Sutter Health in the News
The stories below appeared in a variety of local and national media, highlighting important new advancements in our health care network.
CHFFA Approves Sutter Health’s Sale of Tax Exempt Bonds
April 4, 2007
The California Health Facilities Financing Authority (CHFFA) unanimously approved Sutter Health's request for nearly $1 billion in tax-exempt financing to improve, replace and upgrade facilities throughout Sutter's Northern California network. The approval means Sutter Health and its affiliates can move forward to replace a seismically deficient hospital (San Mateo) and to construct facilities for acute rehabilitation patients and critically ill newborns (Roseville), diabetes patients (Jackson, rural Amador County) and women's health services (Jackson, rural Amador County). As part of the agreement, Sutter will provide millions to rural and small centers outside its network and signal a commitment to not only further improve care and access for its consumers but local communities as well. "We are very pleased to receive approval," said Sutter spokesman Bill Gleeson. "Sutter Health is providing an additional, tangible demonstration of the savings (received from tax-exempt financing)."
Sacramento Business Journal
Sutter Health's Solano County Facility Provides Important Breast Cancer Detection
April 2, 2007
An American Cancer Society study released in the New England Journal of Medicine establishes that a special magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test is suggested for women at high risk for breast cancer. The only place in Solano County the test is available is at Sutter Regional Medical Foundation in Fairfield. Sutter Regional has had the machine for about six months and, while it is not a replacement for annual mammograms, it is another high-tech and reliable tool to help with the early detection of breast cancer in high-risk patients. "The study released Wednesday…said that up to 10 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast will get it in the other breast also, even if it's not detected right away, and that the MRI can detect breast cancer that typical mammograms miss," said Dr. Aseem Rawal, a Sutter radiologist. He also said that even if the woman and her doctor are unable to detect a lump, the equipment is capable of identifying malignant tumors as small as five millimeters. The tests are only suitable for high-risk women and not average risk patients due to the extreme sensitivity.
Vallejo Times-Herald
Dogs Serve as Companions and “Healers” for Sutter Patients
March 30, 2007
The Delta Society has claimed for years that the company of an animal is a form of therapy and healing for patients. You will find nothing but believers at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento. Millie, Hazel and Greta are all full-time, on-staff canine candy stripers at the Sutter hospital, proclaimed as possibly the only in-patient facility in the county to provide such a therapeutic service. "The anecdotal evide'ce is enough proof for us. … She's really a bridge to get a kid to open up. I can put her on a kid's bed, and a kid will tell me everything … about how they're coping. Millie helps me build trust," said Jennifer Johnson, a child life specialist at the hospital who partners with Millie, a yellow Labrador retriever. These dogs have been comforting patients at Sutter for four years now. They carry official hospital badges and spend all day with their staff partners and children. These dogs continue to lift the spirits of patients and help parents and doctors ease a patient into therapy or an exercise they might be afraid of.
Sacramento Bee
Sutter Donates $200,000 to Health Care Clinic in Watsonville to Support the Installation of Patient Safety Technology
March 12, 2007
The Watsonville Register-Pajaronian reports that Sutter Health and the Santa Cruz Division of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation recently donated $200,000 to Salud Para La Gente, a non-profit health care clinic in Watsonville which provides low- or no-cost medical services to low-income patients in the Monterey Bay community. The donation will support the installation of an electronic health record system (EHR). Through EHR and the process of converting paper records to computers, caregivers and physicians have immediate access to the most recent records for each and every patient and are able to provide the best quality care. “Sutter Health and Palo Alto Medical Foundation are committed to making quality health care services accessible to those who are most vulnerable financially,” Patrick Fry, Sutter Health president and CEO was quoted as saying in the Register-Pajaronian. “Within Sutter Health, we’re investing in the EHR system to further improve clinical outcomes, enhance patient safety and help reduce the cost of high-quality care. We are proud to contribute to the clinic today to bring the same advanced health technology to this vital community resource in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.”
Watsonville Register-Pajaronian
Cutting-Edge Procedure for "Surfer's Ear"
Report published in respected medical journal
March 11, 2007
Douglas Hetzler M.D., an ear, nose and throat specialist at Sutter Health-affiliated Santa Cruz Medical Foundation was published in the January issue of The Laryngoscope, the journal of the American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society for a treatment he pioneered to cure surfer's ear. The condition is characterized by repeated exposure to cold water and wind that prompts bone growth and can narrow the ear canal and trap water and earwax. These materials can block the eardrum and cause hearing loss and ear infections over an extended period of time. The journal validates the safe and effective procedure, pioneered nearly a decade ago by Dr. Hetzler, which is a precise chiseling technique that has a recovery time of a month or less - much shorter than the standard and invasive surgery. "Living in Santa Cruz on the cold Pacific Ocean, we were seeing more and more surfers who were agonizing over this condition," Hetzler said. "But what started as a solution to a local problem has now grown into a respected procedure providing relief to patients worldwide." Water sports enthusiasts from Hawaii, Alaska, Massachusetts, New York, Tennessee, Colorado and Utah have sought his medical services.
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Sutter Reaches Another Milestone in Patient Safety Leadership
January 29, 2007
The Sacramento Business Journal reports that Sutter Health has completed on-time implementation of its life-saving eICU® patient-safety system. The eICU system provides 24/7 off-site monitoring of ICU patients by specially trained intensive care physicians through the use of video, audio and data technologies. Now in place across the Sutter network, the system adds another layer of care – in addition to the existing ICU nurses and physicians – by bringing physician specialists remotely to the patient bedside.
Sacramento Business Journal
Sutter Express Care Clinics Prove to be Convenient, Affordable and Time-Saving
January 14, 2007
As highlighted in a front-page story in the Sacramento Bee, Sutter Express Care clinics are providing a quality, convenient, cost-effective and quick alternative to traditional doctor’s offices or hospital visits when necessary. Available now in some Rite Aid stores in the greater Sacramento area, Sutter Express Care offers patients treatment for common illnesses seven days a week when their physicians’ offices are possibly closed.
Sacramento Bee
Sutter Coast Hospital Responding to Physician Shortage Seen in Rural Communities
January 7, 2007
The shortage of doctors in rural communities has long been a national issue, but experts say it’s becoming more prevalent and can result in patients needing to seek care further away from home. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times profiles Sutter Coast Hospital and its innovative efforts to support its community and recruit quality physicians to remote Del Norte County, Calif. The hospital also benefits from being part of the Sutter Health network, allowing the Crescent City facility to bring to its patients’ bedsides advanced technology not often seen in rural areas.
Los Angeles. January 7, 2007