Marin announces new joint venture with Mt. Tam Spine Center and UCSF Neurosurgery

Marin General Hospital has announced a new joint venture that provides a single point of access in Marin for world-class, comprehensive multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary treatment and management of spine and brain disorders and disease.

“Mt. Tam Spine Center has provided outstanding spine care to our community for seventeen years”

The Marin General Hospital Spine & Brain Institute adds elective neurosurgery, including brain surgery, to its existing highly regarded spine program and trauma/ED neurosurgery services through a unique partnership between Mt. Tam Spine Center, Marin General Hospital and UCSF Neurosurgery.

"This collaborative orthopedic and neurosurgery program gives Marin residents access to all the resources needed to manage a complete list of spine and brain diseases and injuries. The joint venture brings together top physician experts, clinical support for diagnostics, surgical and non-surgical treatment and post treatment therapies," said Joel Sklar, MD, Chief Medical Officer. "If for any reason the optimal care cannot be provided locally for a specific patient with a unique or unusual condition, our dedicated UCSF Neurosurgeon, Dr. Tarun Arora, can provide seamless access to everything offered at UCSF, considered the best neurosurgery program west of the Mississippi."

As the only program in Marin with focused spine and brain surgery expertise, the Marin General Hospital's Spine & Brain Institute emphasizes collaboration between physician specialists as a means to insure that patients get the right solutions for their specific situations. In some cases both a neurosurgeon and an orthopedic surgeon might be involved in a patient's surgery.

"Mt. Tam Spine Center has provided outstanding spine care to our community for seventeen years," said Dr. Arora. "Their partnership with UCSF Neurosurgery and Marin General Hospital reflects their commitment to continue providing the most progressive, multidisciplinary, comprehensive spine care available anywhere, right here in Marin."

The new program will offer the most advanced technologies, techniques and treatments, including new minimally invasive surgeries. Participating physicians will also be taking call for trauma in the ED, augmenting the hospital's capabilities for head and spine injuries there as well.

"This is another example of how Marin General Hospital's local control has resulted in raising the bar for both the quality and accessibility of healthcare delivery in Marin County," said Jon Friedenberg, Chief Fund & Business Development Officer. "We believe that programs like this one will help ensure that our residents don't have to leave the area to get the world class care they deserve."

Among the spine conditions the program will address are decompression for nerve and/or spinal cord compression secondary to degenerative changes, trauma, infection, or tumor, fusion for cervical, thoracic or lumbar instability (spondylolisthesis) and scoliosis.

The Institute also will diagnose and treat brain tumors, pituitary tumors, cerebrovascular disorders, traumatic brain injury, skull base tumors and hydrocephalus.