Page 28 - Sonoma County Gazette Janaury 2019

Aurora Santa Rosa Hospital
By Jane Rogan
Yes, there are 95 beds and programs for mental health
patients in Sonoma County. Growing to 144 in 2019!
Tucked away from the cross-town traffic, off Fulton Road in West Santa Rosa, is a dedicated mental health hospital and Outpatient Program Center situated on 10 grassy, tree-lined acres. Since 2013, when Aurora Santa Rosa [ASR] opened, the facility has offered a full range of mental health services including 95 available beds for those in need. Thirty-eight of those beds are dedicated to adolescent-only units.
A Milestone
Aurora Behavioral Health Hospital, Santa Rosa
exercises. Morning, afternoon and evening programs are offered; gym time, outdoor time; rest time. Class rooms are filled with groups run by skilled and licensed staff covering topics from Substance Abuse to Medication Management.
The Art Therapy room walls are covered with patient artwork reflecting their individual work and
And I can’t have just anybody fill in for me. It requires a certain philosophical bent to engage in small town, family veterinary practice. There are less than 1,000 residents in the town of Bodega Bay. My clients really are my friends and neighbors. Between them and our many town visitors, we are very, very busy. It takes just the right person.
The Outpatient Programs side has the relaxing feel of rooms made for work on oneself: an open-door lounge, a small kitchen for snacks, classrooms for more clinical-sounding programs like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy [ACT], Dialectical Behavioral Therapy [DBT] and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy [CBT].
Some years ago, a young woman, then just a junior in high school, came to work for me. She was quiet, but hard-working and sharp as a whip. She aimed to become a veterinarian, and I employed her for a few summers. We hit it off and our paths crossed repeatedly over the years. When it came time for her to apply to veterinary school, I was pleased to write a recommendation. When she was accepted to U.C. Davis, I cheered and did what I could to smooth her path through four difficult years. In 2014, she was re-born as a newly minted veterinarian: Dr. Nicole Jaggi.
Stanford Medicine Collaboration with Aurora Santa Rosa
Stanford Medicine and ASR are working in collaboration to develop programs answering the needs of families traumatized by the Northern California wildfires. The work will begin with interviews, followed by a “needs analysis.” Visit www.aurorasantarosa.com for information or below.
Nicole and I share a fascination with the natural world, which includes everything from wildlife care to the natural history of whales, and Italian cooking, Margaritas, and pretty much anything having to do with science. We also share a practical, compassion-centered view of veterinary practice. Of course, I wanted her to work with me, but the sparse earnings of a young veterinary practice made that impossible. Instead, Nicole would join Barb and me for dinner and talk as she worked her way through her first years in practice. Still, I clung to the hope that she would someday join my practice.
If you are interested in participating in the study, CONTACT:
Cynthia Kane Hyman CNS RN,
Director of Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement
Aurora Santa Rosa Hospital 707-800-7700
*All individuals will be given a $25 gift certificate for their participation in the study.
And then, out of the blue, all the random factors aligned. I still can’t afford a full time associate, but Dr. Nicole has other jobs, including teaching at the local Community College and doing relief work for other veterinarians, that make it possible for her to work with me part time.
2019 Lunch & Learn Behavioral Health Education Series
Beginning January 2019, Aurora will host monthly classes on a wide variety of topics relevant to Marriage, Family Therapists and Licensed Social Workers either the 3rd or 4th week of each month.
And I think it’s great! It is SO nice to have another doctor in the house, whether to take patients while I am doing surgery, or to bounce ideas back and forth about the true nature of a diagnostically challenging case. Best of all, I trust Dr. Nicole to take care of my friends and neighbors, and all their little critters, with the same compassion and concern as I do. It’s also great
to compare ideas with someone whose education is 32 years fresher than my own. Experience is fine, and I’ve got plenty, but modern veterinary medicine is full of ideas and concepts and medications that didn’t even exist when I graduated in 1982. Dr. Nicole and I are good compliments to one another and our patients benefit from the interaction.
The first program, “LGBTQ+: Pronouns, Language and Coming Out,” will be held on Wednesday, January 23 from 12:30 to 2:00 at the Aurora Santa Rosa campus. The presentation will be conducted by Laurel Holmstrom- Keyes and Jordan Grapetine from Sonoma State University’s Safe Zone program which provides supportive programming for the LGBTQ+ community at SSU. Cost tis $10.00. Call 707-800-7700 to make a reservation. Following the presentation, tours of the facility will be given.
“Empowering people to embrace healing for fulfilling
Confidential assessments and admissions are conducted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Contact the Patient Services Helpline today at 877-717-0085 if you or a loved one requires mental health treatment.
28 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 1/19
And the practice? I am free to spend more time in surgery, which decreases delays in patient care. We will soon be offering Saturday appointments, something the community has needed for some time. Best of all, I have hope that Dr. Nicole will someday, in the distant future, take charge. Then I’ll be the one working part time for her.
and productive lives.”
While Aurora accepts most health insurance coverage, they also accept many patients on MediCal or patients with no insurance.
After so many years, there has been a melding of the job and the man. I am and will always be a veterinarian. I’ll never stop, but I can’t go on forever. Now I see hope for BBVH to continue, even after I am gone.
CEO, Susan Rose, has been at Aurora since 2015. She is detail-oriented with a watchful eye on her operations.
A veterinary practice is a doctor’s office, sure, but it’s also a hospital, a surgical center, a pharmacy, and an emergency care center. It’s an employer and community resource and wildlife rescue gateway. It’s a place people call for information and advice about anything from when to neuter your kitten to what to do when your dog is lost. At some point, a veterinary practice takes on a life of its own. It’s part of the community; more than just a business, it’s an institution. People depend on it for help.
The hospital ambiance is warm while also being clean, simple and functional. On a tour
And so I find myself contemplating the future of Bodega Bay Veterinary Hospital. We are in our eighth year of operation, but so far, this practice has been me and my staff (and Barbara, of course, my business manager and Queen). A one doctor practice has certain advantages, but also certain limitations: Limitations that I would like to overcome.
of the facility, you see in the patient units long chalkboard walls with positive, thoughtful comments and upbeat artwork.
Though no one would ever know by looking at me (or so I claim), I am, in fact, not nearly as young as I used to be. This begs the question: How can I ensure that my practice will continue to serve our community? I don’t expect to fully retire—ever—but it’s not getting any easier to keep up the pace, and
I have no leftover capacity to work additional days per week or more hours per day than I already do. And yet, I have patients who need my help at times when I can’t be available.