Sutter Health expands into central California through integration of Sansum Clinic

Santa Barbara, California

Photo: Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, California is now part of Sutter Health.

The partnership of Sansum Clinic and its six care facilities into the Sutter Clinic system of 24 hospitals and over 200 clinics took effect on Monday. Sansum's full integration with Sutter will happen over the next few years, the organizations said.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Through the integration, the not-for-profit Sutter Health, headquartered in Sacramento, expands from northern California into the central coastal region of the state.

Sutter said it benefits from Sansum's expertise, its 102-year legacy and partnerships with local leadership and the community. 

Sansum Clinic, also a not-for-profit system, operates patient care facilities in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Solvang, Lompoc and Santa Maria, California.

Sansum gains investments in its healthcare infrastructure, including its ambulatory and multispecialty care model. Sutter said it plans to fund the expansion of several projects in the Santa Barbara region in the coming years. 

A project championed by Sutter and Sansum since the beginning of the partnership discussion is the newly constructed expanded-capacity operating rooms at Foothill Surgery Center. 

Sutter and Sansum's combined management teams are evaluating a variety of capital projects to fund in the months and years ahead – including renovations and improvements at Sansum patient clinics and offices; the purchase and installation of new clinical equipment; and other patient care, physician, nursing, caregiver and employee priorities.

Some early areas of focus for shared investment include: Advancements to Sansum's ambulatory surgery center technology and services, including technology and three new operating rooms; more advanced diagnostic imaging services and an imaging center dedicated to women's health; and expanding access to primary and specialty care in Santa Barbara and neighboring communities.

A key focus of the integration will be to expand services by enhancing existing physician relationships while exploring ways of bringing more primary care and specialty care physicians to Santa Barbara County and the Central Coast, Sutter said. Together the systems will be in an even better position to attract, hire and retain physician talent.

"As health systems work to recover from the pandemic, costs – including labor, medicine and supplies – have increased sharply," said Warner L. Thomas, Sutter Health president and CEO. "At the same time, we have a growing Medicare population, an increasing shift to ambulatory care and high consumer expectations around digital tools and technology.  By integrating our learnings and best practices, we can better address these headwinds and grow, expand access and invest in the future of healthcare in California."

THE LARGER TREND

Sansum gains the scale necessary for capital investments, according to Dr. Kurt N. Ransohoff, Sansum Clinic CEO and chief medical officer. 

The joining of Sansum with Sutter will expand access for patients and make comprehensive and coordinated care more equitable and accessible to more patients, the organizations said. 

ON THE RECORD

Thomas said, "We share a true commitment to not-for-profit healthcare and meeting diverse community needs. Through strategic investment in the months and years to come and in close partnership with our aligned medical groups, we'll continue to deliver on that promise as an integrated system."

"This partnership provides a great opportunity for growth and long-term stability for Sansum Clinic," Ransohoff said. "It will increase access for our patients to multispecialty, high-quality care, advance our integrated care model and provide a more connected, seamless experience for patients."

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org