Pictured Above: Sutter Health and Sansum Clinic Leaders September 2024

Sutter Health’s Greater Central Coast Division Shares Achievements in Physician Recruitment and Expanded Access

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Sansum Clinic, now part of Sutter Health, is marking the one-year anniversary of its partnership with the not-for-profit, integrated health system.

“I want to congratulate everyone at Sansum Clinic on all they’ve accomplished in one year. The addition of nearly 40 new clinicians by the end of the year will have real meaning for patients on the Central Coast, as the demand for healthcare continues to rise. This success feeds into our ambitious goals to expand access to care across California. We’ve added nearly 850 physicians and advanced practice clinicians at Sutter Health this year and are investing a significant amount of capital into ambulatory expansion throughout the Sutter footprint,” said Warner Thomas, Sutter Health President and CEO.

“Tremendous progress has been made over the course of this first year. While we still have work to do, we are already seeing benefits for patients, especially when it comes to expanding access to care,” commented Kurt N. Ransohoff, M.D., FACP, President, Sutter Health Greater Central Coast Division. “I am grateful to the entire Sutter team for their dedication to our shared goals, and to our people, whose hard work brought the vision to life.”

Sutter’s investments and resources, guided by a detailed strategy specific to the Central Coast, resulted in the following milestones:

• Sansum Clinic will have hired nearly 40 new clinicians by the end of 2024, half of which are advanced practice clinicians or APCs (nurse practitioners, physician assistants) Adding APCs to care teams means more patients have greater access to primary care. Three recruited doctors brought new specialties (pediatric optometry, endoscopic ultrasound and spine surgery) to Sansum Clinic.
• New patients are waiting less time to schedule their first primary care visits at Sansum Clinic after an expansion of weekday hours and added weekend hours. Wait times for new patients dropped by almost 50%.
• Three new outpatient operating rooms at Foothill Surgery Center, which Sutter Health funded, are now open and in use; one houses the latest minimally invasive technology for spine surgeries.
• Cancer care close to home was preserved for patients after Sutter Health acquired five radiation oncology centers formerly run by GenesisCare, two of which are on the Central Coast, in San Luis Obispo and Templeton.
• Digital front door enhancements like the ability to schedule Urgent Care same-day appointments and establishing primary care visits online have made accessing care on the Central Coast more convenient.

Becoming the Best Place to Work, Practice Medicine and Receive Care

• Sutter Health invested over $7 million in salary increases for non-doctor staff members to make Sansum a more competitive employer on the Central Coast and to support the recruitment and retention of professional and clinical staff.
• Facilities improvements are underway across Sansum’s 19 patient care centers, addressing everything from site repairs, paint, parking and signage, improving the experience of our patients and our people.
• Following Sutter Health’s lead, Sansum Clinic is adopting the larger organization’s more sophisticated approach to safety and security at all locations, including the deployment of patrol vehicles, for higher levels of safety and security for our employees, clinicians, patients and visitors.
• Members of Sansum’s clinical teams, doctors and APCs are now connecting with their Sutter peers, leading to collaboration, sharing of knowledge and best practices and educational opportunities, all in service of Sutter’s goal to be the best place to work, practice medicine and receive care.

Sansum, now part of Sutter Health, as a Community Partner

During 2024, through funding from Sutter Health, Sansum Clinic contributed more than $100,000 to sponsor community nonprofits, including health-related organizations like Mental Wellness Center, Alzheimer’s Association, Foodbank of Santa Barbara and SEE International, and community organizations like Family Services Agency, Juneteenth, Pacific Pride, Storyteller Children’s Center and Goleta Lemon Festival.

Background:

On September 29, 2023, Sutter Health announced its partnership with Sansum Clinic at a ribbon cutting ceremony in Santa Barbara. October 2, 2023, is the anniversary of the official legal transaction. This partnership has placed Sansum Clinic on more solid financial footing to continue to provide high-quality, connected and integrated care to patients on the Greater Central Coast. It has also brought additional resources, programs and enhancements which we could not have accessed otherwise.