case, it appears there will be a period when there will be no contract between the two parties.

Why does that make me insane with joy? Because the mega-provider is doing what NorthBay did some years ago – calling their bluff. You see, big health plans that have no closely affiliated providers are a dying species. Such plans are pretty much useless middle men who add expense to the healthcare system without delivering value. They know the sands are shifting beneath their feet, so they are desperately trying to justify their existence.

It is too late. Non-profit health plans like Western Health Advantage – owned by NorthBay Healthcare, Dignity Health and UC Davis Healthcare – are the wave of the future.

What else makes me insane with joy? This month we will roll out expanded hours in our medical group: seven days a week open until 8 p.m. If you have a health problem that won't neatly fit into the 9 to 5 weekday medical office schedule, and you have a NorthBay primary care physician as your doctor, you will have access to care when you need it.

We rolled out expanded hours in our Fairfield Center for Primary Care this month. In February we will go longer in our Vacaville center. It's part of an ongoing effort to make receiving care at NorthBay easier and more convenient.

A final bit of joyful insanity – our 110,000-square-foot Vacaville Wellness Center should be under construction next month. Papers are signed and we only await permits from the city. Our new center brings to Solano County a new way to promote wellness and good-health practices. With the relocation of NorthBay Cancer Center and a greatly expanded outpatient diagnostic imaging program, we are bringing more advanced technology available nowhere else in Solano County.

A bit like man's best friend, I have reasons to be insane with joy.

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