Sonoma Valley Hospital (SVH) has a growing affiliation with UCSF Health, a top-rated medical center in California and nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report. The UCSF affiliation aims to improve healthcare for Sonoma Valley residents by combining the specialized expertise and resources of UCSF Health with the community care focus of SVH. The relationship will continue to grow over as the Sonoma Valley Hospital becomes a more integrated part of UCSF’s Bay Area network and jointly develops strategies that will offer convenient, more efficient and lower cost access to healthcare for the community.

In March 2018, UCSF Health and SVH signed an affiliation agreement, which allows SVH to continue operating as an independent district hospital, with a joint operations committee to oversee the affiliation. The SVH Board of Directors approved a management services agreement with UCSF Health in June 2021, which allows the hospital to benefit from UCSF Health’s expertise in areas such as clinical quality, patient safety, and information technology.

As part of the agreement, UCSF helped SVH appoint a new chief medical officer, Dr. Sujatha Sankaran. In this role, she collaborates with the hospital’s medical directors and serves on the administration team, overseeing existing services and assisting with the launch of new services and programs. Working closely with UCSF Health’s chief medical officer, Sankaran identifies new opportunities for collaboration between the two hospitals. She also continues to serve on the UCSF faculty as an associate professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine.

Additionally, the UCSF Department of Neurology supports the SVH emergency department through telemedicine services and oversees its certified Acute Stroke Ready Program. These services help SVH doctors assess complex neurological problems.