Kern Business Journal August/September 2017 by The Bakersfield Californian Specialty Publications

KERN Journal Business

Vol. 6, No. 4

A MEMBER O F T HE

Cover story

TB C M E DIA FAM ILY

August / September 2017

See what’s new at Seven Oaks ‘medical hub’

Page 20 PHOTO BY FELIX ADAMO

Health Issue

Strong health care industry adds to economy’s diversification strength By Tamara Baker

hen looking at a region’s economy, it is important to have a diverse portfolio so that the community is not completely dependent upon one industry, or in other words, putting all of its eggs in one basket. The Kern Economic Development Corporation was created in the late 1980s primarily as a result of the lackluster oil and gas and agriculture industries. It became clear to several community leaders that Kern County could not solely depend upon the two sectors to maintain its economic strength. Thanks in part to growth in the local health care industry, Kern County is moving toward that goal of job PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT DURELL

Turn to STRONG on Page 11

Kern Business Journal P.O. Bin 440 Bakersfield, CA 93302

Presorted Standard U.S. Postage PAID Bakersfield, CA Permit No. 838

UCD Medical Center telehealth area in Sacramento. Turn to Page 16 to see how medical establishments in the Bakersfield area are using telemedicine technologies.

INSIDE

PHOTO COURTESY OF HPS MECHANICAL INC.

Hospitals may be particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks. Page 10

Bakersfield-based HPS Mechanical Inc. has grown into a construction company that tackles some of the state’s largest projects. But its work on hospitals, such as Loma Linda University Medical Center in Southern California, is among its most complicated. Page 6

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

ur practice is built on trust, just like our relationship with Valley Republic Bank.”

K URT S TURZ, DMD Sturz & Abby Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics Bakersfield native, Kurt Sturz set his sights on returning to his hometown to practice pediatric dentistry. Indeed he did — bringing Dr. Abby along to complement the practice. Their mission — to create healthy smiles for pediatric patients. The two are grateful for the trust placed in them. Likewise, they choose to bank with locals they can trust. “Thank you, VRB!”

Local. Responsive. Reliable. 5000 California Avenue, Suite 110 | 4300 Coffee Road, Suite A6 11330 Ming Avenue, Suite 400 510 Woollomes Avenue, Suite 106, Delano NOW OPEN

valleyrepublicbank.com valleyrepublicbank.com | 661.371.2000 Valley Republic Bancorp

(VLLX)

August / September 2017

Journal KERN Business

Together we are strong

August / September 2017 Vol. 6, No. 4 Kern Business Journal is a bimonthly publication of The Bakersfield Californian. Copies are available from The Bakersfield Californian, Kern Economic Development Corp. and Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce.

President/CEO Michelle Chantry Editor Jim Lawitz Sales and Marketing Director Joey Zachary Assistant Managing Editor Mark Nessia Specialty Publications Coordinator

Kasey Meredith Art Director Glenn Hammett Graphic Designer Holly Bikakis To submit a story kbj@bakersfield.com To advertise Joey Zachary jzachary@bakersfield.com 661-395-7363 To subscribe 661-392-5777

Editor’s Note

Showcasing Kern County business and industry

Publisher Ginger Moorhouse

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

ast month, I visited two of my best friends who live in Lubbock, Texas. It had been years since I last saw them, their firstborn, an only child when I initially met him, now an older brother to an 9-month-old sister. I couldn’t help but marvel at the strength and fight my friends’ son possesses. Despite being only 5 years old, their eldest has already seen his share of adversity and overcome them all. You’d never guess it watching him Mark Nessia bounce around the house, a bundle of laughter, energy and love. Jack Riley Levin was born Oct. 29, 2011, with a hypoplastic (underdeveloped) thumb in his right hand. He had surgery to correct the problem at 18 months old, a difficult and intricate procedure called pollicization that created a thumb from his right index finger. His family thinking the worst was over, Jack was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer that originates in the bone marrow and causes an overproduction of abnormal white blood cells called lymphocytes, at 4 years old. But thanks to medical breakthroughs, combined with the endless love and support of his parents and an unwillingness to let hardship hold him back, Jack is now cancer free. Sadly, that wasn’t always the case. Go back 60 years and leukemia was a death sentence, most children dying within a year of being diagnosed. Now, the cure rate for childhood leukemia is significantly high (about 90 percent of children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia can be cured, according to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital). We are fortunate to live in a time where the incurable is no longer so. Organs can be transplanted from one person to another.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN MCNEIL STUDIOS

The C-arm is one of the many high-tech devices brought to Kern County thanks to community fundraising. Story on Page 8.

Broken limbs can be mended with a few screws. Torn ligaments can be reconstructed. Whole joints can be replaced with prosthetic implants. Medicine is advancing at a rapid pace and civilization is reaping the benefits. Life expectancy has more than doubled in the last century and the number of centenarians — people living to be 100 years or more — has increased more than 43 percent since 2000, according to CDC reports. But there is still progress to be made. Health care organizations throughout Kern County are unyielding in their pursuit to bring the latest technology and well-qualified personnel to the area, reducing the need for residents to leave town for highquality care, and accomplishing that goal requires community involvement. Working hand in hand, the two sides can speed up the process and bring the medical advancements of tomorrow to Kern County today. When the community supports the organizations that help keep us healthy and active, we can all be “Jack Strong.”

Business at-a-glance owners and corporations) on the history, mission and core program areas of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County as well as its success with the Nutrition Program and After School Education & Safety program partnerships. The program will highlight the Boys & Girls Clubs’ opportunity for growth and expansion in the areas of scholarships for membership for children living in homelessness and economic disparity, vehicles for bridging transportation barriers to program locations, and the need to expand our footprint in the southwest and northwest areas to serve a growing number of children who are left unsupervised and without programs. State of the Clubs will wrap up with tours available to the attendees at 9 a.m. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County operates 63 club sites in Arvin, Bakersfield, Barstow, Frazier Park and Lamont, offering after-school and holiday day camps for children ages 5 to 17. To RSVP for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County’s State of the Clubs, call Maggie Cushine at 661-325-3730.

PHOTO BY CASEY CHRISTIE

Annual State of Clubs highlights Boys & Girls Clubs’ efforts in Kern County The Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County will hold its annual State of the Clubs presentation, called “The Road to Success,” Aug. 23 at the Boys & Girls Club – Armstrong Youth Center, 801 Niles St. The breakfast will begin at 7:30 a.m. and the program will begin at 8 with the primary goal of informing and updating the community (public agencies, elected officials, business

University of La Verne opens new Bakersfield location The University of La Verne relocated its Bakersfield regional campus to a new, larger space that will allow it to launch new academic programs tailored to meet the area’s educational and professional needs. Classes at state-of-the-art campus located on 10800 Stockdale Highway will start in September and an open house is scheduled for Oct. 12. The opening coincides with the introduction of three new bachelor’s degree programs in psychology, information technology and criminal justice in addition to a master’s program in psychology, which comple-

ments the university’s current programs in the areas of education and business. “This is a great time to live, work and study in Bakersfield,” University of La Verne President Devorah Lieberman said in a release. “The city’s population is booming and the region’s economy is transforming. As the premier private university in the area, we are proud that we are growing along with the community and creating opportunities for students to achieve their educational goals.”

Deanna Blaise named senior vice president, director of retail strategy for Rabobank N.A. Deanna Blaise was appointed as senior vice president and director of retail energy for Rabobank N.A. Blaise will continue to develop and implement the vision and strategy for the bank’s California retail banking network. Blaise was previously a retail division manager for the bank’s south division, in charge of overseeing 36 retail branch offices. Before joining Rabobank, Blaise spent 13 years as a marketing director for a regional CPA firm. At CSUB, she studied business administration and marketing and completed a corporate leadership program at IESE Business School in Spain. In addition to being a senior vice president and director of retail energy, Blaise is a current member and former president of the Bakersfield Women’s Business Conference, Bakersfield North Rotary and Youth Connection Inc.

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

Chamber roundup August / September 2017 events

Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce Aug. 17 — BYP Pub Club; 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; $5 at the door; Padre Hotel’s Prairie Fire Lounge, 1702 18th St. Aug. 18 and 25 — Government Review Council; 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.; Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, 1725 Eye St. Aug. 24 — Chamber After Hours Mixer; 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; $5 members; $10 nonmembers; Wells Fargo, 10610 Stockdale Highway Aug. 31 — Join BYP at Art After Dark; 7 to 9 p.m.; Bakersfield Museum of Art, 1930 R St. For more information, visit www.bmoa.org. Sept. 4 — Chamber Closed — Labor Day Sept. 5 — Philanthropy on Tap; Featured nonprofit: Junior Achievement; 5:30 to 7 p.m.; Imbibe Wine and Spirits Merchant, 4140 Truxtun Ave. Free to attend.

Sept. 8 — Early bird pricing ends for the 2017 Business Conference & Expo. Download vendor applications at bakersfieldchamber.org. In partnership with the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Sept. 8, 15, 22 and 29 — Government Review Council; 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.; Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, 1725 Eye St. Sept. 21 — Labor Law and HR Forum; check-in/networking, 7:30 a.m.; program, 8 to 10 a.m.; Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, 1725 Eye St. Sponsored by Young Wooldridge LLP. Sept. 28 — Chamber After Hours Mixer; 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; $5 members; $10 nonmembers; Castle & Cooke at Highgate Shires, 13517 Faringford Lane Sept 28 — Join BYP at Art After Dark; 7 to 9 p.m.; Bakersfield Museum of Art, 1930 R St; For more information, visit www.bmoa.org. Oct. 3 — Philanthropy on Tap; featured

BYP Street Party

nonprofit: Kern Literacy Council; 5:30 to 7 p.m.; Imbibe Wine and Spirits Merchant, 4140 Truxtun Ave. Free to attend. Oct. 6 — Government Review Council; 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.; Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, 1725 Eye St. Oct. 13 — BYP Street Party; 6 to 10 p.m.; Wall Street Alley and The Park at The Mark. For more information, visit bakersfield-

chamber.org. Oct. 26 — Business Conference & Expo; 3 to 8 p.m.; Rabobank Convention Center, 1001 Truxtun Ave. In partnership with the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. For information, please contact the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce at 661-327-4421 or visit www.bakersfieldchamber.org.

A resource for valley residents to help protect their health By Cassandra Melching

t is that time of year when wildfire season is again upon us. The extreme drought experienced in the San Joaquin Valley over the past few years coupled with an increase in tree mortality in the Sierras due to an insect infestation has led to an excessive buildup of combustible materials. This puts the valley at risk for potential wildfires, which are ignited mostly by lightning strikes. Air pollution generated from wildfires is enormous and often exceeds the total industrial and mobile source emissions in the San Joaquin Valley. When such a fire erupts, it overwhelms all control measures, rePHOTO BY CASEY CHRISTIE sulting in periods of excessively high An air tanker drops a load of fire retardant on the top portion of a particulate matter and ozone conCassandra Melching wildland fire in Bodfish. centrations. There are many negative effects associated with wood smoke. ley by providing information from the fire agency overseeParticulate matter (PM2.5) found in smoke can cause seriing the fire, linking to the district’s Real-time Air Advisory ous health impacts, especially to individuals with existing Network, explaining steps to limit your exposure to smoke respiratory conditions, elderly people and small children. and offering a short video about wildfire and air quality. When wildfires occur, the San Joaquin Valley Air PolOne will also find the latest wildfire press releases issued lution Control District steps up efforts to protect the public. by the district. When smoke is affecting residents, the district works with The two agencies that can oversee a wildfire in our area public land managers to see if more firefighting resources are Cal Fire and the Department of United States Forestry. can be placed in those areas to minimize smoke impacts. The wildfire page provides a direct link to these agencies Through the collaboration of multiple agencies, the district online tools, InciWeb or Cal Fire, which will give valley is able to give out accurate and timely information to the residents all the pertinent information and stats pertaining public. to a particular fire. Those webpages are another resource Valley residents can safeguard their health and stay upfor valley residents to stay connected with local fires that to-date through the district’s wildfire page, www.valleyair. could potentially affect one’s health. District staff also org/wildfires. This webpage keeps valley residents in tune collaborates with the California Office of Emergency with local wildfires that are affecting air quality in the valResponse and public land managers to deploy portable air

monitoring equipment in areas impacted by smoke. The wildfire page also contains information on the district’s state of the art Real-Time Air Advisory Network system, where valley residents can check the air quality data in the district’s network of air monitors to see if PM 2.5 is elevated in their area. RAAN notifications are particularly important when wildfire plumes enter the valley and elevate ozone and PM2.5 pollution to dangerous levels.

The website www.valleyair.org/wildfires keeps valley residents in tune with local wildfires that are affecting air quality in the valley. Schools and the public use these RAAN notifications in order to curtail outdoor activities during high pollution/ smoke episodes. Be aware however, that the RAAN system is designed to detect fine particulates that exist in smoke. On occasion, larger ash particles may be too large to be detected by our system. Therefore, an area may be experiencing ash impacts from potential fires yet it may not be reflected in the system. If you can smell smoke or see ash, that is an indication that you should be treating air quality conditions as “unhealthy” and remain indoors. For more information about the air district, call a regional office in Bakersfield, 661-392-5500; Fresno, 559230-6000; or Modesto, 209-557-6400. Cassandra Melching is an outreach and communications representative with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

Hospital construction poses unique challenges By Maureen Buscher-Dang

o say HPS Mechanical Inc. is a Kern County success story would be an understatement. Nearly six decades ago, the company was founded in Bakersfield by Harry DenHerder as Harry’s Plumbing Service. With one truck Harry used for service calls, the business became recognized for its top-notch work at a reasonable price. Today, the company, which is known as HPS Mechanical Inc., has offices in Bakersfield and San Diego and a workforce of engiMaureen Buscher-Dang neers and technicians that oversee massive new construction and pipeline projects, engineering and plumbing design services in California and Nevada. But despite all of its success, HPS Mechanical does not ignore its roots. The company’s website still boasts:

August / September 2017

PHOTO COURTESY OF HPS MECHANICAL INC.

From the ground up, building a hospital is a complicated and demanding undertaking. An aerial view of a project completed by Bakersfield-based HPS Mechanical Inc. at Loma Linda University Medical Center shows the lifesaving systems going together.

“From a leaky faucet to a multimilliondollar plumbing construction contract, HPS does it all!” HPS Mechanical works on some of Kern County’s and the state’s largest projects, including schools, water plants and oil production facilities. The company also has worked on major hospital facilities, including recent ones in Palmdale, Murrieta and Visalia. By most accounts, hospital construction projects are among the most complex and challenging in the construction industry. They are impacted by constantly changing codes and standards, including seismic requirements, increasing medical complexity and budget restraints. But most challenging is often the need to complete projects — such as the remodeling of a hospital wing, updating of a facility’s water- or air-exchange system, or constructing an addition — while the facility still is being operated. HPS Mechanical’s work on the recent remodeling of the kitchen at Kern Medical Center illustrates this challenge.

“HPS was the general contractor on this kitchen mechanical piping remodeling, which was done in the middle of the existing, operating hospital,” recalled DenHerder. “HPS had to rent a chiller to keep all lines operational until all the new connections were made. HPS determined that the point of connection, as designed, would not work and located a point that would. HPS was able to work with the owner to make this critical path change without delaying the project.” Hospital construction requires companies, such as HPS Mechanical, to be innovative, flexible and collaborative with building owners and hospital staffs. Above all, work must be done, while maintaining quality medical care and protecting patients. In today’s competitive health care business, hospitals must balance the need to be competitive, with revenues that often fall short. For a construction company to successfully meet building owners’ needs, it must understand and address the issues driving projects. These “drivers” include:

Future demands The U.S. population is aging. While much attention has been paid to boomers, the truth is that people in all generations are living longer, but not necessarily healthier lives. As a result, the demand for health care is expected to grow. And with this growth comes technology advances. Procedures never imagined even a decade ago are requiring hospitals to expand and remodel to provide space and sophisticated systems to accommodate more patients and equipment. Hospitals must plan to meet today’s and tomorrow’s demands.

Competition Construction crews with Bakersfield-based HPS Mechanical Inc. wrestle the complicated systems of a hospital project into place. By most accounts, hospital construction projects are among the most complex and challenging in the construction industry.

An aging, outdated hospital will not attract either patients or staff. To stay competitive, a hospital must be “modern.”

Cost-effectiveness We hear a lot about hospital “reimbursement rates.” This is generally the amount federal and state programs, such as Medicare and Medi-Cal, will pay hospitals for services provided to elderly or low-income people. Private insurance companies also set limits. Hospitals are squeezed between providing competitive, advanced services, while containing costs. Building design — such as the arrangement of patient rooms, service delivery systems and staff distribution — is a big part in controlling costs, while providing highquality service.

Construction funding No doubt with the increasing demands for more sophisticated hospitals come construction cost increases. With sources of capital often limited, hospitals struggle to make necessary improvements. Successful construction companies are using collaborative teams that include hospital owners and staffs, subcontractors and even members of the public to develop innovative plans and techniques that contain costs and reduce construction times. For example, 3-D modeling technology, combined with prefabrication of project components, now is commonly used. “Three-D computer modeling can allow visualization of a design for owner review and construction scheduling” explained DenHerder. “With comprehensive prefabrication in our shop, we can lower man hours in the field. “Building owners and their construction companies are developing innovative ways — using ‘traditional,’ as well as cutting-edge tools — to help create health care facilities for the future.” Maureen Buscher-Dang is a Bakersfield public relations consultant.

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

New company takes aim at ‘active shooters’ By Kelly Bearden

n June, a 45-year-old fired employee of an Orlando RV accessory manufacturing plant returned to the business and opened fire on former co-workers. He killed five people before shooting and killing himself. It was another in an increasingly common pattern of “active shooter” tragedies that are striking businesses, schools and government facilities Kelly Bearden across the nation. An active shooter incident involves one or more individuals engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. A recently released FBI study of active shooter incidents in the U.S. between 2000 and 2013 found an average of 6.4 incidents per year in the

first seven years. The number jumped to 16.4 per year in the latter seven years. In a follow-up FBI analysis covering 2014 and 2015, the number of annual mass shootings rose to 20 per year. The FBI’s “Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013” found 70 percent of incidents took place in commercial, business or educational environments and claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people. While it is unlikely a court or government agency will find employers “at fault” for not stopping these shootings, employers are expected to recognize the dangers and prepare their workforces to respond. Former Kern County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Booker is focusing his new company, Consulting for Active Shooter Emergencies LLC, on helping employers respond. He can be reached at 661-237-3006 or through Turn to ACTIVE SHOOTER on Page 27

Consulting for Active Shooter Emergencies LLC company prepares employees at the shooting range.

For 17 years we’ve been committed to providing premier cardiac care. We bring that same commitment to the rest of your body. Cath Lab C

Spine Center

Women’s Heart Center Full-Service ER

There’s more to good health than just having a healthy heart. At Bakersfield Heart Hospital we’ve been busy adding even more health care services to our already award-winning cardiac care. Things like the Joint Replacement Center, Brain and Spine Center, Center for Wound Healing and, just in case, our Full-Service Emergency Department. Of course you’ll still be able to get the best cardiac care possible in the Women’s Heart Center, the Cath Lab, and our Cardiac Rehab Center. Only now you’ll be able to get that same excellent care for all your other parts, too. We Accept the Following Insurance Plans

Center for Wound Healing

Joint Replacement Center

Anthem Blue Cross (HMO, PPO, SISC, Senior Medicare, Covered California) Blue Shield of California • Beech Street • Bakersfield Family Medical Coventry/First Health • County of Kern Health Care Network • Health Net Kern Family Healthcare • Medicare Advantage PacifiCare/United Health Group/TriCare

We put our hearts into healing yours.

www.BakersfieldHeartHospital.Com :PSSLJ[ (]L ࠮ )HRLYZMPLSK *( ࠮ )HRLYZMPLSK/LHY[/VZWP[HS *VT T H E H O SP I TA L I S PA RT I A L LY O W N E D BY P H YS I C I A N S

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

Cirugia Sin Fronteras

Organization helps keep community healthy, responsible and self-sufficient

Dr. Jorge A. Enriquez

By Alfonso Garcia Cirugia Sin Fronteras (Surgery Without Medical Insurance) was created in 2011 to help uninsured and low-income individuals attain affordable medical care and surgeries. This organization was created by Dr. Jorge A. Enriquez in order to help keep our community healthy and productive and to offer support to those who didn’t have any. Since its commencement, Cirugia Sin Fronteras has helped well over 4,000 individuals attain affordable and successful surgeries. This program creates awareness and teaches the patient selfsufficiency and responsibility about their own health and medical expenses. Cirugia Sin Fronteras is the bridge that patients use to attain medical care and surgeries at a 60 to 80 percent reduced rate — the patient is able to then pay for their surgery on their own and not rely on social programs or services. If and when a patient has accumulated most of the funds needed for surgery but cannot afford to complete the total amount, they can apply for CSF Foundation. CSF Foundation was created in 2015 to continue Cirugia Sin Fronteras efforts in providing medical services to members of our community. CSF Foundation follows a strict and thorough procedure that is focused in asserting that the patient being referred by Cirugia Sin Fronteras truly cannot afford the proposed surgery. In some cases, the foundation will pay the full amount of a surgery, but in most cases, only partial payments will be granted to patients who are referred by Cirugia Sin Fronteras because while our mission is to help and uplift people of our community, we also care to create self-sufficiency and responsibility for oneself. Cirugia Sin Fronteras is possible thanks to hospitals, surgeons and clinics that understand and respect our mission and care to be part of it. CSF Medical Non-Profit Foundation is possible thanks to donors, local businesses, and sponsors. In addition to the 4,000 plus patients “Surgery Without Medical Insurance” has been able to help, CSF Foundation this year has been able to further assist 35 patients in receiving medical attention and continue to lead a healthy and productive life.

Community philanthropy bring latest technology to Kern County By Stephanie Weber

ercy Hospital has been caring for the Bakersfield community since its doors opened in 1910. Although the times and backdrop of the city have changed in the past 107 years, Mercy’s commitment to providing high quality compassionate care with the most cutting edge technology available has remained. Mercy has a history of being the first hospital with the newest and most advanced technology, from having the city’s Stephanie Weber first passenger elevator in 1913, being the first hospital to have twoway radio communication between the hospital and emergency vehicles in 1972, having one of only 10 CAT scanners worldwide in 1975, being the only hospital located in southwest Bakersfield since 1992 and having the only inpatient cancer unit in Kern County since 2014. Today, Mercy continues to be a hospital with many firsts by recently investing in the latest in oncological and orthopedic surgical technology — all made possible because of our generous community. In 2016/2017 alone, $517,770 in philanthropic funds raised by the Friends of Mercy Foundation brought high quality oncological and orthopedic surgical equipment to Bakersfield in the form of an endoscopic

ultrasound, a Blue Light Cystoscopy System and C-arm imaging technology. Each piece of equipment greatly improves the procedures our highly trained physicians are able to provide our patients, many of which are unique only to Mercy Hospitals. The Endoscopic Ultrasound is able to detect masses inside organs, and its enhanced image quality vastly improves chances of early detection, diagnosis and staging of cancers. The unit also has therapeutic capabilities by being able to inject medication into the celiac ganglion (a mass of nerve tissue in the upper abdomen) to alleviate pain associated with pancreatic cancer. Mercy is the only hospital between Los Angeles and Fresno to provide this type of procedure with this specific equipment. When the state-of-the-art Blue Light Cystoscopy System arrives at Mercy later this fall, it will be the only surgical technology of its kind in the central valley. This potentially lifesaving piece of equipment is the newest cystoscopy technology with enhanced capabilities for the diagnosis and management of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. Orthopedic advances have also taken place at Mercy Southwest with the addition of a digital mobile C-arm used in the revolutionary total anterior approach hip arthroplasty. This procedure vastly reduces the recovery time for hip replacement patients, from multiple weeks to a few days. Mercy is the only hospital in Kern County to offer this procedure to the community. One of the most exciting firsts being developed at Mercy is the expansion of its oncology service line with the addition of the most advanced robotic

surgical equipment available: the Da Vinci Xi. This robot will allow the S.A. Camp Companies Robotic Surgical Center at Mercy Hospital to be the first and only Regional Center of Excellence for gynecological malignancies in Kern County. In 2015, Kern County reported 180 new gynecological malignancies: 71 cases were treated at Mercy, while another 109 patients had to leave Kern Country for treatment. Now, women needing specialized gynecological surgery will be treated right here at home. Women who wish to have surgery using the Da Vinci Xi will now be diagnosed, receive treatment and recover close to home under the supervision of their highly trained surgeon. One of the greatest advantages of the Da Vinci’s technology is its laparoscopic abilities, commonly referred to as minimally invasive. Laparoscopic surgery results in shorter surgical time (40 minutes versus four hours) and shorter recovery time (one day versus two weeks), providing a faster restoral of health. Mercy Hospital Downtown and Mercy Hospital Southwest are proud to have served the Bakersfield community for more than 100 years and look forward to providing many more firsts, now and for future generations. Stephanie Weber is vice president of philanthropy for Mercy Hospitals Bakersfield. In this role, she serves as the executive director of the Friends of Mercy Foundation and is responsible for raising and administering all charitable contributions made in support of Mercy Hospital and Mercy Southwest Hospital.

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

COMING TO

In Our Clients’ Words... The integrity of the Seven Oaks master-plan is in good hands with the professionals at Bolthouse Properties — it made our decision

C ENTRIC H EALTH U RGENT C ARE Construction is currently underway for the new retail center located at the entry of Seven Oaks Business Park. This winter, a 5,000 square foot, state-of-the-art urgent care facility owned and operated by Centric Health, a multi-specialty group practice, will open at Buena Vista Road and Bolthouse Drive.

to purchase a home just around the corner from where we’ll be practicing an easy one.

To support the growth of the Business Park, the retail center also has space available for food and other businesses.

COMMERCIAL t INDUSTRIAL t RESIDENTIAL Lorene Rodriguez, MD Rich Rodriguez, MD Centric Health Urgent Care

11601 Bolthouse Drive, Suite 200 | Bakersfield, California 93311 661.323.4005 | sevenoaksbusinesspark.com

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

Hospital cyberattack a matter of life and death By Alphonso Rivera

computer virus that infected systems throughout the world earlier this year caused millions of dollars in damages to companies in nearly every industry. It also demonstrated that hospitals may be particularly vulnerable to such attacks. The WannaCry ransomware, which targeted more than 300,000 computer systems in about 150 countries, caught the world’s attention when hospitals Alphonso Rivera in the British National Health Service were infected. But this proved to be just the beginning. The attack spread like, well, a really bad virus, as hospitals in other countries reported intrusions. In recent months, U.S. hospitals have made headlines as their computer systems have been held hostage by hackers and they have paid “ransom” to release the digital grips. Hospitals are particularly vulnerable to these types of attacks because they often use old machines and outdated software to perform such vital functions as monitoring patients and dispensing medications. Consider, “health care hardware devices” — such as MRI machines, ventilators and even some microscopes — actually are just computers. They are no different than desktop and laptop computers and mobile devices when it comes to being hacked. But because of the vital, lifesaving functions they

perform and the expanded dependence on sophisticated “machines” that today are even performing surgery, they are often in use 24 hours a day. They often are not being taken offline for updating. And when expensive equipment grows old, it is often they are being used without the support of manufacturers. Consider the incident Forbes magazine reported recently involving unnamed U.S. hospitals using sophisticated systems to deliver a “contrast agent” to patients undergoing radiology tests. A spokesperson for the system’s manufacturer confirmed it had received two reports from customers in the U.S. with devices compromised by the ransomware. Hospitals and other businesses are being hit by hackers demanding ransom because it is a relatively easy way for criminals to make a lot of money. Here’s how most ransomware attacks occur: Hackers infect malware into a computer. This malware, which is called ransomware, then encrypts the computer’s files until “victims” pay to have the files unlocked. The introduction of Bitcoin, a digital currency, has empowered hackers to demand increasingly large ransoms, with hospitals seen as lucrative targets. Because Bitcoin is traded anonymously, the transactions are difficult to track. Hospitals, like all businesses, also are vulnerable to having customers’ or patients’ confidential information stolen and distributed. And hospital records are rich with the type of detailed patient information that criminals desire. Like other businesses, hospitals also must guard confidential, proprietary company information. According to the U.S. National Cyber Security

Alliance, small businesses account for 81 percent of all cyberattacks and 60 percent of small companies that are victimized shut their doors within six months of a cyberattack because of loss in reputation and customer trust.

Whether it is a hospital or small business trying to protect itself from a cyberattack, these steps should be taken: • Train staff to recognize risks. While it seems hackers are always one step ahead of their prey, reminding employees not to open suspicious email attachments and to maintain secure passwords is a first line of defense. • Adhere to a schedule for updating software. That requires taking systems offline to perform updates that often address hacking vulnerabilities. • Harden systems. Remove equipment from networks when it is appropriate. Separate or compartmentalize systems to prevent one intrusion from infecting many operations. • Audit systems regularly for vulnerabilities and evidence of intrusion. • Make cybersecurity a priority. Do not become complacent. Alphonso Rivera is the founder and CEO of Advanced Micro Resource Digital Forensics, a Bakersfield-based digital forensic company that specializes in digital audits involving cell phone and computer evidence for attorneys, private investigators, human resources consultants and companies.

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

Strong

Continued from Page 1 creation and stimulation of a diversified and strong economic climate. The Bakersfield MSA was recently ranked as the No. 2 most diversified economy among the largest metros in the nation. According to Tamara Baker the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, “More diversified economies are less volatile in terms of outputs, and lower output volatility is associated with higher economic growth.” Kern County’s diversification in its top industries has helped strengthen the local economy and created a healthy business environment. These industries include transportation, logistics and advanced manufacturing; energy and natural resources; value-added agriculture; health care services; and aerospace and defense. Employment in the health care industry is increasing at an average annual rate of 2.2 percent, according to JobsEQ, making it the fastest-growing sector in Kern County. Home health care services is growing 5.2 percent annually; registered nurses represent the profession most in demand at a growth rate of 1.8 percent annually. With more than 885,000 people living in Kern County, and over 379,000 in Bakersfield alone, local demands for highly skilled and innovative health care options continue to increase. (This makes talent attraction and retention efforts even more essential.)

Kern’s growing number of health care providers are investing in the newest technologies and offering the latest treatment options locally. Approximately 36,800 Kern County residents are employed in the health care and social assistance industry and earn an average annual wage of $47,723. Kern’s growing number of health care providers are investing in the newest technologies and offering the latest treatment options locally. Approximately 36,800 Kern County residents are employed in the health care and social assistance industry and earn an average annual wage of $47,723. That’s almost 1,000 more jobs than six months ago!

To put this into perspective, Kern’s health care industry is growing faster than that in Los Angeles and Fresno, and Kern’s salaries are higher, too. As stated previously, registered nurses are in high demand locally, and the gap is expected to increase. Kern County’s 4,300 registered nurses earn an average annual wage of $88,400 (nearly double the average annual for all occupations). Over the next 10 years, it is expected that there will be a shortage of workers among health diagnosing and treating practitioners, health technologists and technicians, occupational therapy and physical therapist assistants, nursing, psychiatric and home health aides, as well as other health care support occupations. With a projected employment of 25,745 among these occupations, Kern is facing a shortage of 260 workers. Local health care facilities include Memorial Hospital’s Sarvanand Heart & Stroke Center, Comprehensive Blood & Cancer Center, Adventist Health Bakersfield’s AIS Cancer Center, and Centre for Neuro Skills. With the development of cutting-edge facilities in Kern County, local residents no longer need to travel to other areas of the state for their health care needs. Valley Children’s Healthcare recently announced its Eagle Oaks Specialty Care Center, a 52,000-square foot pediatric care center in west Bakersfield. According to President and CEO Todd Suntrapak, the center is expecting to see nearly 16,000 visits in 2019. The 34th Street Specialty Care Center saw more than 4,600 patients last year, and is expecting to see over 40,000 within the next decade. Dignity Health is in the midst of adding 78 beds to Mercy Southwest, bumping the total number of beds available to 198. In early July, it was announced that Kern Medical has joined with the University of Southern California’s Neurorestoration Center to open the

central valley’s first epilepsy neurology center. Tehachapi Valley Health District and Adventist Health announced their partnership for the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley Medical Center. The hospital is still in the works for completion. The fast-growing health care industry in Kern will only help to strengthen our local economy and our diverse industry portfolio. A dynamic industry means more

WALNUTS $34,500+-/AC 36.72+-acres, R-1 zoning, Grade 1-Excellent soils, SWID water, planted 2012, in city of Shafter FARMLAND SALE PENDING 38.18+-acres, grade 1 soils, quality well water, Shafter area ALMONDS $27,500+-/AC 79.09+-acres, SSJMUD & Well water, Grade 1 soils, McFarland Area ALMONDS SOLD 156.22+-acres, Semi-Tropic WSD boundary, good soils, 6,500+-sqft estate home, shop, & fenced Eq yard, Shafter area. PISTACHIOS $16,000+-/AC 223.31+-acres, Semi-Tropic WSD boundary & well water, and grade 3 soils, Wasco, CA.

high-paying jobs for community residents, which means more indirect and induced effects on Kern County’s economy. Everyone benefits from a healthy economy and a strong local health care industry. Tamara Baker is the manager of research and marketing for the Kern Economic Development Corporation.

ALMONDS $28,000+-/AC 248.82+-acres, SWID & wells, strong soils, crop included, Shafter ALMONDS SALE PENDING 720.90+-acres, planted Jan-2016, Madera Area PISTACHIOS $32,467+-/AC 1,509.21+-acres, planted 2009, grade 1 & 2 soils, NW of Delano area CATTLE RANCH $1,350+-/AC 4,631.78+-acres - contiguous acres, spring, well, 17 APN’s, along Breckenridge Rd, Bakersfield CATTLE RANCH $1,300+-/AC 5,130.51+-acres, cross fenced into 12 pastures, 36 water troughs, 24 water tanks with 98,000 gal storage, Cottonwood & WalkerBasin Creeks, Bakersfield

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

Dignity Health Bakersfield advancing health care in Kern County through partnerships, procedures and medical innovation

By Dignity Health Mercy and Memorial Hospitals

akersfield is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. Employment opportunities and affordable housing costs make the southern valley a desirable destination for new residents. Experts predict that Kern County’s population could double in the next 25 years. Dignity Health is staying a step ahead of population growth by expanding services and facilities at its three Bakersfield hospitals. Through teamwork, innovation and advocacy, Mercy and Memorial hospitals are delivering on their promise to provide excellent, affordable health care while serving and advocating for Kern County’s most vulnerable residents. “That’s a big part of our ministry — availability and service for the disenfranchised,” said Jon Van Boening, president and CEO of Dignity Health Memorial Hospital. “We believe we lead the community in new innovations and technologies.” New advancements in cardiac care at Memorial Hospital offer life-saving options for heart patients who may otherwise be too sick for surgery. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a minimally invasive procedure that helps patients avoid a lengthy hospital stay and difficult recovery traditionally associated with open-heart surgery. Memorial is the only hospital in the area to offer the procedure. Van Boening added there’s big news for the area’s smallest residents: The Robert A. Grimm Children’s Pavilion for Emergency Services, the only dedicated children’s emergency department between Los Angeles and Madera, will be opening this summer at Memorial Hospital. This unique facility is located adjacent to the existing emergency department and features separate waiting and treatment areas for pediatric patients. It includes an urgent care “fast track” exclusively for these patients, and all patients will be seen by doctors and nurses specially trained in pediatric medicine.

Across town, the new tower at Mercy Hospital Southwest is under development and scheduled to open in 2020. The expansion project is expected to close the gap between Bakersfield’s sprawling west side and demand for advanced health care services. Today, the hospital has just 78 beds; the new tower will add 106 beds, including 24 new ICU beds and 19 neonatal intensive care beds, an expanded emergency room and new cardiac catheterization labs.

Dignity Health is staying a step ahead of population growth by expanding services and facilities at its three Bakersfield hospitals. Mercy and Memorial hospitals, together with their partner, the Comprehensive Blood and Cancer Center, are dedicated to meeting the special needs of patients who have cancer and their families. Through this partnership, they are able to offer a comprehensive range of cancer treatments and therapy options including radiation oncology, CyberKnife, infusion services, patient navigators and support programs. Mercy Hospital Downtown’s inpatient oncology unit brings patients with cancer together with specialized nursing care in a single dedicated space, allowing improved coordination of care and a better overall experience for patients and their families. “These partnerships bring us economies of scale, rather than competing with each other on the same services,” explained Bruce Peters, president and CEO of Mercy Hospitals. “We can increase access to care and coordinate it more carefully, which increases the quality of care patients receive.” In addition, partnerships allow Mercy and Memorial hospitals to shift focus to more immediate needs, such as the Mercy Hospital Southwest tower project.

In 2016, Memorial Hospital partnered with the Grossman Burn Center to deliver world-renowned burn care close to home. A new comprehensive burn unit is currently under construction and expected to open in early 2018. The center will include a seven-bed inpatient burn unit, catastrophic burn care, pediatric intensive care burn services and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, in addition to an outpatient clinic. Currently, burn patients are treated in a temporary unit at Memorial Hospital. In addition to the new tower, Mercy Hospitals’ Southwest campus is expanding services at its Orthopedic, Spine & Hand Center — providing treatments that are in high demand in the community. Mercy Hospital recently acquired innovative technology that combines a superhero’s X-ray vision with the precision of computer imaging and navigation. The O-arm, a high-tech device that scans deeply within patients, generates high-quality images of their anatomy. It affords surgeons a large field of view in both two and three dimensions, reducing the invasiveness of procedures and allowing patients to go home sooner. The system is the only one of its kind in Kern County. Also, look for an expansion of women’s services at Mercy Hospital, including investments in new diagnostic equipment, such as a 3-D tomosynthesis machine used for breast imaging. Investing in the health and well-being of the community is a top priority for leadership at Mercy and Memorial hospitals. Through strategic partnerships, expansion projects and medical advancements, Kern County residents have more health care options here at home. “There’s a significant number of people who have to travel out of our community to get specialized health care, which means taking people away from loved ones when they are treated,” said Peters. “When people are treated near their homes, they just do better; it increases quality and improves outcomes in health care.”

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

Great lawyers close to home. A top California legal team is right in your own backyard. Whether you are operating a business or need personal legal counseling, you can rely on local attorneys who have an unrivaled track record, depth of knowledge and experience unique to the San Joaquin Valley. From business litigation, transactions and counseling, to bankruptcy, intellectual property, estate planning and employment law issues, KDG works with you to meet your legal needs and achieve successful, cost-effective results.

B A K E R S F I E L D • F R E S N O • SA N D IEG O • K LEIN LAW. COM

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

EXECUTIVE PROFILES OF KERN COUNTY

MICHELLE OXFORD

GREG GALLION

Title: President and CEO

Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

Company: Bakersfield Heart

Company: Houchin Community Blood Bank

Hospital

About the organization: Bakersfield Heart Hospital specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of heart and vascular disease as well as a wide range of other medical and surgical procedures. For 2017, Bakersfield Heart Hospital has been ranked by CareChex as being in the top 10 percent in the Nation for cardiac care. The hospital is also an accredited chest pain center. What I do: As the president and CEO of Bakersfield Heart Hospital, I am responsible for all aspects of hospital operations and quality patient care. I provide strategic leadership, work closely with the hospital’s physician partners to further align and integrate the care the hospital provides, as well as implement initiatives that will improve the health and wellness of the community. Where I grew up: I was born and raised in Bakersfield. Education: I received my Bachelors of Arts in psychology from CSUB and a master’s in business administration from Western Governors University. Family: I have been married to my husband, Scott, for 15 years. We have a son, Evan, who is 13years old and a daughter, Kendall, who is 8 years old. Hobbies: I like staying active; running and participating in circuit training. I love spending time with family and friends and enjoy learning and reading about new things. What was your very first job and what did you learn from it? My very first job was too long ago to remember but I would say of all my jobs, I learned that I love to excel at whatever I do. I am most happy when I am learning and challenging myself to set new goals and attain them.

Who or what has been the biggest influence on your career? I would say my husband and my family have influenced me to pursue my goals. Hospitals are 24/7 and as CEO, I am always thinking about work or actually working, even when I am at home, on weekends or on vacation. The long hours and work done during off-hours can be a lot for any family to bear, but my family has been most encouraging and I wouldn’t be as successful without their support. What was the best piece of advice you ever received? “If something gets crazy, be a duck — calm on the surface but swimming like heck underneath.” What is the most challenging part of your job? My passion for the work I do can sometimes make it difficult to shift from work mode to personal mode so I make a conscious effort to blend the two so I can enjoy both. What is the most rewarding part of your job? Celebrating the accomplishments of the people I work with, for me, is very gratifying. Seeing our hospital grow and improve and hearing the stories where we saved or improved a life is extremely rewarding. What is the most memorable accomplishment of your career? Being the visionary and lead in opening the Women’s Heart Center that screens women (and now men) for heart disease has been one of my major accomplishments. We are providing a valuable service to our community and there is not another center like it in town. Heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of Americans, but at least 200,000 deaths each year are preventable. Our goal is to save lives by bringing awareness and providing the tools necessary to improve the cardiovascular health of Bakersfield and Kern County residents.

