SACRAMENTO
Sutter Health appoints Warner L. Thomas as next CEO
Sutter Health, a not-for-profit integrated healthcare system serving more than 3 million patients across Northern California, announced today it has appointed Warner L. Thomas as its next president and CEO, effective Dec. 1, 2022.
For the past 10 years, Thomas has served as the president and CEO of Ochsner Health. Ochsner is nationally recognized for its clinical leadership and includes 40 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and specialty hospitals, and more than 300 health centers and urgent care centers. Ochsner is the largest private employer in Louisiana, with 36,000 employees and more than 4,600 employed and affiliated physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties. Ochsner also conducts more than 700 clinical research studies each year. During his tenure, Thomas helped grow the organization’s digital health capabilities and value-based payer partnerships – and expanded its integrated care network to serve more than 1.4 million patients each year.
“After a comprehensive national search, we are thrilled to have found the right leader for the next chapter of Sutter Health. Warner is a CEO grounded in Sutter’s community roots and values,” said Gubby Barlow, chair of Sutter Health’s Board of Directors.
Thomas is passionate about community impact and has made critical investments and commitments to advance diversity, equity and inclusion, both within Ochsner and its surrounding communities. This includes the development of a population health focus leading the organization to unprecedented performance in nationally ranked quality results. As part of these efforts, Thomas initiated multiple programs – including a major 10-year Healthy State initiative, with $100 million committed in the first five years – to successfully improve access to quality, equitable healthcare for underserved communities.
“I’m honored to be joining Sutter Health, where I’m committed to furthering its patient-focused mission as a leading not-for-profit integrated healthcare system. As the landscape continues to evolve, I believe there are opportunities for Sutter Health to continue to advance the future of healthcare,” Thomas said. “Leaning on my years of experience growing complex, integrated healthcare systems through developing medical programs, expanding physician networks and creating new payer partnerships, I’m excited to help build on Sutter Health’s past successes. I look forward to helping shape an era of equitable, accessible and affordable healthcare with long-lasting benefits to Sutter Health’s patients and communities in Northern California.”
Thomas values innovation and has driven transformative change to benefit patients and communities in the Gulf South. In his current role, Thomas expanded digital capabilities at Ochsner, from building a robust platform allowing patients to keep track of their information to a comprehensive telemedicine platform. He also created the team that launched innovationOchsner, a think tank and health tech incubator focused on digital health, advanced analytics and personalized medicine.
Thomas will succeed Conforti, Sutter Health’s chief operating officer who has been serving as interim CEO since January 2022.
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LUCERNE
Lucerne Area Town hall to meet at ‘Castle’ property Thursday
The Lucerne Area Town Hall meets Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Lucerne hotel building a.k.a “The Castle.” third floor room 333, 3700 Country Club Drive. Zoom link for virtual access is available at
https://lakecounty.zoom.us/j/93260702591?pwd=R0Njcm5OL2R5NFVWUWNZTzdoQkZqUT09
Meeting ID: 932 6070 2591 Password: 071816
The agenda for this month’s meeting includes updates on Cal Water, NorthShore Fire, an update on the Lucerne Harbor and an update on the needle exchange program, among other items.
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CLEARLAKE OAKS
Lake County Vector Control uses drone to battle West Nile Virus
The Lake County Vector Control District used a drone to make a mosquito control application to the water in the algae-and primrose-choked channels in the Clearlake Keys on Friday, August 26.
The application was made after weekly mosquito trapping and larval sampling showed an increase in the number of Culex mosquitoes in the area. Five mosquito samples and one dead bird from the Clearlake Oaks area have tested positive for West Nile virus this year.
The District contracted with Leading Edge Aerial Technologies (LEAT) to use the six-foot diameter drone to apply a microbial mosquito larvicide where the immature mosquitoes were developing. They applied granular VectoMax FG, which is a bacterial mosquito larvicide that is OMRI-approved for use in organic crops and sensitive habitats. The drone can be seen taking off here.
“I’m excited that we can use drone technology to protect our community from mosquitoes and West Nile virus,” said Jamesina J. Scott, Ph.D., the District Manager and Research Director of the Lake County Vector Control District. “The drone is precise, quiet, and efficient. We were able to treat mosquito sources that we literally could not access to treat any other way. The channels where the mosquitoes are developing are too shallow or weed-choked for our boats, but too deep, muddy, and uneven for us to access by foot, and we cannot use a helicopter or a plane to apply over a dense residential community like this.”
Leading Edge Aerial Technologies (LEAT) is a company focused on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones. They have been inventing droplet analysis and aerial application technologies for over 35 years and have worked with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on aerial spraying via UAS since the beginning. Prior to any pilot performing aerial applications in a county the company, pilots, and equipment are registered with the county agricultural department.
“We have a great relationship with the residents and the Clearlake Keys Property Owners Association,” said Brad Hayes, Vector Control Technician II at the Lake County Vector Control District. They are appreciative of the mosquito control work we do, and invested in keeping the water in the Keys in good condition.”
Weekly trapping has shown a decline in mosquito numbers since the treatment. Countywide, seven mosquito samples, three sentinel chickens, and two dead birds have tested positive for West Nile virus this year, including five mosquito samples and one dead bird from the Clearlake Oaks area. The positive mosquitoes were western encephalitis mosquitoes (Culex tarsalis), which is the main vector of West Nile virus to people.
The Lake County Vector Control District provides mosquito and vector control services to our community. Residents with questions or who would like help with a mosquito problem, including reporting a neglected pool or spa, or who have an in-ground yellowjacket nest on their property that they want treated, should contact the Lake County Vector Control District at (707) 263-4770 from 7:30 AM to 4 PM Monday through Friday, or request service online anytime at https://www.lcvcd.org/request-service-d649036.
Residents are encouraged to report dead birds to identify potential West Nile virus activity. All dead bird reports from the public are critical in helping the District direct mosquito operations. Report dead birds to the state’s toll-free hotline at 1-877-968-2473 (1-877-WNV-BIRD) or online at the California Department of Public Health’s website https://westnile.ca.gov/report.
For more information about the Lake County Vector Control District and its services, please visit our website www.LCVCD.org. For information about West Nile virus, visit http://westnile.ca.gov/. Information about mosquito repellents can be found on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/westnile/faq/repellent.html.
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