Excellence in Quality Care
Our not-for-profit network, ranked among top health systems in the country, delivers easy access to affordable, coordinated 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 improved the quality of care by reducing:
%
elective delivery before 39 weeks of pregnancy
%
the total cost of care for people at the end of life
%
hospital stays for people at the end of life
%
deaths from severe sepsis and septic shock
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.
Innovating access points
By partnering with a technology company we’re simplifying the process of finding qualified mental health caregivers.
Eliminating stigma at work
We’re working with One Mind and the Steinberg Institute to help employers effectively address workplace mental health.
Expanding care in hospitals
We’re taking action to ensure people in our ERs get 24/7 access to mental health care, and we’re expanding this service into our medical/surgical units.
Building community care
We’re teaming up with organizations focused on mental health—including Each Mind Matters and community-based non-profit Mental Health America.
“We must improve access to mental health services, expand awareness and innovate and transform care options. The well-being of our communities and our nation depends on it.”
— Sarah Krevans, President and CEO, Sutter Health
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.

“As a healthcare organization and a major employer in the more than 100 communities we serve in Northern California, we’re committed to continuously pursuing ways we can enhance care for our LGBTQ community.” — Jill Ragsdale, Senior Vice President and Chief People and Culture Officer
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:
- Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
- California Pacific Medical Center
- Eden Medical Center
- Palo Alto Medical Foundation
- Sutter Amador Hospital
- Sutter Davis Hospital
- Sutter Delta Medical Center
- Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz
- Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento
- Sutter Medical Foundation
- Sutter Roseville Medical Center
- Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital
- Sutter Solano Medical Center
- Sutter Tracy Community Hospital
Intensive Care Units Use New Program to Liberate Patients, Improve Outcomes
People recovering from a serious illness in an intensive care unit can experience painful side effects from mechanical ventilation. To specifically improve care quality and outcomes for our ICU patients, we have adopted an evidence-based program at seven ICUs across Sutter Health called ICU Liberation. Nurses, doctors, pharmacists, respiratory therapists and rehabilitation therapists work together to help manage an individual’s pain, carefully choose sedation, prevent ICU delirium, encourage early patient mobility, and engage and empower the family.
The Hospital Quality Institute recognized Sutter’s ICU Liberation program as a finalist for its Vanguard award in 2016.

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.
2016 Architecture, Engineering and Construction Excellence Award
CAPG Standards of Excellence Survey™ Elite status
CDPH Honor Roll: C Sections
• Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Berkeley
• California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco
• Eden Medical Center, Castro Valley
• Sutter Davis Hospital
• Sutter Delta Medical Center, Antioch
• Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Lakeport
• Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz
• Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital
• Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento
• Sutter Roseville Medical Center
• Sutter Solano Medical Center, Vallejo Center
U.S. News & World Report: Best Hospitals
- California Pacific Medical Center
- Mills-Peninsula Medical Center
- Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento
- Sutter Roseville Medical Center
Leader Awards
Stephen Lockhart, M.D., Ph.D., named among the top “100 Hospital and Health System CMOs to Know” by Becker’s Hospital Review
Sarah Krevans, Elizabeth Vilardo, M.D., and Julie Petrini named among the “Most Influential Women in the Bay Area Business” by the San Francisco Business Times
Anne Barr, Toni Brayer, M.D., and Susan Day, M.D., named to “Influential Honor Roll” of the “Most Influential Women in the Bay Area Business” by the San Francisco Business Times
Arra Yerganian received the “2016 CMO Officers Award” by the CMO Club
Kevin Kim, M.D., received a “Humanitarian Award” from the Melanoma Research Foundation
Sarah Krevans named among the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare 2016” by Modern Healthcare
Colonel Patsy Thompson, a volunteer with Sutter Care at Home Hospice in Roseville received a “Volunteers are the Foundation of Hospice Award” from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
Modern Healthcare Best Place to Work/Healthcare
• Sutter Davis Hospital
HQI Vanguard Award
Truven Top 100 Hospitals
- Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento
- Sutter Tracy Community Hospital
The Leapfrog Group Top Hospitals
• Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz