Fairfield, Calif.-based NorthBay Health is pressing forward with a $250 million ambulatory network strategy, aiming to open 10 clinics over the next five years to bring care closer to home for patients.
Since launching the plan in 2024, NorthBay has opened three neighborhood clinics in 2025, with one more set to open before year’s end and three others slated for 2026. The expansion has added nearly 45 new primary care physicians and advanced practice providers, President and CEO Mark Behl told Becker’s.
Amid this growth, NorthBay is preparing for financial challenges and reimbursement pressures tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“We’re modeling out over the next five years what we think the impact would be to us and putting that target for us as an organization,” Mr. Behl said. “We’re going to have to transform our way through it. We simply cannot just maintain the status quo and assume that someone’s going to come in and bail us out, so to speak.”
One strategy the health system is adopting involves implementing artificial intelligence and technology to improve efficiencies and reduce caregiver burdens.
“We’re going to have to go through this as an organization,” he said. “Hopefully there will be a little bit of turning at the state level back toward an emphasis on access, but we certainly cannot go forward just planning on that. We’re going to have to find ways to get efficient.”
Front-line engagement driving change
Mr. Behl said front-line teams play a key role in identifying efficiency opportunities.
“The people that should improve the work are the people that do the work,” he said. “Coming at this transformation from our senior leadership team, or from me as the CEO, would not bring the same results as being a ground-up process.”
The ambulatory network strategy included eight months of pre-launch planning and physician engagement. New hires are introduced to the system’s long-term vision during orientation.
“Today in healthcare, there’s a lot of angst and discussion of closing services,” Mr. Behl said. “To hear that our intentions are to increase access and be investing in care for the communities I think resonates and is a big part of the success.”
NorthBay emphasizes transparency, sharing metrics on access, wait times, length of stay and employee engagement and quarterly financial results.
“We keep trying to prep our teams that this is not always going to go smoothly; we don’t want to shy away from sharing where we’re at,” Mr. Behl said.
A planned 2026 Epic EHR implementation will further support efficiency, communication with external partners and team member engagement, he said.
Avoiding burnout at all levels
To support flexibility, some NorthBay teams are encouraged to work from home on Mondays and Fridays.
“It’s important to balance what’s happening inside of work and outside of work,” Mr. Behl said. “Let’s not spend 14, 16 hours a day trying to solve the issues that we have. It will consume us all.”
Mr. Behl also prioritizes his own health, well-being and family time to avoid burnout.
“It’s a very challenging industry, and there’s always something that needs to be done,” he said. “Sometimes you can really get in a rut where you just spend all your time trying to solve the issue of the day instead of really focusing on the big picture: how important it is to take care of your family and yourself.”
He also stays focused on what he values most about leading NorthBay: its connection to the communities it serves.
“We’re an independent, community-based healthcare system. We know that every decision we make affects our family and friends, so those decisions are taken in that context,” he said. “That’s where our focus will be — our communities — and being there to understand what their needs are, and what we can do to help meet those needs.”
