Excellence in Quality Care

Sutter Health Named Among Top 15 Health Systems

Sutter Health and Sutter’s Valley Area were named among the top five health systems in the country by Truven Health Analytics™ for achieving superior performance in care quality, patient satisfaction, cost per episode of illness and operational efficiency. For its 15 Top Health Systems® study, Truven gathered data from 338 health systems and nearly 3,000 hospitals, identifying 15 large, medium and small health systems that achieved these benchmarks.

Data show hospitals in Sutter Health and the other top performing systems:

• Save more lives and have fewer patient complications
• Spend 5 percent less per patient episode of care
• Shorten patients’ length of stay in the hospital
• Make fewer patient safety errors
• Score 7 percent better on patient satisfaction

Sutter Health Transforms Mental Health Care and Access to Services

We recognize the importance of taking care of psychological health as well as physical health. We work every day to improve access to mental health services, expand awareness and innovate and transform care options. We support eliminating prejudice and discrimination toward those experiencing mental health challenges.

Here are some of the ways we’re making progress.

Innovations Improve Advanced Illness Care

Sutter Health’s Advanced Illness Management program focuses on the personal experience of advanced illness and the way healthcare is supported and financed at the final stage of life. AIM reduces hospitalizations and ER visits for seriously ill patients, improves pain management and reduces intensive care stays, all while reducing Medicare and Medicaid costs by 32 percent.

Our Advanced Illness Management program, administered by Sutter Care at Home, received a Vanguard award from the Hospital Quality Institute.

LGBTQ Health Care Equality: 14 Sutter Affiliates Honored

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the country’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer civil rights organization, recognized 14 Sutter affiliates as Leaders in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality. The 2016 Healthcare Equality Index recognizes facilities that meet key criteria, including LGBTQ patient-centered care, patient services and support, employee benefits and policies, and LGBTQ patient and community engagement.

Our 14 affiliates on the HEI Index are:

Samuel Merritt University Celebrates Online Grads

Samuel Merritt University’s class of 2016 included the first 24 students to earn their Family Nurse Practitioner master’s degree entirely online. During the 20-month program, students participated in online classes while also completing 630 clinical hours in their respective hometowns. Since the inaugural class first logged on, SMU has enrolled 294 online students from eight different states. The program puts a focus on meeting the healthcare needs of underserved and multicultural populations and to recruiting nurses from diverse backgrounds. SMU is an affiliate of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and Sutter Health.

Awards and Recognition

In 2016, Sutter Health and Sutter’s Valley Area were both named among the top large health systems in the nation by Truven Health Analytics™ for achieving superior performance in care quality, patient satisfaction, cost per episode of illness and operational efficiency. Here are some additional notable 2016 awards.