Our Community
Sonoma County and the surrounding area offers all the best features of Northern California: scenic coastline and beaches, the majestic Russian River, and magical redwood forests. If you crave the mountains, you are less than 4 hours from snowy peaks. If you seek the shore, you have multiple ocean or river beaches at your doorstep. Sonoma County is also the home of farm-to-table dining, many diverse festivals, fantastic year-round farmers markets, scrumptious restaurants and over 30 breweries and 425 wineries! It is a haven for explorers, mountain bikers, road bikers, paddlers, and hikers.
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County and has a population of nearly 180,000. With a median age of 38, Santa Rosa maintains a vibrant and lively feel and is an ideal place to seek work-life balance and to raise a family. We are proud to have a strong Hispanic/Latine cultural presence in our community, with roughly 30% of the population identifying as Hispanic. It is common to see and hear Spanish language when you are out and about. Additionally, Santa Rosa is known for strong agriculture and viticulture industries, vibrant creative spirit and performing arts scene, a love of all things outdoors, and staunch community resilience.
Local attractions include:
–> walkable downtowns of Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Healdsburg, Windsor, and Petaluma
–> year-round farmers markets (multiple!)
–> miles of hiking and biking trails in Sonoma County regional parks
–> water sports available right in town at Spring Lake, or just outside at one of the many Russian River beaches
–> world-class performing arts and cultural events at the Luther Burbank center and Green Music Center
–> The Charles Schulz Museum and Snoopy’s Home Ice arena
–> Children’s Museum of Sonoma County (CMSOC)
–> Santa Rosa Junior College, known for its outstanding Culinary Arts program, student Journalism, and sustainability practices
–> Sonoma State University, with especially notable programs in Nursing, Teaching, Business/Economics, and Environmental Science and Sustainability
While most residents and attending physicians live in and around Santa Rosa (because we love it here!), you can easily find a variety of other settings within a 20- mile radius of Santa Rosa, including Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Windsor, Healdsburg, Kenwood, and Petaluma. Each place offers a unique and rich identity of its own.
Are you hooked yet? Feast your eyes on the scenery below and follow these links to find out more!
Sonoma County Chamber of Commerce
Santa Rosa Recreation and Parks
Spring Lake Regional Park in Santa Rosa
Happening Now in Sonoma County
Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center
The Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center consists of a 173-bed hospital and four medical office buildings. We are the largest healthcare provider in Sonoma County, providing care to over 170,000 members. The hospital has a dedicated pediatric wing and a recently renovated labor & delivery floor with 8 labor and delivery rooms and 2 OB operating rooms to accommodate approximately 2000 annual births (~160-175 births per month). The ICU has 20 beds and there are 34 emergency department bays. Click here to read more about the services we provide.
The Family Medicine residency is the first and only ACGME-sponsored residency at Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center. We have been teaching medical students at our facility for decades, regularly hosting third-year medical students from UCSF and Touro-California for their core clerkships in addition to our fourth-year residency sub-interns who visit from schools around the country.
Our Patient Population
Our Patient Population
As the largest healthcare provider in Sonoma County, we serve over 50% of the county’s population and 60% of Santa Rosa’s Medicare patients. Our residents and faculty care for approximately 15,000 individuals and families in our Family Medicine Center.
Diverse Patient Demographics:
- Insurance mix: 10-15% Medicare, 10-15% Medicaid, 15-20% ACA patients
- Ethnic diversity: 26% Latine/Hispanic (our largest minority population), plus African American, East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian communities
- Languages: Over 29 languages spoken regularly, with 24/7 translation services available
- Recent immigrants: Including Eritrean and Syrian refugee families
Training Opportunities: You’ll gain experience caring for underserved populations, rural patients with barriers to care, food- and housing-insecure families, and medically vulnerable older adults.
Bilingual Care: Most family medicine staff are bilingual Spanish-speaking. Residents with language skills can develop patient panels reflecting this diversity.
LGBTQ+ Community: Our area has a large LGBTQ+ population, including many faculty and staff. Gender and sexual health training is part of your standard curriculum, preparing you to care for patients across the gender and sexuality spectrum.
Patient Advisory Councils
Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa is proud to be a leader in patient and family centered care. The first patient advisory council was established at the medical center in 2005, and we have expanded to a total of eight separate councils. The Adult and Family Medicine (AFM) patient advisory council started in 2013 to incorporate patient voices into key patient-facing decisions within the department. In September 2024 we launched the Family Medicine Residency-specific patient advisory taskforce.
Our patient partners contribute invaluable insight and work on projects impacting every level of the medical center, including:
–> creating new care delivery models (such as our PRIDE clinic and group visits for chronic conditions)
–> creating marketing materials we post to describe our academic training environment to patients
–> transitioning teens more seamlessly from a pediatrician to Adult and Family Medicine
–> increasing resident visibility to members needing a primary care physician
Our Community Partners
Petaluma Health Center: Whole-Person Community Care
All residents participate in longitudinal continuity clinic at Petaluma Health Center (PHC), a Federally Qualified Health Center serving our community’s most vulnerable populations.
PHC Patient Demographics:
- 26,000 patients served annually
- 50% racial and ethnic minorities
- 33% prefer non-English languages
- 95% have incomes below 200% of federal poverty level
- 25% completely uninsured
Your Training Experience: Residents rotate at the Petaluma Health Center during Community Medicine Rotations, and are supervised by PHC physicians and our Kaiser Permanente Community Health Fellow. This longitudinal experience teaches you that achieving community health requires comprehensive, collaborative partnerships beyond traditional medical care.
PHC’s Innovative Approach:
- Cutting edge of team-based care since 2007
- Emphasis on wellness and patient-provider relationships
- Comprehensive, integrative care model
- Focus on empowering patients through trusted healthcare teams
Our partnership with Petaluma Health Center ensures you graduate understanding how to address health disparities and work effectively with community health centers—essential skills for any family physician.