SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Northern California-based Sutter Health today announced the appointment of two additional members to its Board of Directors, Deborah Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Executive Chair of the Board and former CEO of Evidation Health and Kavita Patankar, M.D, Director of Hospitalists and the Chair of the Board of Directors for Sutter East Bay Medical Group. The two new members began their terms on Jan. 1, 2024.
“The future of health care demands leaders who are innovative, interdisciplinary thinkers with not only the skill to envision the healthcare needs of today, but also to envision and shape the healthcare solutions of the future. Both Dr. Kilpatrick and Dr. Patankar are such leaders, and we are fortunate to have them join our Board of Directors,” said Ken McNeely, Sutter Health Board Chair.
Deborah Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Evidation Health
Deborah Kilpatrick, Ph.D.
Deborah Kilpatrick, Ph.D. is a respected leader in the field of healthcare technology with broad experience in development and commercialization of new medical technologies and digital health products.
She is the Executive Chair of the Board and former CEO of Evidation Health, a technology platform that measures and aggregates health data and outcomes, and real-world patient experiences, while enabling people to participate in ground-breaking research programs across therapeutic areas. The company powers health research and engagement programs for some of the world’s leading healthcare organizations and technology companies, while collaborating with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the University of Southern California on the landmark Understanding America Study.
Currently, Dr. Kilpatrick is on the Board of Directors for Sleep Number (NASDAQ: SNBR) and the privately held women’s health biotech company NextGen Jane, while also serving as an innovation team coach in the Stanford Biodesign Fellows program and as an operating advisor for Sonder Capital.
She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and was the first woman to chair the advisory board for Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering. In 2021, she was named to the Digital Health Hall of Fame by the University of California, San Francisco, and is the co-founder of MedtechWomen and Silicon Valley’s MedtechVision Conference.
Dr. Kilpatrick has been named to the San Francisco Business Times’ 100 Most Influential Women in Business, the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 100 Women of Influence, Fierce Biotech’s Top Women in MedTech, and Forbes 50 Over 50 in entrepreneurship.
A graduate of Georgia Tech, she holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, with a doctorate minor in applied mathematics and statistics.
Kavita Patankar, M.D., Chair, Board of Directors and Director of Hospitalists, Sutter East Bay Medical Group
Dr. Kavita Patankar
Kavita Patankar, M.D. is a Hospitalist and Internal Medicine specialist with 20 years of medical experience. She was born and raised in the Bay Area and has deep ties to the community.
As Hospitalists Director, Dr. Patankar leads a dynamic division comprised of more than 100 full-time equivalent adult medicine hospitalists across five Sutter Health hospital campuses. In this role, she has dramatically reduced hospitalist turnover and implemented multidisciplinary rounds across all campuses, which quickly became recognized as a best practice within the Sutter Health system.
As Chair of the Board for Sutter East Bay Medical Group, she oversees the organization’s strategic direction and has helped elevate the group’s performance on AMGA Overall Satisfaction with Medical Practice from the 57th percentile in 2021 to the 86th percentile the following year.
Dr. Patankar earned her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco. She is a member of the Society of Hospital Medicine.
“Dr. Kilpatrick and Dr. Patankar are experienced leaders who are also dedicated to the communities and patients we serve. Adding them to Sutter Health’s Board of Directors will help us continue to push healthcare forward, expand access to care and accomplish our strategic goals and initiatives,” said Warner Thomas, President and CEO of Sutter Health. “I’m pleased to welcome them to the tremendously talented group of board members who already so expertly and generously support and guide our organization.”
As a matter of practice, the Sutter Health Board of Directors regularly evaluates its composition and considers how to maintain an appropriate mix of skills, qualifications and diversity of backgrounds to best oversee the healthcare system’s not-for-profit mission and long-term strategy. Following this change, Sutter Health’s Board will be composed of 14 Directors.