About the organization: Dedicated to meeting the needs of the community, Bakersfield-based Houchin Community Blood Bank is a nonprofit service organization that has been serving Kern County since 1951. Houchin is committed to being the provider of a safe and adequate blood supply for area hospitals. The available supply is dependent on volunteer donors who walk into Houchin’s two donor centers or participate in mobile drives conducted in communities or at companies and organizations across the county. Houchin employs about 100 employees in two locations. What I do: I am the president and chief executive officer of Houchin Community Blood Bank. Where I grew up: I was born in Bakersfield and was raised in the northeast. Education: I went to Washington Middle School, East Bakersfield High School, Bakersfield College and Marymount College in Salina, Kansas. Family: I’ve been married to my wonderful wife, Sheryl, for 39 years. Hobbies: I like to ride horses and work cattle. I am one of 500 Rancheros Visitadores, or visiting cowboys. I joined in 1996 and participate in two annual events — one in Poso Flat in April and one in Lake Cachuma in May at Rancheros Ranch — where I work with other cowboys to gather, brand and work cattle. I’ve also done extensive travelling on the continent of Africa, including Madagascar. Sheryl and I have also travelled to Italy, Spain, Ireland, France and Great Britain. I like to cook. And I’m constantly working on developing expertise in the art of doing nothing. What was your very first job and what did you learn from it? When I was 15 years old, I was driven to Three Rivers, Califor-

nia, where I spent the summer working long, hard hours as a fry cook and maintenance guy at the Three Rivers Inn. I lived on the premises and fished on the river. I learned the value of being responsible for myself and others. When I returned home, I was 16. My dad told me he would provide food, housing and medical, but I was on my own for anything beyond that. Not long afterward, I scraped the side of the family car on a pole at the drive-in movies. When I got home, I set the keys on the kitchen counter. I figured I wouldn’t be allowed to drive anymore. Instead, my dad told me I had to pay to fix the car. It took all of my savings. It was a hard lesson in responsibility. What was the best piece of advice you ever received? Don’t read your own press clippings. In other words, don’t get so impressed with who you are. You aren’t half of what you think you are. What is the most challenging part of your job? It is keeping Houchin Community Blood Bank profitable and debt-free so it remains viable and sustainable for the community. One of the biggest hurdles is trying to get people to care about becoming blood donors and convincing them to make donations on a regular basis. What is the most rewarding part of your job? Knowing I am part of a team that saves and directly affects other people’s lives. Doing this job is much bigger than any one person. That’s the most gratifying aspect of the job and at the heart of what we do. What is the most memorable part of your career? Putting a team of people together and creating a sustainable business model for Houchin so that it has a long and prosperous future in our community. That is the most important and memorable work I’ve ever done.

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

16 Top Health Books That Will Improve Your Work and Life at Kern County Library By Katherine Ross Technology is great, but it can also be nice to curl up with a nice book. Why not peruse an informative book on health? The Kern County Library has many books, on many different aspects of health, for all ages, written by experts and celebrities. The following list gives some idea of our diverse selection: • “500 Time-Tested Home Remedies & The Science Behind Them: Ease Aches, Pains, Ailments & More with Hundreds of Simple & Effective At-Home Treatments.” Dr. Linda White brings 30 years of writing experience to this comprehensive book. • Ageproof: Living Longer Without Running Out of Money or Breaking a Hip.” This book is co-written by “Today Show” financial correspondent Jean Chatzky and the Cleveland Clinic’s chief wellness officer Dr. Michael Roizen. • “The Better Man Project: 2,476 Tips and Techniques that Will Flatten Your Belly, Sharpen Your Mind & Keep You Healthy & Happy for Life!” By Bill Phillips, editor-in-chief of Men’s Health. • “Food, Health & Happiness: 115 On-Point Recipes for Great Meals & a Better Life.” This book offers a candid, behind-the-scenes look into the life (and kitchen) of influential and respected celebrity Oprah Winfrey. • “Food52 Mighty Salads: 60 New Ways to Turn Salad Into Dinner — and Make-Ahead Lunches Too.” The editors of Food52 magazine present 60 salads hefty with vegetables, meats, grains, beans, fish, seafood, pasta and bread. • “How Food Works: The Facts Visually Explained.” Editorial consultant Dr. Sarah Brewer debunks common food myths, explains nutrition, covers the food groups and looks into organic versus processed foods. • “iPhone and Apple Watch for Health & Fitness in Easy Steps,” by Nick Vandome. Color illustrations demonstrate these gadgets that make health and fitness fun. • “The Lucky Years: How to Thrive in the Brave New World of Health.” Bestselling author Dr. David Agus helps you take control of your health. • “Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices & Our Overall Health.” Dr. Emeran Mayer discusses the mind-body connection, including lessons from the hunter-gatherers.

Hearing Heal Matters Hearing Health Centers

Melody Taylor

• “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: The MBSR Program for Enhancing Health & Vitality.” Authors Linda Lehrhaupt, Ph.D., and psychologist Petra Meibert are two of the leading mindfulness trainers in Europe. • “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide to Healing, Recovery & Growth.” Glenn Schiraldi’s book discusses how millions of PTSD sufferers have learned to live without fear, pain, depression and self-doubt. • “Pregnancy Encyclopedia: All Your Questions Answered.” Obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Paula Amato and obstetrician Dr. Chandrima Biswas provide a comprehensive and easy-tounderstand guide. • “Pretty Happy: Healthy Ways to Love Your Body.” Actress and fitness icon Kate Hudson shares her insights. • “The Stash Plan: Your 21-Day Guide to Shed Weight, Feel Great & Take Charge of Your Health.” Laura Prepon, star of the show “Orange is the New Black,” writes this in partnership with nutritionist Elizabeth Troy. • “Still Down: What to Do When Antidepressants Fail.” Dr. Dean MacKinnon, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins Medical School, assists with finding appropriate diagnoses and the best possible care. • “Your Health, Your Decisions: How to Work with Your Doctor to Become a Knowledge-Powered Patient.” Dr. Robert McNutt gives patients the confidence and tools they need to make health care choices. These books, and books on many other subjects, are available through the local branch of your Kern County Library. Katherine Ross is a reference librarian for Beale Memorial Library, main branch of the Kern County Library system.

House Ear Clinic has merged with Providence Health & Services. We are committed to delivering the same superior value and service you have come to expect. We pride ourselves on creating an environment that will help you make the best decision to improve your hearing. Individuals who seek treatment for their hearing loss see improvements in aspects of their professional lives: Improved Ability to

Focus

Untreated hearing loss leads to difficulty concentrating, especially when communicating with others.

Increased

Earning Power

Improved Ability to

Learn

New research suggests that untreated hearing loss can lead to problems storing new information.

Increased

Untreated hearing loss leads to reduced job performance and less monetary compensation.

Cognitive Heal

Individuals with untreated hearing loss are at an increased risk of cognitive decline.

500 Off

With the exciting news of this merger, we are offering

a pair of premium hearing aids.*

call 661.281.1099

1601 19th St., Bakersfield, CA 93301 * Audéo™ B90-R & Bolero™ B90-PR

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

Telemedicine

More often, the doctor is ‘in’ — or rather — ‘online’ By Dianne Hardisty

y 2030, America’s shortage of physicians could climb to more than 100,000, according to a recent analysis by the Association of American Medical Colleges. But even by today’s standards, the federal Health Resources and Services Administration claims more than 6,000 areas in the U.S. have too few primary care providers. The Heritage Foundation recently identified several causes for this physician shortage. They include demographic changes, an uneven geographic distribution of physicians and government policies. Dianne Hardisty As the number of people over 65 years of age continues to grow, so does the need for medical care. And although nearly 20 percent of Americans live in rural areas, less than 10 percent of the nation’s primary care physicians practice in these areas. Government policies also limit efforts to expand use of medical students, physician assistants and nurse practitioners to meet needs. There is little we can do about the nation’s aging

A UC Davis doctor in a consultation.

population. We can offer incentives for physicians to move to rural areas. And the slow-turning wheels of government someday may change licensing policies. Meanwhile, Kern County hospitals and health care organizations have turned to telemedicine to help address the physician shortage and expand local access to medical care. A sampling of Bakersfield hospital and health care organization officials revealed that more local patients, particularly those living in remote communities, such as the Kern River Valley and eastern Kern County, are being given access to primary physicians and medical specialists through sophisticated teleconferencing systems. And this seems to be just the beginning. These officials say their organizations plan to expand the use of telemedicine in the months and years ahead. Dignity Health, which includes Bakersfield Memorial and Mercy hospitals, uses telemedicine for inpatient acute care. Dignity also is a provider of telemedicine services to remote areas. “We have many locations that are hard to get to,” explained Robin Mangarin Scott, Dignity’s vice president of marketing and communications. “So telemedicine allows us to get to those hard-to-access areas and bring the resources to the patient, instead

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN MCNEIL STUDIOS

The RealPresence Group Series system sets a new standard for ease of use in video collaboration.

of having either the patient, or the physician, drive multiple hours to be seen.” Mangarin Scott used a cardiology case to explain how the Dignity telemedicine system works. A patient who is referred to a specialist would show up at a primary care provider’s office and be taken into a room, where blood pressure is taken and other routine procedures are performed. “At that point, the cardiologist would come on the screen and have a face-to-face consultation, reviewing any studies performed ahead of time, or ordering an EKG to be done real-time. They may also instruct the nurse to use a special stethoscope so that the cardiologist can hear it in his office. In any case, the provider is able to see the EKG or listen to the stethoscope in real-time and make a diagnosis just as they would in a physical appointment with the provider.” At Adventist Health Bakersfield, formerly known as San Joaquin Community Hospital, Jimmy Phillips, the hospital’s administrative director of marketing and communications, noted that his hospital’s most “robust” use of telemedicine is in the area of neurology. The hospital also is a provider of teleneurology services to Delano Regional Medical Center, Ridgecrest Regional Hospital and soon to Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley. “In all neurological health issues, time is extremely critical — the faster a patient receives proper treatment, the better the chances for recovery,” Phillips explained. “In the past, a patient experiencing symptoms of a stroke would be immediately transported to Bakersfield or another community with a primary certified stroke center. For a patient in Ridgecrest, that could mean more than an hour in an ambulance. “With the launch of [Adventist Health Bakersfield’s] telestroke network, our team of experts can provide rapid evaluations and treatment recommendations in a manner of minutes. In many cases, this will allow patients to remain in their home community and still receive a high level of care.” The hospital’s AIS Cancer Center is affiliated with UC Davis Health, a pioneer in telemedicine. A recent study of the university’s nearly two-decade use of telemedicine revealed the technology saved patients millions of dollars in travel costs and time away from work. It also expanded patient access to advanced services. The team of experts at Adventist Health Bakersfield have “weekly virtual tumor boards with the team

August / September 2017 at UC Davis. This is like a built-in second opinion, where the team collectively reviews images, develops treatment plans and discusses cases on an individual basis. It’s one of the huge benefits of having an academic affiliation,” said Phillips. At the county’s public hospital, Kern Medical, telemedicine is used to provide care in a number of specialties, as well as to extend the hospital’s services to outlying areas and to correctional facilities in the county. “Telemedicine services can efficiently allow access to specialists that are not available locally,” said Scott Thygerson, Kern Medical’s chief strategy officer, who noted the hospital operates outpatient clinics that see up to 12,000 patients a month across most physician specialties. “Telemedicine can also support access to physicians on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” The county hospital is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California, where specialists are available to advise and assist with Kern County cases. Clinica Sierra Vista, a multi-county Bakersfield-based nonprofit organization that provides health care primarily to lowincome residents, relies on telemedicine to extend psychiatric services to people in the Southern San Joaquin Valley. “We use telemedicine for psychiatric

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

lack the breadth of comfort or experience working with special populations.” Kaiser Permanente also is a big user of telemedicine. Kaiser’s CEO, Bernard Tyson, estimated during a conference last fall that the California-based health system saw 110 million people in 2015, with around 59 million connecting through online portals, computer apps and virtual visits, or telemedicine.

Kern County hospitals and health care organizations have turned to telemedicine to help address the physician shortage and expand local access to medical care.

“Because we were all-knowing, we built the entire health care industry where everyone has to come to us,” Tyson said in his keynote address to the Salesforce.com Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. “But now we are reversing the theory … so we’ve invested billions in our technology platform.” “Kern County currently has telephone visits available for primary care and specialty visits,” said Dr. Benjamin Ha, family physician and Kaiser Permanente Kern County innovation champion. “Video visits are currently available in some departments locally and will be available for primary care and all specialties by the end of 2017.” Bakersfield-based Telehealthdocs is helping hospitals and health care providers in Kern County and other communities operate telemedicine systems. “Telehealthdocs offers over 25 medical specialties ranging from endoPHOTO BY ROBERT DURELL crinology to pain management UCD Medical Center telehealth area in Sacramento. and psychiatry,” explained Quon Louey, the company’s consultation, evaluation and prescribing executive director. “Using this telemediby psychiatrists and psychiatric mental cine technology, Telehealthdocs has prohealth nurse practitioners,” said Chrisvided necessary specialty medical care to topher Reilly, chief of behavior health patients in underserved rural communities services. “About half of our total visits for within and around Bakersfield, the county psychiatric prescribing occur via teleand state. medicine. We do not use it for therapy or “In addition, Telehealthdocs has been nonmedication services. effective in providing follow-up and “We have a hard time recruiting a continuing care to patients with ongoing sufficient pool of affordable local psychia- diagnosis,” he said. trists to meet the rapidly growing patient At Adventist Health Bakersfield, Phildemand, especially as the Affordable Care lips predicted the use of telemedicine will Act established behavioral health treatcontinue to grow. ment as an essential health benefit,” Reilly “It’s fair to say that the digital wave explained. “Using telepsychiatry offers is making people more comfortable with us a wider array of part time credentialed using telehealth and digital doctor visits as providers to better match patient prefera primary source of health care,” Philences and need. It means having a dozen lips said. “Younger generations are doing or so providers with the flexibility to cover everything from banking to buying their different outlying rural areas of the county, groceries online, so I think it is safe to instead of a couple of full-time people assume this will extend into health care as who might work from Bakersfield and well.”

