Sutter Health Named Best Place to Work in Western U.S. for Health Care Technology

SACRAMENTO, Calif. August 24, 2006 – Sutter Health has been selected, for the fourth year in a row, as a top workplace for information technology professionals by IDG's Computerworld magazine. Of the top 100, Sutter Health ranked 42nd across the entire IT industry. Sutter Health placed fourth in health care nationally and is the best place to work in the western U.S. for health care.

The honor is part of Computerworld's 13th annual Best Places to Work in IT survey, which ranks the top work environments for technology professionals using the categories of benefits, diversity, career development, training and retention. The magazine surveyed 20,435 IT workers for this year's national list.

"Information technology is integral to Sutter Health's commitment to providing patients with the highest quality care possible," said Debra Sleigh, interim chief information officer for Sutter Health. "We have invested more than $1.2 billion in top-notch, patient-oriented IT systems, like the electronic health record, medication bar coding and the electronic intensive care unit, that provide better, safer care for consumers."

"Sutter's IT professionals take great pride in knowing that the work they do helps save lives. They work very closely with our network’s physicians, nurses, clinicians and other caregivers to improve patient care through technological innovations and the implementation of best practices," added Sleigh.

Information technology is also a critical component to Sutter's goal of providing a rewarding work environment for its employees.

"IT advancements have helped us enhance our recruitment, training and assessment of job satisfaction so that we can continually improve our work culture for our employees," said Sleigh. "Our goal is to provide a rewarding environment that supports their meaningful work."

This is the fourth year in a row that Sutter Health has placed in the top 100 list. Other companies that Computerworld ranked among the Best Places to Work in 2006 include General Mills, FedEx and Hilton Hotels Corporation.

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Media Contact
Karen Garner
Communications Director
(916) 286-8297
garnerk@sutterhealth.org

Kami Lloyd
(916) 286-6680
lloydk@sutterhealth.org