Sutter Health
Encyclopedia
Sutter Health is a not-for-profit health system in Northern California
, headquartered in Sacramento
. Serving patients and their families in more than 100 Northern California cities and towns, Sutter Health doctors, hospitals and other health care service providers join resources and share expertise to advance health care quality and access. The Sutter Medical Network includes many of California’s top-performing, highest quality physician organizations as measured annually by the Integrated Healthcare Association. Major service lines of Sutter Health-affiliated hospitals include cardiac care, women’s and children’s services, cancer care, orthopedics and advanced patient safety technology.
whose namesake fort was one of Sacramento
’s original European settlements. In response to the influenza epidemic of 1918, community leaders constructed the first Sutter Hospital in the vicinity of the fort, replacing an old adobe house that had previously served as a makeshift hospital. Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento
occupies this site today.
Other Sutter Health-affiliated hospitals date back to the 1800s and were some of Northern California’s earliest health care providers. For example, California Pacific Medical Center
in San Francisco was formed out of successive hospital and medical school mergers dating back to the city’s earliest days of organized medicine. In 1866, the predecessor of today’s Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa
opened its doors to residents of Sonoma County.
Many of the health care facilities that eventually became part of the Sutter Health network were created as charitable hospitals by community members in cities coping with growing populations, epidemics, fires, floods and earthquakes.
Over the next 15 years, government cutbacks, the advent of managed care and other financial pressures fueled an increase in hospital and physician organization mergers, acquisitions and affiliations. By 1995 Sutter Health had grown to include 18 affiliated hospitals, seven medical foundations (physician organizations) and numerous outpatient care centers throughout Northern California.
Meanwhile, in the San Francisco Bay Area
, another affiliation of hospitals was forming. By 1986, Pacific Presbyterian Medical Center in San Francisco, Mills-Peninsula Hospital in San Mateo
and Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae had created an affiliation known as California Healthcare System (CHS). Berkeley-based Alta Bates Corporation (now known as Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
joined CHS in 1992, the same year that saw the creation of California Pacific Medical Center
, formed through a merger of Pacific Presbyterian and Children's Hospital of San Francisco.
In January 1996, Sutter Health and California Healthcare System merged.
In 2004, 13 Sutter Health hospitals were among 25 statewide dropped by the California Public Employees Retirement System from one of its HMO networks because of cost-related concerns.
Also in 2004 Sutter Health implemented a systemwide policy for charity care and health care discounts for uninsured and underinsured patients. In 2006 Sutter Health expanded its policy to offer automatic discounts to uninsured patients, Later it, along with several other health systems, reached settlement agreements in class-action lawsuits related to the billing of uninsured patients.
In 2009, Sutter Health’s facilities and services were internally organized into five geographic regions.
Sutter Health Central Valley Region
Sutter Health East Bay Region
Sutter Health Peninsula Coastal Region
Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region
Sutter Health West Bay Region
Affiliated provider organizations not aligned with a region because of locations or other considerations
On June 30, 2010 Marin General Hospital, Greenbrae transitioned from the Sutter Health network to the Marin Healthcare District.
Sutter Health also operates outpatient surgery centers in 13 communities and three retail-based Sutter Express Care health clinics in the greater Sacramento region.
Sutter Health affiliated hospitals and medical groups, have been recognized by a number of independent health care quality organizations. For example:
Individual performance measures for Sutter Health hospitals and affiliated medical groups are posted on the Sutter Health Web site.
The absence of organized labor agreements in a number of Sutter-affiliated facilities has made the network a frequent target of union organizing efforts including so-called “corporate campaigns.” Organized labor’s corporate campaign against Sutter Health is detailed in the book “Death of a Thousand Cuts,” (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001 by Jarol Manheim (George Washington University). Maneim describes a corporate campaign as “a coordinated, often long-term, and wide-ranging program of economic, political, legal, and psychological warfare usually, but not exclusively, initiated by a union or by organized labor in general.” Organized labor, writes Manheim, “wanted Sutter to accept card check
and neutrality and to impose system-wide standards on its bargaining units” in addition to “a total prohibition on subcontracting.”
In his book, Manheim describes a number of retaliatory tactics undertaken by organized labor to take advantage of Sutter Health’s “regulatory vulnerability.” Writes Maneim, “This campaign probably demonstrates the most comprehensive exploitation of the regulatory environment of any that has occurred in any campaign to date.”
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
, headquartered in Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. Serving patients and their families in more than 100 Northern California cities and towns, Sutter Health doctors, hospitals and other health care service providers join resources and share expertise to advance health care quality and access. The Sutter Medical Network includes many of California’s top-performing, highest quality physician organizations as measured annually by the Integrated Healthcare Association. Major service lines of Sutter Health-affiliated hospitals include cardiac care, women’s and children’s services, cancer care, orthopedics and advanced patient safety technology.