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Offering Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees

Get Connected! www.csub.edu/bpa www.linkedin.com/groups/6937294

www.facebook.com/BPACSUB www.twitter.com/CSUBBPA www.instagram.com/csubbpa bpa.csub

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

Tourism Update

PHOTOS COURTESY OF VAGABOND INN-EXECUTIVE

Pool area and sign for the Vagabond Inn-Executive in Bakersfield.

Local travel sector continues to show strength By David Lyman

espite the downturn in the oil sector that has battered Kern County’s economy, the local travel industry continues to show strength. In Bakersfield, hotels have seen an uptick in visitors compared with the previous year. According to STR Inc., the number of hotel rooms sold in Bakersfield was up 1.4 percent for the 12-month period between May 1, 2016, and April 30, 2017. In addition, Bakersfield hotel revenue was up 4.2 percent during that same 12-month period. Increased hotel revenue means more tax revenue flowing to local governments. Some Bakersfield hotels have recently completed major renovations, signaling investor confidence in the local travel market. One of those is the former Downtowner Inn, now rebranded as the Vagabond InnExecutive at 1301 Chester Ave. Prior David Lyman to the redesign process, the property was up-to-code but uninspiring. Jag Patel, the current owner of the property, purchased it with a vision in mind. “I wanted to attract a clientele that goes underserved in downtown Bakersfield: people who expect very high quality from affordable hotels,” Patel explained. “Our guests deserve to stay somewhere with visual appeal, and they shouldn’t have to sacrifice comfort.” Renovations saw the existing flooring in guest rooms replaced by hardwood. Rooms also sport new beds (including new memory foam mattresses), desks, chairs and wardrobes. Guests will enjoy 48-inch flat-screen LCD TVs and mini-refrigerators and can request kitchenette rooms. The Vagabond Inn-Executive serves free continental breakfast each morning and provides guests with free

high-speed Wi-Fi. The boom in the local travel market is not just being seen in Bakersfield, but throughout Kern County. According to a report prepared for Visit California and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, visitors to Kern County spent $1.214 billion in 2016. That spending included everything from visits to Bakersfield’s Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, gatherings at Rabobank Convention Center, regional softball tournaments at Mesa Marin Sports Complex, and races at Auto Club Famoso Raceway and Kern County Raceway, to skydiving, rock climbing, kayaking, river rafting, off-roading and rock climbing in all parts of the county. That spending, up slightly from 2015 (.25 percent), also generates tax revenue to local governments, welcome news amid reports of declines in sales tax and property tax receipts. The report, prepared by Dean Runyan Associates Inc., found about 28 percent of direct visitor spending in Kern

County was for food service, with an additional 18 percent spent on accommodations (see graphic). Food service spending from visitors increased almost 4 percent over 2015, with spending on accommodations up about 3 percent. In 2016, visitor spending in Kern generated $420 million in earnings for local industries, up more than 8 percent over the year before. More than 60 percent of those earnings, or 3 out of every 5 dollars, were generated in the accommodations and food service industries, which saw a 9 percent increase in earnings from travel spending over 2015. Businesses in the arts, entertainment and recreation fields garnered more than 18 percent of total earnings from travel spending in Kern in 2016, up almost 7 percent from the year before. Visitor spending also directly supports Kern County employment. In 2016, visitor spending supported 15,320 jobs, up 1 percent from 2015. The majority of those jobs — almost 58 percent — were in accommodations and food service, with an additional 25 percent of those jobs in arts, entertainment and recreation. The report also found that visitors to Kern County who stayed in hotels and motels spent $372 million in 2016. That amount was 30.64 percent of destination spending, more than other groups of visitors. David Lyman, Ph.D., is manager of Visit Bakersfield. He and other members of Team More to Explore help visitors from throughout the world spend their money in California’s ninth largest city. They are available toll-free 866-425-7353 or at Info@VisitBakersfield.com.

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

Rio Bravo Cancer Center initiates radiosurgery program

By Selene Witcher

or years, patients with inoperable tumors in the body had limited treatment options. Patients with brain tumors or tumors near critical organs were often subjected to damage to surrounding organs with surgery. However, over the past decade, advances in radiation therapy have made it possible to destroy tumors without the need for an invasive operation. This revolutionary treatment is called stereotactic radiosurgery or stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. SRS/SABR is a noninvasive treatment that uses high doses of focused radiation to treat benign and malignant tumors. Since the treatment uses highly precise beams, it can treat tumors while avoiding the surrounding healthy organs. When utilized properly, the clinical outcomes of SRS/ SABR treatments are equivalent if not better than traditional surgery. Treatment starts by forming a 3-dimensional map of the patient’s body with a CT scan. The radiosurgery team then outlines the areas that require treatment on the 3-D

map. Using sophisticated physics planning, radiation beams are arranged at different angles to target the tumor. “We commonly use this technique for tumors in the brain and lung, however, this treatment can target virtually any tumor in the body with extreme accuracy and precision,” said Dr. Jekwon Yeh, director of radiation oncology at the Rio Bravo Cancer Center. Radiosurgery treatments are usually performed in one to five treatments. With Rio Bravo Cancer Center’s Elekta Versa HD, radiosurgery treatments are usually less than 15 minutes as compared to traditional techniques such as the Cyberknife or Gamma Knife, which can take over an hour. The additional treatment time can cause an increase in anxiety and discomfort for the patient. Along with precise radiation planning, the delivery of the treatment must be just as exact. Rio Bravo Cancer Center utilizes 4D-CT targeting, which essentially monitors the movement of tumors in real-time like a GPS system and allows for more precise treatment delivery.

Dr. Jekwon Yeh

For example, lung tumors move while we breath, however, with the 4D-CT targeting technology, the lung tumors position can be accurately monitored for treatment. Rio Bravo Cancer Center is the only facility in Kern County that offers this type of precise real-time tumor targeting technology. Yeh said: “We performed our first radiosurgery procedure at Rio Bravo Cancer Center several months ago. The patient had

an inoperable tumor of the pituitary gland. Further surgery would have caused damage to the nerves that control vision, bleeding, infection and possible brain damage. However, with our SRS technology, we were able to halt the growth of the tumor with only a few radiation treatments. The patient is now doing well with no growth of the tumor and essentially no side effects.” The radiosurgery team at Rio Bravo Cancer Center has essentially created a virtual operating room that removes the need for invasive surgery. Patients usually have minimal symptoms and are living their regular lives without any extensive recovery time. Rio Bravo Cancer Center has invested over $6 million into obtaining this cutting-edge radiation technology. “We are committed to saving lives by bringing the world’s most advanced cancer treatment technology closer to home,” Yeh said. Selene Witcher is a business development manager with Rio Bravo Cancer Center.

Solar for Agriculture & Water

Do you want to see your solar savings calculated every month, on every meter? Learn about our new utility billing software www.calcomsolar.com www.calcomsolar.com | 559.667.9200

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

Seven Oaks Business Park Update

Bolthouse Properties’ Seven Oaks ‘medical hub’ continues to grow By Laura Wiener

olthouse Properties’ “medical hub” in Seven Oaks Business Park is growing as the demand for local health care services increases and the city of Bakersfield’s development continues to move into the southwest quadrant. A recent addition to Seven Oaks Business Park is the newly completed Alzheimer’s Laura Weiner Disease Association of Kern County facility just to the north of The Village at Seven Oaks Assisted Living and Memory Care complex on Buena Vista Road. ADAKC relocated Kern County’s only adult day care for those with Alzheimer’s to the Business Park, allowing the center to provide services to an additional 60 people. Last year also saw the completion of the state-of-the-art New Horizon and Oaks’ Surgical Centers that was Bolthouse Properties LLC’s first design and build-to-suit project in the Business Park. Hoffmann Hospice’s unique 25,000-square-foot inpatient hospice home opened in late 2015 providing patients with round the clock hospice care, an inspiring stain glass walled chapel to celebrate the sanctity of life for families along with 18 private patient suites that open on

Centric Health rendering.

to a secluded patio and more. The building has also been awarded the 2016 Bakersfield Beautiful Award for architecture/design. Bolthouse Properties LLC will complete construction this winter for Centric Health, a multispecialty group practice that will open an urgent care facility in the corridor’s newest retail area in Seven Oaks Business Park. Centric Health’s recent decision to add a pharmacy adjacent to the urgent care will provide a convenient location for Seven Oaks, Belcourt and Highgate residents, as well as those who work within the Seven Oaks Business Park. Having recognized the need for additional medical services in southwest Bakersfield, Centric Health has adopted a long-term view regarding its expansion into this growing medical hub at Seven Oaks Business Park. They are currently in escrow to purchase property for a medical office building in the Business Park. Additionally, an office condominium complex is in the planning phase in the Business Park, which will allow for private ownership of office space. “Seven Oaks Business Park provides medical professionals with the opportunity to purchase the land and own their facility rather than lease, creating equity for their business and increasing the value of their enterprise,” explained Bruce Davis, Bolthouse Properties’ senior vice president of development. “In Bolthouse Properties’ nearby Mustang

Square, a group of family practice physicians also relocated their Premier Family Health Care office here, closer to Seven Oaks.” These are just the latest health care providers to join several of Bakersfield’s established medical organizations that have relocated to or have expanded their operations into Bolthouse Properties’ master-planned business and commercial development, south of White Lane along Buena Vista Road. “Seven Oaks Business Park has been fortunate to have established a substantial group of owners with the vision to follow the city’s growth and relocate to a master-planned business park in Seven Oaks” added Davis. Kern Economic Development Corporation and state statistics predict growth in the medical industry, with Bakersfield’s location and economy likely to benefit. Driving this growth is a combination of an aging population that requires increased medical care, a population that is naturally growing and new residents moving into the area. “We are expecting California’s future growth to be significantly in the San Joaquin Valley,” said Richard Chapman, president and CEO of KEDC. “That’s due to build-out from urban areas. People are moving out of big cities and closer to us. So in addition to the current inhabitants and normal population growth, we’ve got the potential influx of people, too.” With KEDC monitoring Kern County’s job growth rate,

PHOTO BY FELIX ADAMO

Alzheimer’s Disease Association of Kern County facility.

PHOTO BY FELIX ADAMO

New Horizon and Oaks’ Surgical Center.

Chapman noted that jobs in the medical industry are increasing at about 3 to 5 percent a year. Over the past decade, Kern County has built a solid medical infrastructure, Chapman said, crediting the desires of physicians and hospitals to treat people locally for the expansion of medical resources in Kern County. A variety of major companies, such as Kern Schools Federal Credit Union and Northern Digital Inc., as well as service businesses, restaurants and shops are locating to Bolthouse Properties’ Seven Oaks Business Park, Grand Island Village and Mustang Square, creating a synergy that is fueling economic vitality and supporting the many residential neighborhoods being built in the southwest. It was only four years ago, in 2013, that the Bolthouse Properties’ medical hub began taking shape in the Seven Oaks Business Park with the opening of Houchin Community Blood Bank’s centralized facilities, which includes

administration and transportation offices, labs and a blood donation center on Bolthouse Drive. “We were the first location in Seven Oaks Business Park,” said HCBB President and CEO Greg Gallion. “We broke ground literally and figuratively” on the 276-acre business park becoming pioneers in this new medical hub. After nearly four years of operation, Gallion said Houchin is pleased with its move to the Seven Oaks Business Park. “The building is working out wonderfully. All of our staff and operations can be under one roof, one location,” he said, adding that he is not surprised that there are more medical facilities staking claims to locations in the Seven Oaks Business Park. “I think it reflects the growth and direction Bakersfield and Kern have been headed in for some time,” he said. Laura Wiener is the owner of Spectrum Communications in Bakersfield.

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

Managing workers through change critical to success By Karen Bonanno

laming unfavorable agricultural and commodity prices, as well as â&#x20AC;&#x153;tepidâ&#x20AC;? crude oil prices, an iconic Kern County ranch this spring announced layoffs and a reorganization. Just a few days later, a local grower and food processor announced moves to streamline its operation and reorganize. By law, the grower-processor sent a letter to the Kern County Board of Supervisors announcing the â&#x20AC;&#x153;streamlineâ&#x20AC;? that could result in nearly 400 people beKaren Bonanno ing laid off. However, a company official told The Bakersfield Californian that only people who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t accept transfers or shift changes will be pushed out of the company

as it reorganizes to maintain its competitive edge. The company official said he expects most of the employees affected by the layoffs to accept new jobs at other company job sites or accept layoff or early retirement packages. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re really trying to do everything we can to make this as easy as possible on the people who work for us,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But this is what the company has to do to stay competitive.â&#x20AC;? Whether it results in layoffs, reassignments or new job duties, change is inevitable in most companies and workplaces. During the Great Recession of 2008, we saw a massive upheaval as companies downsized merely to survive. But in this increasingly competitive global economy, it does not take a recession or other economic development to require big and small companies to regularly â&#x20AC;&#x153;retoolâ&#x20AC;? themselves and require their workers

to cope with change. Change is an uncomfortable reality for those who demand it, as well as those who must comply. For the most positive outcomes, which enhance profitability, while motivating workers, company owners and managers must properly introduce and implement changes in their workplaces. Some steps to successfully accomplish this include: â&#x20AC;˘ Take employees into your confidence. Explain the need for change and the changes that will be implemented. â&#x20AC;˘ Reassure employees. While you may not be able to say all jobs will be retained, ease concerns by explaining how changes and job reassignments will be handled. Assure employees you are confident in their abilities to implement changes and succeed. â&#x20AC;˘ Watch and listen. Ask for employee suggestion and feedback. Allow employees to contribute their ideas. Encourage buy-in for the changes that will be made. â&#x20AC;˘ Provide training. New jobs and new responsibilities often require training. Provide that training to help your employees succeed. â&#x20AC;˘ Motivate employees. Money is always a good motivator, but it is not the only motivator. There may be simple, costeffective workplace adjustments, such as flexible work schedules, that will motivate employees to embrace changes. â&#x20AC;˘ Be positive. Present changes as excit-

ing challenges. Explain that the changes are not only necessary, but good for the company and for its employees. â&#x20AC;˘ Provide feedback. Compliment employees as they implement changes. Provide instruction when adjustments are required. â&#x20AC;˘ Update employees. Regularly and frequently update employees on the progress being made in implementing changes and how the changes are improving the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance. Peter Senge, a renowned systems scientist and business lecturer, once observed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;People donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t resist change. They resist being changed!â&#x20AC;? Behavioral scientists note that humans are creatures of habit. They survived through routine and predictability. It is only natural that changes at work are among the top â&#x20AC;&#x153;life stressorsâ&#x20AC;? that a person can experience. A company that does not take this â&#x20AC;&#x153;human natureâ&#x20AC;? into account and that forces change on employees who are not prepared to handle it risk alienating its workers, suffering financial loss and seeing promising strategic changes fail. Karen Bonanno is president of the Bakersfield-based human resources consulting firm P.A.S. Associates and P.A.S. Investigations. She can be contacted through her website www.PASassociates. com and through the PAS Facebook page.

