Unlike investor-owned health care systems, Sutter Health is a not-for-profit organization. As such, any money left over after employees and bills have been paid is reinvested in health care.

It's better for patients

We believe this community-owned, not-for-profit approach to health care best serves our patients and our communities – for multiple reasons. First of all, its good for patients. According to the Journal of General Internal Medicine (April 2000), patients treated at for-profit or government-owned hospitals were two-to-four times more likely to suffer preventable adverse events than patients treated at not-for-profit institutions.

Our stockholders are our communities

Also, investor-owned, for-profit health systems have a financial incentive to avoid caring for uninsured and underinsured patients. They also have a financial incentive to avoid hard-to-serve populations and "undesirable" geographic areas such as rural areas. In many of Northern California's underserved rural locales, Sutter Health is the only provider of hospital and emergency medical services in the community.

Providing charity care and special programs to communities

Our communities' support helps us expand services, introduce new programs and improve medical technology.

Across our network, every Sutter hospital, physician organization and clinic has a special story to tell about fulfilling vital community needs.

• Community benefit - helping to make our communities healthier