Early history
The organization takes its name from California pioneer John SutterJohn Sutter
Johann Augus Sutter was a Swiss pioneer of California known for his association with the California Gold Rush by the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall and the mill making team at Sutter's Mill, and for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area that would eventually become Sacramento, the...
whose namesake fort was one of Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
’s original European settlements. In response to the influenza epidemic of 1918, community leaders constructed the first Sutter Hospital in the vicinity of the fort, replacing an old adobe house that had previously served as a makeshift hospital. Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento
Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento
Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento is a medical center in Sacramento, California. It is owned and operated by Sutter Health, a Northern California not-for-profit health system. Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento offers both community based and tertiary medical services...
occupies this site today.
Other Sutter Health-affiliated hospitals date back to the 1800s and were some of Northern California’s earliest health care providers. For example, California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center is one of the largest private, non-profit, academic medical centers in Northern California. The Medical Center is a combination of four of San Francisco's oldest medical institutions: Pacific Presbyterian Hospital, Children's Hospital of San Francisco, Davies...
in San Francisco was formed out of successive hospital and medical school mergers dating back to the city’s earliest days of organized medicine. In 1866, the predecessor of today’s Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
opened its doors to residents of Sonoma County.
Many of the health care facilities that eventually became part of the Sutter Health network were created as charitable hospitals by community members in cities coping with growing populations, epidemics, fires, floods and earthquakes.
Latter 20th century
Sutter Health was officially created in 1981 as a small Sacramento health care system. A few years earlier the organization had introduced a series of reforms in governance, communication and accountability in the wake of a late 1970s scandal involving William Miofsky, a physician who was charged with and pleaded no contest to felony charges of sexually abusing sedated Sutter hospital female patients.Over the next 15 years, government cutbacks, the advent of managed care and other financial pressures fueled an increase in hospital and physician organization mergers, acquisitions and affiliations. By 1995 Sutter Health had grown to include 18 affiliated hospitals, seven medical foundations (physician organizations) and numerous outpatient care centers throughout Northern California.
Meanwhile, in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, another affiliation of hospitals was forming. By 1986, Pacific Presbyterian Medical Center in San Francisco, Mills-Peninsula Hospital in San Mateo
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
and Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae had created an affiliation known as California Healthcare System (CHS). Berkeley-based Alta Bates Corporation (now known as Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is a hospital located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its three campuses are located in Berkeley and Oakland...
joined CHS in 1992, the same year that saw the creation of California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center is one of the largest private, non-profit, academic medical centers in Northern California. The Medical Center is a combination of four of San Francisco's oldest medical institutions: Pacific Presbyterian Hospital, Children's Hospital of San Francisco, Davies...
, formed through a merger of Pacific Presbyterian and Children's Hospital of San Francisco.
In January 1996, Sutter Health and California Healthcare System merged.
21st century
The new century brought advances in health care technology and Sutter Health was among the first health systems in the United States to install bar code medication safety technology and an electronic intensive care unit.In 2004, 13 Sutter Health hospitals were among 25 statewide dropped by the California Public Employees Retirement System from one of its HMO networks because of cost-related concerns.
Also in 2004 Sutter Health implemented a systemwide policy for charity care and health care discounts for uninsured and underinsured patients. In 2006 Sutter Health expanded its policy to offer automatic discounts to uninsured patients, Later it, along with several other health systems, reached settlement agreements in class-action lawsuits related to the billing of uninsured patients.
Locations
The Sutter Health Network currently consists of eight physician foundations, 24 acute care hospitals, cancer centers, a regional home health and hospice organization, long-term care centers, a university and research institutes.In 2009, Sutter Health’s facilities and services were internally organized into five geographic regions.
Sutter Health Central Valley Region
- Memorial Hospital Los Banos
- Memorial Medical CenterMemorial Medical Center (Modesto, California)Memorial Medical Center is a not-for-profit organization that exists to maintain and improve the health status of citizens in the greater Stanislaus County...
- Sutter Gould Medical Foundation
- Sutter Tracy Community Hospital
Sutter Health East Bay Region
- Alta Bates Summit Medical CenterAlta Bates Summit Medical CenterAlta Bates Summit Medical Center is a hospital located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its three campuses are located in Berkeley and Oakland...
- Eden Medical Center (remains a separate corporation due to District requirements)
- Sutter Delta Medical CenterSutter Delta Medical CenterSutter Delta Medical Center is a hospital in Antioch, California.It is part of the Sutter Health network, a large corporate health care provider that ranks among dominant providers of health services in the state of California....
- Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation
Sutter Health Peninsula Coastal Region
- Menlo Park Surgical Hospital
- Mills-Peninsula Health Services
- Palo Alto Medical FoundationPalo Alto Medical FoundationThe Palo Alto Medical Foundation for Health Care, Research and Education is a not-for-profit health care organization with medical offices in more than 15 cities throughout the Bay Area. PAMF’s roots can be traced back to 1930 when Dr. Russel Van Arsdale Lee founded the Palo Alto Medical Clinic...
- Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center of Santa Cruz
Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region
- Sutter Amador Hospital
- Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital
- Sutter Davis Hospital
- Sutter Medical Center, SacramentoSutter Medical Center, SacramentoSutter Medical Center, Sacramento is a medical center in Sacramento, California. It is owned and operated by Sutter Health, a Northern California not-for-profit health system. Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento offers both community based and tertiary medical services...
- Sutter Medical Foundation
- Sutter Physicians Alliance
- Sutter North Medical Group
- Sutter Medical Group
- Sutter Roseville Medical Center
- Sutter Solano Medical Center
Sutter Health West Bay Region
- California Pacific Medical CenterCalifornia Pacific Medical CenterCalifornia Pacific Medical Center is one of the largest private, non-profit, academic medical centers in Northern California. The Medical Center is a combination of four of San Francisco's oldest medical institutions: Pacific Presbyterian Hospital, Children's Hospital of San Francisco, Davies...
- Novato Community Hospital
- Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation
- Sutter Lakeside Hospital
- Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa (subject to County requirements)
- Sutter Medical Foundation North Bay
Affiliated provider organizations not aligned with a region because of locations or other considerations
- Kahi Mohala, a behavioral health care system, 'Ewa Beach, Hawaii'Ewa Beach, HawaiiEwa Beach or simply Ewa is a census-designated place located in Ewa District and the City & County of Honolulu along the leeward coast of Oahu in Hawaii. As of the 2010 Census, the CDP had a total population of 14,955....
- Sutter Coast Hospital, Crescent CityCrescent City, CaliforniaCrescent City is the county seat and only incorporated city in Del Norte County, California. Named for the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city, Crescent City had a total population of 7,643 in the 2010 census, up from 4,006 in the 2000 census...
- Sutter VNA (Visiting Nurse Association) & Hospice, Northern California-wide
On June 30, 2010 Marin General Hospital, Greenbrae transitioned from the Sutter Health network to the Marin Healthcare District.
Clinical services
Sutter Health doctors and hospitals provide a variety of clinical services including cancer care, children's health (only pediatric emergency room in San Francisco); complementary medicine, diabetes care, heart care, home health/hospice, mental health care, orthopedics, pregnancy and childbirth, sleep disorders, transplant services and weight loss surgery (bariatrics).Sutter Health also operates outpatient surgery centers in 13 communities and three retail-based Sutter Express Care health clinics in the greater Sacramento region.
Quality
Sutter Health doctors and hospitals participate in voluntary and mandatory programs that publicly report patient satisfaction, cost, utilization and quality of care measures. These include Hospital Compare, California Healthcare Foundation, California Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA), and The Leapfrog Group.Sutter Health affiliated hospitals and medical groups, have been recognized by a number of independent health care quality organizations. For example:
- 2009, the Lewin Group ranked Sutter Health the top health care system in California for quality.
- 2009, SDI Health, the health care research firm formerly named Verispan, ranked Sutter Health fifth among the "Top 100" integrated health care networks in the United States.
- 2008, The Leapfrog Group ranked two Sutter Health-affiliated hospitals to its “Top Hospitals” list.
- 2008, the Integrated Healthcare Association recognized several Sutter Health affiliates for accomplishments in areas of clinical care including heart care, preventive care, chronic care management, pneumonia, patient satisfaction and use of information technology.
- 2007, the Adaptive Business Leaders (ABL) Organization named Sutter Health’s eICU as most innovative approach to health care delivery.
Individual performance measures for Sutter Health hospitals and affiliated medical groups are posted on the Sutter Health Web site.
Labor relations
Sutter Health’s physician organizations, hospitals, home health and other services have nearly 60 locally-negotiated collective bargaining agreements with more than one dozen different labor unions. Approximately 13,700 employees have elected to work under labor union contracts. Sutter Health and its affiliates employ a total of approximately 48,000 people.The absence of organized labor agreements in a number of Sutter-affiliated facilities has made the network a frequent target of union organizing efforts including so-called “corporate campaigns.” Organized labor’s corporate campaign against Sutter Health is detailed in the book “Death of a Thousand Cuts,” (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001 by Jarol Manheim (George Washington University). Maneim describes a corporate campaign as “a coordinated, often long-term, and wide-ranging program of economic, political, legal, and psychological warfare usually, but not exclusively, initiated by a union or by organized labor in general.” Organized labor, writes Manheim, “wanted Sutter to accept card check
Card check
Card check is a method for American employees to organize into a labor union in which a majority of employees in a bargaining unit sign authorization forms, or "cards," stating they wish to be represented by the union...
and neutrality and to impose system-wide standards on its bargaining units” in addition to “a total prohibition on subcontracting.”
In his book, Manheim describes a number of retaliatory tactics undertaken by organized labor to take advantage of Sutter Health’s “regulatory vulnerability.” Writes Maneim, “This campaign probably demonstrates the most comprehensive exploitation of the regulatory environment of any that has occurred in any campaign to date.”