Peace of Mind with w ith a

Second Opinion

Being Diagnosed with Cancer is a Life-Altering Event. -ŕ˘ź;m|v 1-m 0; oÂ&#x2C6;;uÂ&#x2030;_;Ń˛l;7 Â&#x2030;b|_ bm=oul-ŕ˘źom -m7 ;loŕ˘źomv -m7 0;1ol; 1om=Â&#x2020;v;7 om _oÂ&#x2030; |o ruo1;;7Ä¸ = Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020; ou - Ń˛oÂ&#x2C6;;7 om; _-v 0;;m 7b-]mov;7 Â&#x2030;b|_ 1-m1;uÄś b| bv 1uÂ&#x2020;1b-Ń˛ |o o0|-bm - v;1om7 orbmbom -v |_; |u;-|l;m| 1-m Â&#x2C6;-uÂ&#x2039; 7u-vŕ˘ź1-Ń˛Ń˛Â&#x2039; 7;r;m7bm] om |_; |Â&#x2039;r; -m7 v|-]; o= |_; 1-m1;uÄ¸ -ŕ˘ź;m|v o[;m 7;Â&#x2C6;o|; omŃ˛Â&#x2039; - =;Â&#x2030; lbmÂ&#x2020;|;v u;v;-u1_bm] |_;bu 7o1|ou ou |u;-|l;m| |;-lÄ¸ +oÂ&#x2020; 7;v;uÂ&#x2C6;; - v;1om7 u;Â&#x2C6;b;Â&#x2030; o= Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020;u 1-v; Â&#x2030;b|_ - Â&#x2030;ouŃ˛7 1Ń˛-vv |u;-|l;m| |;-lÄ¸ - v;1om7 u;Â&#x2C6;b;Â&#x2030; o= Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020;u 1-v; Â&#x2030; u;Â&#x2C6;b; Â&#x2030;b|_ - Â&#x2030;ouŃ˛7 Â&#x2030;b|_ - Â&#x2030;ouŃ˛7 1Ń˛-vv |u;-|l;m| |;-lÄ¸

o Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020; hmoÂ&#x2030; -Ń˛Ń˛ Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020;u 1-m1;u |u;-|l;m| orŕ˘źomvÄ´

ovrb|-Ń´v ou 1;m|;uv l-Â&#x2039; omŃ´Â&#x2039; u;1oll;m7 |o Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020; |u;-|l;m|v |_-| |_;bu =-1bŃ´b|Â&#x2039; o@;uvÄş $_;Â&#x2039; l-Â&#x2039; m;Â&#x2C6;;u l;mŕŚ&#x17E;om m;Â&#x2030; 1Â&#x2020;ŕŚŽm] ;7]; |u;-|l;m|v |_-| -u; lou; -7Â&#x2C6;-m1;7 -m7 r;uvom-Ń´bÂ&#x152;;7 =ou Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020;u 1-v;Äş Â&#x160;rŃ´oubm] -Ń´Ń´ Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020;u |u;-|l;m| orŕŚ&#x17E;omv bv ;Â&#x160;|u;l;Ń´Â&#x2039; blrou|-m| bm _;Ń´rbm] Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020; |o l-h; -m bm=oul;7 7;1bvbomÄş

-Â&#x2C6;; Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020; 0;;m |oŃ˛7 Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020;u 1-m1;u bv Â&#x2020;m|u;-|-0Ń˛;Ä´

$_; 1-m1;u |u;-|l;m| |;-l -| !bo u-Â&#x2C6;o -m1;u ;m|;u bv 1olrubv;7 o= oÂ&#x2020;|v|-m7bm] r_Â&#x2039;vb1b-mv Â&#x2030;b|_ Â&#x2030;ouŃ´7 1Ń´-vv |u-bmbm]Äş uÄş !b1-u7o "-Ń´-vÄˇ bu;1|ou o= ;l-|oŃó]Â&#x2039;Ĺ&#x2020; ;7b1-Ń´ m1oŃó]Â&#x2039; -m7 uÄş ;hÂ&#x2030;om +;_Äˇ bu;1|ou o= !-7b-ŕŚ&#x17E;om m1oŃó]Â&#x2039; -u; 7;7b1-|;7 |o ;mvÂ&#x2020;ubm] |_-| r-ŕŚ&#x17E;;m|v u;1;bÂ&#x2C6;; |_; lov| _om;v| -m7 1Â&#x2020;ŕŚŽm] ;7]; |u;-|l;m|v =ou |_;bu 1-m1;u 7b-]movbvÄş

ou lou; bm=oul-ŕ˘źom Â&#x2C6;bvb| www.RioBravo-Oncology.com or call (661) 491-5060 www.RioBravo-Oncology.com Ć&#x2018;Ć&#x2019;Ć?Ć? oumbm] ubÂ&#x2C6;;Äś Ĺ°Ć&#x17D;Ć?Ć&#x2019; -h;uvC;Ń˛7Äś Ć&#x201D;Ć?Ć?Ć?Ńł

_Â&#x2039;vb1b-m Â&#x2C6;b;Â&#x2030;robm|v l-Â&#x2039; 7b@;uÄş )_bŃ´; om; r_Â&#x2039;vb1b-m l-Â&#x2039; |_bmh Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020;u 1-m1;u bv mo| 1Â&#x2020;u-0Ń´;Äˇ -mo|_;u 7o1|ou l-Â&#x2039; 0; Â&#x2030;bŃ´Ń´bm] |o o@;u Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020; l-mÂ&#x2039; |u;-|l;m| orŕŚ&#x17E;omv ou =Â&#x2020;u|_;u 7b-]movŕŚ&#x17E;1 |;vŕŚ&#x17E;m]Äş = Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020; -u; Â&#x2030;ouub;7 |_-| Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020;u 1-v; bv mo| ];ŕŚŽm] |_; -7;tÂ&#x2020;-|; -Â&#x201A;;mŕŚ&#x17E;om b| m;;7vÄˇ - v;1om7 orbmbom bv -m ;Â&#x160;1;Ń´Ń´;m| b7;- |o _;Ń´r Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020; ];| om |_; 0;v| |u;-|l;m| r-|_Â&#x2030;-Â&#x2039;Äş

-Â&#x2C6;; Â&#x2039;oÂ&#x2020; 0;;m o@;u;7 ];m;ŕ˘ź1 |;vŕ˘źm]Ä´

Dr. Ricardo Salas

Dr. Jekwon Yeh

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

Finance

Cosigning child’s student loans ‘risky business’ By Steven Van Metre

ust a few weeks ago, thousands of proud Kern County families watched their students walk across auditorium stages and into exciting lives as college students. Those were proud moments. But now, reality has set in. How are those college educations going to be financed? For the top of the class and financially needy, there will be grants and scholarships. For the rest, there will be federal and private loans and a lot of help from families. The cost of a college educaSteven Van Metre tion continues to climb, as does the interest rates charged for student loans. In just a few weeks, a freshman class of college students will be unloading their boxes into dorm rooms and unloading their first installment of nearly a lifetime of debt. It begins with just a few thousand dollars and may climb to more than $100,000. While that may seem overwhelming, the idea is that with a college degree, students will land good-paying jobs and be able to repay loans. But the “idea” is not always realized. Depending on a student’s field of study, salaries may be low and jobs nonexistent. Many freshly minted college graduates are back living at home and searching for jobs.

This scenario is playing out in the lives of many of my boomer financial clients, who are jeopardizing their retirements by helping their children pay for their educations.

The most immediate consequence of cosigning a student loan is the impact it can have on the cosigner’s credit rating and ability to borrow. I have tried to convince them that they must prioritize themselves. But usually this advice is ignored, as they borrow against retirement funds or take out loans to pay for tuition, books, room and board. Particularly concerning is their willingness to cosign for student loans. Consider my clients Mary and Bob. Their son, John, graduated from high school two years ago. Their daughter, Brittany, will graduate next year. John’s graduating grade-point average was 3.8 – not strong enough to land a big scholarship. And although the couple had burned through their retirement savings when Bob was temporarily laid off during the Great Recession, they both earn too much now for John to qualify for tuition assistance. An aspiring engineer, John was accepted to a prestigious private university at an annual cost that exceeds several thousands of dollars a year.

John turned first to federal loans, which offer favorable interest rates, require no one to cosign and include some student borrower protections. But the amount he could borrow was capped and he turned to loans from private lenders, which require a cosigner. He turned to his parents. I strongly argued against Mary and Bob cosigning John’s private student loans, which generally have less favorable rates. On its website, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has posted a guide explaining the differences between federal and private loans and the risks. The most immediate consequence of cosigning a student loan is the impact it can have on the cosigner’s credit rating and ability to borrow. While there are provisions with federal loans to have the debt discharged — in the event of a student’s death, for example — this is not always the case with private loans. And there are horror stories about grandfather-cosigners dying and a private lender immediately demanding the primary borrower (student) pay off a loan. Both federal and private loans claim to allow cosigners to be “released” from responsibility, but obtaining a release often can be difficult. Steven Van Metre is a Bakersfield certified financial planner who specializes in retirement income strategies and teaches a course on retirement planning for the Levan Institute for Lifelong Learning at Bakersfield College. His website is www.stevenvanmetre.com.

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

How to use health insurance policies to help you recover from an injury accident By Matthew C. Clark

n my practice as a personal injury lawyer, I am often explaining to my clients the interplay between the various insurance coverages that may provide coverage to them for medical expenses following an injury accident. More often than not, if you are injured in an accident, you may have more than one policy of insurance available to pay medical expenses. Let me briefly explain these coverages to you. First and foremost, there is health insurance including private PPO coverage, private HMO coverage, Medicare and Medi-Cal. Some people are confused when they are in an accident, believing that they should not use their health insurance to pay ambulance, hospital and doctors’ bills. This is simply not true. Use your health insurance first, and be certain to provide your health insurance information to all of your medical providers. If you are too injured to do so, ask a loved one to do it for you. Your medical providers can

then submit your medical bills to your health insurer and you can avoid collections. Now, if you were injured while on the job, the situation is different. For on-the-job injuries, you need to immediately report the injury to your employer and then submit your claim to workers’ compensation. The workers’ compensation system is available to pay your medical bills. In addition to health insurance, if you have been injured in a motor vehicle collision, you may have “Med-Pay” coverage on your automobile insurance. Med-Pay is usually written in smaller limits, generally $5,000 to $10,000. I advise my clients who have health insurance to first submit their medical bills to their health insurer, and then use the Med-Pay coverage for things like deductibles and co-pays. If you do not have health insurance, but you do have Med-Pay, you can use the Med-Pay coverage up to your policy limits to pay medical expenses you have incurred. In an auto collision case, the other driver may be responsible for your medi-

cal bills, too. However, they will likely not pay the bills in a piece-meal, or periodic fashion. Typically, your claim against the other driver will settle only once, meaning you will only get just one check from the other driver’s insurer for your injury claim. This usually means you need to wait until your medical treatment is complete before

More often than not, if you are injured in an accident, you may have more than one policy of insurance available to pay medical expenses. settling, and this may be several months or more after the collision. In the meantime, use your health insurance and Med-Pay to pay outstanding bills and avoid collections. If you use your health insurance or Med-Pay to pay medical expenses, and then

you later settle your case with the other driver, your health insurer and Med-Pay insurer may assert a “lien” against your settlement. A lien is typically asserted because the other driver is paying you for medical expenses that were already paid by someone else (like your health insurer). For you to collect a reimbursement of medical expense from the other driver, for medical bills you did not pay, you would effectively be getting a double recovery. The law allows your insurer (the entity that paid the bills) the ability to get their money back. Liens in this context can be quite complicated. This is all a very simplified explanation of the various health insurance coverages that may be available to following an injury accident. Talk with an attorney for more information and advice. Matthew Clark is a senior partner at Chain | Cohn | Stiles where he focuses on wrongful death, motor vehicle accident, and other personal injury cases for people of Kern County.

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

Executive Association of Kern County

Business owners’ support of blood bank is ‘personal’ PHOTO COURTESY OF HOUCHIN COMMUNITY BLOOD BANK

Houchin Community Blood Bank has two facilities: one on Truxtun Avenue and one on Bolthouse Drive.

