Sutter Health/St. Luke's Affiliation Finalized

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 16, 2001 - Officials of Sutter Health and San Francisco's St. Luke's Hospital will formalize the affiliation between the two organizations at a signing ceremony on July 17. The event signals the successful completion of the several-month-long affiliation process. On July 12, the Sutter Health Board of Directors approved the affiliation. The California Attorney General's Office gave its approval June 26 to St. Luke's request to become part of Sutter Health. St. Luke's becomes the 26th hospital in the not-for-profit Northern California-based Sutter Health network.

The affiliation ensures that St. Luke's, which is San Francisco's only private South-of-Market hospital, and which has struggled financially for many years, will remain a full-service hospital with a 24-hour emergency department open to the entire community. In addition, the Sutter network has pledged $55 million over a period of ten years to help expand and upgrade facilities and services at St. Luke's. Sutter Health will also undertake costs of a state-mandated seismic retrofit to meet earthquake standards. In their affiliation agreement, the two organizations committed to continue operating St. Luke's as a general acute care hospital with critical care as well as emergency services.

"Northern California has lost more than 40 hospitals in recent years, and no one wanted to see St. Luke's become part of that sobering statistic," said Sutter Health President and CEO Van R. Johnson. "Joining the Sutter Health network has helped more than two dozen of Northern California's finest hospitals and physician organizations protect and grow their programs and services. This affiliation represents another commitment to community benefit and the preservation of not-for-profit hospitals, and we're proud to welcome St. Luke's into our family."

Established in 1871, St. Luke's has earned a reputation for its service to San Francisco's low-income neighborhood residents, regardless of their ability to pay. Over 100,000 area residents signed petitions supporting the affiliation of St. Luke's with Sutter Health.

Contact:
Bill Gleeson, Sutter Health, 916-286-6772
Carolyn Noble, St. Luke's Hospital, 415-641-6658