By Greg Gallion

ore than three decades ago, the Executive Association of Kern County was formed to help local businesses grow. The focus of the group is on business and on creating a support network that helps the more than 75 member entrepreneurs succeed. But over the years, the business group’s Greg Gallion members discovered that being involved in the community — as volunteers and donors — can be a key component of their success. Besides helping their companies build solid reputations in the community, being involved and giving back to the community helps create a company culture of altruism and enhances workplace teamwork. Houchin Community Blood Bank, the nonprofit provider of lifesaving blood products, has been a member of EAKC for many years. It has also been the beneficiary of members’ generosity and support, which has helped sustain the supply of blood available for adults and children suffering serious injuries from accidents, fighting chronic illnesses and diseases, and undergoing major surgeries.

In addition to providing prizes to promote blood donation campaigns and sponsoring Houchin events, many EAKC members are some of Houchin’s top donors. “I donate blood because I can and it saves lives,” explained John Rodgers of Wells Fargo Investors, who is also a member of EAKC. “It is part of my duty as a citizen. Physically it makes me feel great and forces my body to work to replace it. And I have a sense of pride knowing I have helped someone. I started giving in college in Tampa and when I moved out here, I continued for the last 43 years. “I support Houchin financially and do it as an owner of a business,” he noted. “If it helps people get to know my name and my company, that is all well and good. I don’t ever expect any return on my monetary or physical

investment in Houchin.” Rodgers, who has donated 21 gallons of blood, 25 platelets and 10 plasma, in addition to supporting Houchin with promotional contributions, is just one of many EAKC members who give a lot of themselves — and I mean a lot — to support Houchin and help save lives in this community. Consider just this sampling of EAKC members: Ken and Kathy Pistoresi, the owners of Clean Sweep, both are donors. In fact, Kathy nearly lost her life a while ago and needed many blood products herself. Between them, the couple has donated 10 gallons of blood products, including platelets. Tim Kounter, with Interim Health Care and Bakersfield Senior Placement, is a regular donor and has convinced his children to become donors. Kounter

PHOTO COURTESY OF HOUCHIN COMMUNITY BLOOD BANK

Blood donor and EAKC member John Rodgers prepares to record a commercial with Monte Wilson at Eye Street Productions to explain why he donates blood. Rodgers has been a regular donor for 43 years.

has just hit a 6-gallon milestone and has supported Houchin with “sweetheart packages of certificates” as prizes to encourage others in the community to donate.

Besides helping their companies build solid reputations in the community, being involved and giving back to the community helps create a company culture of altruism and enhances workplace teamwork. During holidays, including the summer vacation months, Houchin’s blood supplies can reach precariously low levels. Regular donors and student donors are away from home and unavailable to donate. Outdoor activities also can result in tragic accidents that require transfusions of whole blood and blood products, such as plasma and platelets. Consider some of these average demands for blood: cancer (8 units a week), leukemia (2 units a day), heart bypass surgery (5 units), bleeding ulcer (30 units), hip replacement (5 units), brain surgery (10 units), sickle cell anemia (4 units per treatment),

auto accident victim (50 units) and organ transplant (40 units). There have been instances where patients receiving a liver transplant required 100 units of blood. Blood is composed of a mixture of cells that are suspended in a fluid that is called plasma. Red cells transport oxygen around the body, replenishing organs and tissue. White cells fight off such things as bacteria and help prevent infection. Plasma, which contains proteins, salts and clotting factors, is the liquid component of blood. Platelets, which are very small fragments of cells, work with plasma to help prevent bleeding. When a patient undergoes chemotherapy or radiation therapy to treat an aggressive cancer, for example, the treatment can destroy their bone marrow, where blood cells are formed. Until the bone marrow can recover, the patient will likely need platelet transfusions to survive. Businesses are encouraged to call Houchin Community Blood Bank at 661-323-4222, or 877364-5844 to schedule a company blood drive. Individuals can call those same numbers to schedule a time to donate blood. Greg Gallion is the president of the Bakersfield-based Houchin Community Blood Bank. For more information about donating blood, platelets and plasma, go online to www.hcbb.com.

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

Health care reform could have repercussions on tax reform By Joel Bock

hile the House of Representatives approved legislation to repeal and replace significant portions of the Affordable Care Act (e.g., “Obamacare”) in early May 2017, at the time of writing this article, the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been unable to garner sufficient votes to pass a bill to repeal Obamacare in the Senate. At this moment, it appears unlikely that Congress will be able to pass legislation to repeal Obamacare, which will likely have a significant impact on tax reform as well. Since taking office this past January, President Donald Trump has indicated that he expects to have at least two major legislative achievements during 2017 — health care reform and tax reform. While neither is necessarily linked to the other, the Joel Bock extent and composition of tax reform may be reliant upon the success of health care reform.

In an interview this past April on Fox Business Network, Trump stated: “I have to do health care first; I want to do it first to really do it right. … We’re saving tremendous amounts of money on health care when we get this done, No. 1, and most importantly … we’re going to have great health care, and all of that savings goes into the tax. … If you don’t do that, you can’t put any of the savings into the tax cuts and the tax reform.” In these comments, Trump was referencing the approximately $1 trillion in federal tax over the 10-year budget window that would be eliminated through the repeal of Obamacare. So why is this important? If the federal government’s revenue baseline is reduced by $1 trillion over the 10-year budget window, then it is easier for tax reform to comply with the revenue neutrality provision of the Byrd rule (i.e., the U.S. Senate rule prohibiting legislation passed using budget reconciliation from increasing the deficit in any year beyond the 10-year budget window). Given the Republicans’ slim majority in the Senate, it had been expected they will attempt to use the budget reconciliation process to pass both health care reform and tax reform. This is another reason why health care reform and

tax reform had been linked. Prior to the budget reconciliation process, a budget resolution must pass both the House and the Senate with a simple majority vote. The budget resolution gives instructions to the budget reconciliation bill. The expectation set forth by the Republicans in January 2017 was for health care reform to be included in the fiscal year 2017 budget resolution and the tax reform to be included in the fiscal year 2018 budget resolution. In accordance with this plan, the health care reform is included in the fiscal year 2017 budget reconciliation instructions. It was originally thought that this plan would only be successful if the budget reconciliation bill for health care reform (i.e., the 2017 budget reconciliation bill) were completed prior to the adoption of the 2018 budget resolution. However, due to the inability of the Senate to advance health care reform legislation, the size and scope of potential tax reform is now much more uncertain.

Joel A. Bock, CPA, MST is a partner in Daniells Phillips Vaughan & Bock, a Bakersfield accounting firm.

www.crossroadsbusinesspark.com

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

By The Numbers

How safe do you feel at work?

By Jose M. Granados

ental health self-care is becoming part of everyone’s life in an effort to manage the number of psychological stressors faced every day. For those in the labor force, these stressors multiply quickly — from personal problems to work-related issues. If you are feeling a little stressed and overwhelmed at work, it may be time to consider taking a day off for your mental and emotional health. It is becoming an acceptable, if not encouraged, reason for a day off to recharge. For some, this may be still an uncomfortable topic. However, it is important to bring it to light. Mental illness and emotional issues touch everyone on some level and it reaches into the workplace too often. In June alone, Jose M. Granados there were a number of workplace violence incidents, some with catastrophic results. • June 14 (San Francisco, California): A UPS driver shot and killed three co-workers. Seven other people were injured as a result of the shooting. • June 20 (Carmel Mountain Ranch, California): A worker at a biotech company shot a co-worker in the head. • June 30 (Bronx, New York): A gunman kills one person and injured six others. The workplace used to be a safe space, particularly from violent incidents like shootings. Now, however, these types of occurrences happened more often. According to FBI data, it is a growing trend. Employees expect to feel safe at work, and they

should be, right? Do you feel safe at work? Despite of the growing number of reports of violence in the workplace, survey data show that the majority of U.S. workers (78 percent) feel safe at work, according to Sterling Talent Solutions — Background Screening & Politics. However, another national survey conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder by Harris Poll indicates that many U.S. workers do not know what to do in case of workplace violence incidents or emergencies and many of their employers are not prepared either. • According to the Harris Poll, 41 percent of U.S. workers do not believe their company has an emergency plan in place in case of a physical attack from a person — an active shooter for example — and 31 percent do not feel their workplace is well-protected from these physical threats. • Seventeen percent do not feel their workplaces are well-protected in case of a fire, flood or other disasters and 22 percent don’t believe their companies have emergency plans in place should such events occur. • Thirty-one percent do not feel their workplaces are well-protected from a digital hacking threat and 39 percent do not feel their companies have an emergency plan in place in the event of a technology security breach. Research data and the number of news reports on workplace violence make a strong case to support giving yourself and your employees an occasional day off for mental and emotional self-care. On top of the job responsibilities workers must do, they face a number of psychological stressors and safety concerns each workday. Jose M Granados is a business analyst at TBC Media. He can be reached at jgranados@bakersfield. com.

41%

U.S. workers who do not believe their company has an emergency plan in place in case of a physical attack from a person.

17% U.S. workers who do not feel their workplaces are well-protected in case of a fire, flood or other disasters.

31%

U.S. workers who do not feel their workplaces are well-protected from a digital hacking threat.

August / September 2017

Brain wiring, personalities and careers By Robin Paggi

was a secretary early in my career, and I was a lousy one. My primary downfall was filing (I either didn’t do it or things were filed in the wrong places) and I loathed sitting at a desk for eight hours completing the same clerical tasks over and over. As a result of me being mostly incompetent in a job I thought anyone could do (how difficult is filing, really?), I was miserable. Being a secretary was definitely the wrong job for me and now I know why: My brain is not wired to be one. Sound like a cop-out? Numerous neuroscientists don’t think so. For example, Dr. Dario Nardi is an author, speaker and award-winning Robin Paggi UCLA professor who’s been studying the neuroscience of personality types using EEG technology. Over the last decade, about 70 of his students have performed a variety of tasks such as math and storytelling while wearing an EEG cap. Nardi witnessed the brain regions of the students who shared the same personality type light up on the EEG monitor in the same patterns while performing the tasks. He also saw different regions light up while students with different personality types completed the same tasks. Nardi concluded that people with different personality types use their brains in fundamentally different ways. “Truly, brain activity varies by type,” he said. Our brains have four sections and we are born hard-

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL wired to use or favor one section more than the others, explained clinical psychotherapist Anne Dranitsaris, who co-created an assessment and developmental program called the Striving Styles Personality System. The section of the brain we favor provides us with our sense of identity and strengths. According to the SSPS, I favor the upper right section of my brain, where foresight, insight, conceptualizing and synthesizing take place. This means one of my strengths or talents is the ability to creatively solve problems. This makes sense because I’m frequently told I come up with good ideas and I’m happiest when I’m doing it. “The reality is that each person has unique talents that are strongly wired into the neural network of the brain through the building of dense synaptic structures,” said Paul O’Keefe in his article, “How Successful Organizations Maximize Employee Strengths.” “These areas of strength present as behaviors that are performed well and with ease. Conversely, each person has certain behaviors that are weakly wired into the neural network with fewer, thinner synaptic structures — areas of weakness.” The weakest section of my brain is the lower left, which inspires behavior that is precise, mechanical, sequencing and following. No wonder I was a lousy secretary!

Now that I’ve been validated, what does this mean for you? If you’re an employer or supervisor, you should focus on strengths when: • Filling positions. According to O’Keefe: “So often in companies, management puts people in positions that draw upon their weaknesses. Why do they do this? One common reason is that management is simply filling vacant positions, rather than waiting for the right fit. Another reason is that they misjudge their workers’ strengths and put them in positions that draw upon their weaknesses and neglect their strengths, thereby, setting them up for failure.”

27 • Communicating with employees. According to a recent Gallup poll, 61 percent of employees who agreed that “my supervisor focuses on my strengths or positive characteristics” were engaged in the workplace; 22 percent of those who agreed that “my supervisor focuses on my weaknesses or negative characteristics” were actively disengaged; and 40 percent of employees who felt ignored by their supervisor were actively disengaged at work. • Encouraging employees. Said O’Keefe: “Employees who are encouraged to develop and use their strengths are more engaged and loyal. They perform better, produce more, learn their roles quicker and more positively affect their organization’s profits.” If you’re an employee or looking for a job, follow this popular piece of advice: Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it. If you don’t know what your strengths or talents are, chances are you’ll choose a job that’s not right for you and be miserable. You’ll probably also be lousy at that job, which compounds the misery. According to the latest edition of National Geographic, “Your Personality Explained: Exploring the Science of Identity,” “Only 1 worker in 3 can name her strengths.” If you can’t identify your strengths, think about what you do well and enjoy doing. If you do something well but don’t enjoy it, it’s not a strength. Also, ask others what your strengths are — they can see talents that you can’t see yourself. Being a training and development specialist is absolutely the right job for me because it allows me to mostly use the upper-right section of my brain, utilize my strengths and receive positive recognition for doing so. Also, I don’t have to file anything. Robin Paggi is a training and development specialist with Worklogic HR.

Active Shooter

Continued from Page 7

his website, www.case911.com. An Army veteran, Booker’s law enforcement experience spans two decades and includes membership on the county’s SWAT team and service as a sniper. Before being medically retired in 2015, after being shot by an armed fugitive, he was the head instructor for his agency’s active shooting training course. He worked on special assignments alongside the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security, Bureau of Land Management and Secret Service. In his retirement, Booker turned to the Small Business Development Center at California State University, Bakersfield, for help in establishing his consulting business. “No longer working in a law enforcement capacity, I wanted to continue providing help to citizens,” Booker explained. “By using my unique skill set and experience, I train and advise business, school and church staffs about how to prepare and respond to an active shooter attack.” Among the company’s “basic course” offerings is a four-hour “prepare/response training” course that is intended to provide employees with the thought process and knowledge needed to overcome threats and increase the chances of surviving an active shooter incident. Elements of the course include: proper mindset, mental awareness, response to an active shooter, lockdown procedures, com-

munications, proper response to law enforcement, response to explosives and simulated scenarios. “Active shooter incidents are horrific and swift — often lasting only 10 minutes,” Booker explained. “Typically, they end in multiple injuries and deaths, with the shooter dying by suicide or being killed by law enforcement. “But the police, firefighters and EMTs who respond to the scene of the carnage are not the ‘first responders.’ The employees, students, shoppers and bystanders are the first responders. They are on the scene first. They are the ones who must know what to do and be trained to do it.” The SBDC’s professional consultants at CSUB are helping Booker develop business and marketing plans, as well as business systems for CASE. Consultants, who bring a wide-range of experience and expertise to their SBDC work, meet on a one-on-one basis with local entrepreneurs, often over months and years. The Small Business Development Center at CSUB is one of five service centers within the University of California, Central California SBDC Regional Network, which is a partnership between the university and the U.S. Small Business Administration. The center at CSUB assists entrepreneurs and smallbusiness owners in Kern, Inyo and Mono counties by

Consulting for Active Shooter Emergencies LLC company prepares employees in a helicopter training exercise.

providing free consulting, small-business training and research. For more information, go to www.csub.edu/sbdc. Kelly Bearden is the director of the Small Business Development Center at Cal State Bakersfield.

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

Estate Planning

End-of-Life decision-making: Opportunity creates a charitable legacy By Louis Medina

hen thinking about health, especially later in life, we must eventually consider end-of-life decisions that, while not always health-related, are inevitably impacted by the finite nature of our existence. It may not be the most pleasant thing to do at first, but planning ahead with a view toward ensuring that our wishes are fulfilled after we Louis Medina die can be liberating and even comforting to ourselves and our loved ones. This is true about our wishes concerning our assets: Who will inherit our estate? How much of it will go to the government in the way of the federal estate tax that will need to be paid? How can we ensure that the people and causes we care about are sustained through our financial legacy? Can we designate part or all of our estate to be used for charitable purposes? Planned giving through the Kern Community Foundation can help. In fact, KCF has a Legacy Society, a group of individuals who have made a provision in their will to have some of their assets go into a permanent endowment that is held and managed by the foundation. The dollars can be designated by the legacy donors to benefit a favorite local charitable organization or cause in perpetuity, with distributions from the endowment paid out every year. How is it possible to do this without having the money in the endowment run out?

Planned giving through the Kern Community Foundation can help. According to Investopedia.com, “Financial endowments are typically structured so the principal amount invested remains intact, while investment income is available for immediate funding for use to keep a nonprofit company operating efficiently.”

And endowment gifts can create a significant deduction against the federal estate tax. In an article published in the February issue of Bakersfield Life Magazine, Kern Community Foundation President and CEO Kristen Beall Barnes wrote, “Planned or legacy giving simply means planning now to leave a gift after your lifetime and it is often easier than you think.” Indeed, there is easy-to-understand information about how to establish a legacy gift at Kernfoundation.org > Giving > Ways to Give, including sample language for a bequest — a gift of personal property such as money, bonds, stocks (including from a 401K or IRA retirement account), life insurance payout benefits or real estate, which must always be made in writing.

You and your financial adviser can use the bequest to specify your legacy gift for: • A designated nonprofit organization; • A field of interest fund, which benefits organizations operating within an area of service such as health care, human services, education, the environment, the arts, etc.; • An unrestricted charitable fund, which provides funds for worthy charitable purposes determined by the foundation’s board of directors; • Or to add to one of the many already existing funds managed by the foundation. You can designate your legacy gift as a set dollar amount, shares of stock or a specific asset, a percentage of your estate or a piece of real estate. Plenty of creative possibilities are available to you as a legacy donor. And you can choose to give anonymously or have your commitment to our community’s future be recognized publicly by the foundation as part of your charitable legacy. For more information, write to info@ kernfoundation.org, or call 661-325-5346 and ask about planned giving opportunities. Louis Medina is the new manager of community impact for the Kern Community Foundation.

Durable powers of attorney: Does your estate plan need an extra layer of protection? By Kevin M. Danley

few months ago, my car broke down. As you can imagine, this was very frustrating because I still needed to get my kids to school and myself to work. Fortunately, I decided a year earlier to pay for an extended warranty. At the time I thought to myself, “Do I really want to pay for something I hope I will never have to use?” Well, a tow truck, a rental car, a new Kevin M. Danley transmission, a new thermostat and a new water pump later, I was sure glad I made the investment. Our bodies are a little bit like cars. Eventually, some parts may start to wear down, but with modern advancement in medicine and technology, many of us are living longer than the generations that preceded us. An unexpected consequence arising from longer life spans is that now it is possible for our bodies to outlive our minds. Fortunately, durable powers of attorney can be created as a layer of protection if a person is unable to make good decisions and competently handle their affairs. These documents allow that person, named the “principal” in durable power of attorney documents, to grant a trusted agent the authority to handle legal matters on their behalf. In doing so, they prevent the need for lengthy and expensive court proceedings associated with the creation of a conservatorship. There are two primary types of durable powers of attorney that are executed as part of a comprehensive estate plan: 1. Durable power of attorney for

asset management. Gives the designated agent authority to make legal and financial decisions on behalf of the principal. 2. Durable power of attorney for health care. Gives the designated agent authority to make health care decisions on behalf of the principal. It is important to explain to your designated agent(s) the significance of these documents and their responsibility to act on your behalf, if necessary. Many people choose to designate the same agent for both documents, but different agents may be designated if desired. Agents should be identified and legal documents should be prepared long before the principal starts facing challenges handling certain aspects of life. Durable powers of attorney can provide trusted agents and families with guidance on a number of issues including the management of assets and guidance for medical professionals on the principal’s care preferences. They can also cover important areas such as retirement plan elections and continued receipt of insurance benefits. A comprehensive estate plan with proper durable powers of attorney in place can protect your assets from unnecessary taxation and allow you to provide gifts in a timely manner to your intended heirs. Like an extended warranty for your car, a durable power of attorney as part of your estate plan can provide peace of mind for you and your family because of the protection they provide for you, your heirs and the assets you’ve worked so hard to save. Kevin M. Danley is an attorney at Young Wooldridge LLP who focuses his practice on estate planning and probate, will and trusts, as well as business formation, contracts and transactions.

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

How’s the health of your strategic planning system? By John Pryor

hether you are engaged in strategic planning for your organization’s risk management program or for its overall general management, an amazing tool is available to you and your leadership team. And it’s all on a single sheet of paper! In traditional risk management, only those risks that produce a loss (fire, earthquake, liability, John Pryor etc.) are addressed. However, when an organization’s risk management system is taken to the next level of enterprise risk management, risks are addressed that can produce either a loss or a gain. This shift usually elevates risk management to become part of an organization’s overall strategic planning process — with a renewed emphasis on the management of risk. Two Harvard Business School professors, Drs. Robert Kaplan and David Norton, created a planning tool that’s now used all over the globe in organizations of all types and sizes. This is only because it works! On this single page will be your organization’s mission, vision and value statements, your long-term strategic goals plus current-year annual operational (tactical) objectives. In addition, a column is included to track current key performance indicators. Optional columns can be added to illustrate annual KPIs for the same operational objectives in preceding years. And all on a single page! One fundamental principle for its use is to stratify strategic and operational segments based on these categories: • Customer focus — internal and external customers • Continuous process improvement and innovation • Professional development — training and education A fourth segment is added to show the financial goals needed to fund the overall strategies and operations. This is where the “magic” of the Balanced Scorecard — as well as that part of its name, “balanced” — is found. When the strategic goals and operational objectives in the BSC are balanced, without any one goal or objective overwhelming the others, the outcome is successful accomplishment of all financial targets! Reports on the BSC say this occurs “invariably” but I feel compelled to say “almost invariably.” Yet I’ve not seen this

outcome fail to be accomplished. The Balanced Scorecard captures all these values — and their tracking — on a single page! I continue to emphasize that the notion of a single sheet of paper for a reason. I’ve seen so many strategic plans that are the result of arduous work by dedicated team members, yet a voluminous document is all too frequently the product. It ultimately finds itself on the proverbial shelf that only gathers dust. Simplicity is good. Simplicity has never been more needed than in our current complex times. Simplicity can be more effective than complexity. This one-page plan is perfect for board meetings where board members’ perspectives are properly strategic from “30,000 feet.” Ground level operations are not. That perspective leads to micromanaging by the board — the nemesis of leadership of any organization. Yet the “dirty little secret” that never seems to be mentioned in Harvard Business Review articles or others on the internet about the BSC is that supplemental “one pagers” are essential at the operational level. And that’s good, of course! What’s needed at this operational level are action plans — one for each operational objective. An action plan is intended to help board members know how their strategic goals in general, and operational objectives in particular, are intended to be accomplished by staff over time. Each is drafted by those responsible to do the work! Each will show who will do what by when and, if a budget is needed, for how much. These two separate and distinct “onepagers” are needed by any organization to make its vision a reality, to accomplish its strategic goals and operational objectives, and do so on schedule and within budget. Obviously, the board will need to approve — with or without revisions — any action plan before it’s implemented, especially where a budget is required. For more detailed information, search “Balanced Scorecard” or “Kaplan and Norton” on the Internet. For a sample template, plus more detailed information than above, email me at johnpryorqrm@gmail.com. Then try a BSC pilot experiment within a department in your company or a committee within your organization. This test will prepare you well to use this amazing tool throughout your overall organization to transform your strategic plan into reality. Then it will be time to celebrate! John Pryor, CPCU, ARM, is a risk management and general management with CSU Bakersfield’s Small Business Development Center and an adjunct professor in the School of Business at CSUB.

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

August / September 2017

Doing wellness right By Kaiser Permanente Kern County

a class, let alone take a walking break. Yet, in the course of their workday, the detention officers do walk a considerable amount. To encourage even more on-the-job walking, the wellness champions mapped out the distances of various in-building paths. They then created wall adhesives promoting these paths with motivational messages. The design of the wall adhesives also functioned to brighten up the rather institutional corridors, making the in-building path more appealing. Lastly, the effort placed into this project — one of many at the facility — also demonstrated that the leaders cared about their employees.

ealth care is a hot topic in today’s business world. No matter the size of your organization, this topic has probably surfaced time and time again. Health care affects your business in ways beyond just health care costs; it actually affects your entire business. Besides lowered health care costs, healthier employees are not only happier employees but they also are more productive, out fewer sick days, have reduced on-the-job injuries and turn over less frequently. Some expect that a physician should be the caretaker of your employees’ health. Of course physicians are an integral part of your employees’ health. Yet, the average American sees his or her physician only four times a year while he/she spends over 2,080 hours at work. The workplace becomes an opportunity to support healthier employees. Therefore, it’s no wonder why preventive health and wellness benefits are increasingly being viewed as a key business strategy in organizations of all sizes. Start right by understanding your employees Earlier this year, one of Bakersfield’s most recognizable companies, Hall Ambulance, began the wellness journey with the help of Kaiser Permanente’s Workforce Health program. Kern County residents depend on Hall Ambulance as their 911 paramedic provider. The company’s

leaders, like many other business leaders, understand that the health of their employees impacts their well-being and the productivity and performance of the company. With Hall Ambulance’s commitment to healthy employees, their first step was to determine their wants and needs. To do so, they designed and implemented an employee interest survey. The survey was followed by an email from the company’s founder and president communicating that Hall Ambulance cares about the health and wellness of its employees and that their input is essential to the wellness program. The results of this survey are guiding them in the next steps of the process — developing a wellness plan. Change an environment, change a behavior Imagine if healthier items, like water and sugar-free options

were showcased at eye-level in the vending machine. Imagine if instead of desktop candy bowls, employees offered fresh fruit. For those organizations with an on-site cafeteria, there is the opportunity to have healthier selection. For those without one, some employers have negotiated with nearby eateries and lunch trucks to offer and promote a daily healthy option. Environmental changes go far beyond food choices. Employers can open and beautify stairwells, hold walking meetings or even designate stretch breaks throughout the day. Ultimately, the idea is to make the healthy choice the easy choice. A recent example of an environmental change comes from detention facilities in the Bakersfield area. Detention officers are often constrained by their job responsibilities from participating in wellness activities. They cannot leave their posts to attend

Resources to help you get started Kaiser Permanente is committed to supporting organizations and their wellness efforts by providing easy-to-use toolkits on our Choose Better site. These free toolkits, like “Starting a Workforce Health Program” and “Wellness Committee Toolkit” to name a few, can help build the foundation for an effective workforce health program. These resources can be accessed at www.kp.org/choosebetter. Your organization has the opportunity to improve the health of your employees every day at the worksite. Making small changes to your workplace environment, policies and culture —including your employees in that process — is how your organization can make the biggest impact. Together you can become a healthier and more productive team.

62%

of business leaders believe that health and wellness affect productivity

60% believe it affects performance

41% believe it affects employee engagement

30% 30 percent believe it affects benefits costs

29% believe it affects safety Source: Health Enhancement Research Organization

Looking for quality resumes? Advertise your open positions! Partnered with MONSTER

“LET COLE CLEAN WHEN YOU WANT IT REAL CLEAN” RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • 24/7

Call an Account Executive at 661-322-JOBS or email employmentzone@bakersfield.com

www.Bakersfield.com/JOBS

August / September 2017

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

www.youngwooldridge.com

KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

#goals

Learn how the University of La Verne in Bakersfield makes a private university education affordable, accessible, and achievable for graduate and undergraduate adult learners.

August / September 2017

New and current programs in: â&#x20AC;¢ Education â&#x20AC;¢ Psychology â&#x20AC;¢ Information Technology â&#x20AC;¢ Criminology â&#x20AC;¢ Business â&#x20AC;¢ School Psychology

%DNHUVÆ&#x201C;HOG#ODYHUQH HGX laverne.edu/bakersfield ODYHUQH HGX EDNHUVÆ&#x201C;HOG