Resident Doctors Reflect on Significance of ‘Match Day’
By Debbie Ritenour and Liz Madison, Vitals contributors "It’s a match” can be a powerful statement, particularly in medicine. The phrase can spark feelings of elation whether talking about finding the right organ donor or discovering the precise DNA sequence needed to...
Transplant Team Shares Skills, Saves Lives on Medical Mission
PHOTO: From left, Shannon Yrigoyen, lead transplant operation nurse, Dr. Assad Hassoun, senior transplant surgeon, Annie Southall, lead liver transplant physician assistant, and Dr. Kidist K. Yimam, transplant hepatologist and medical director of CPMC’s Autoimmune...
What’s ECMO? Boy’s Story Illustrates ‘Ultimate Life-Saving Tool’
Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento Children's Center Receives Highest ECMO Award Twenty weeks into her pregnancy, Lisa and Luckson Emmanuel’s boy was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition called congenital diaphragmatic hernia. With CDH, the organs in the baby's...
Editor’s Picks
Sutter Hospitals Honored for Excellence in Safety, Patient Experience
Sutter’s Mills-Peninsula Medical Center is recognized this week as the only “triple crown” award recipient in California and one of seven hospitals in the nation to receive Healthgrades’ honors in three award categories: Patient Safety, Patient Experience and...
Bay Area Grandpa Ready to Hit Trails Thanks to Advanced Cancer Therapy
A “happy accident.” That’s how Rod Derbyshire describes his cancer diagnosis today. However, the initial news was a shock to his system. A series of tests and a CT scan in 2023 to investigate unexplained weight loss revealed something else. He had a tiny, slow...
Newsweek Names Sutter Among America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity
Sutter Health has been named to Newsweek’s 2024 list of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity. The magazine examined publicly available data, held interviews, and conducted an anonymous survey of 220,000+ employees at companies across the country to identify...
Sutter Hospitals Earn Outpatient Orthopedic Honors by Healthgrades
Sutter’s Novato Community Hospital achieved recognition this week as one of America’s 50 Best hospitals for Outpatient Joint Replacement for 2024 from Healthgrades – placing them among the top 5% of hospitals in the nation for providing this service. In total, an...
Dive Deeper
Program Preps Teens for Post-Grad Life, Possible Healthcare Careers
High school senior Canari’s resume is already chock-full of real-world work experience. Her on-the-job learning is part of ICA Cristo Rey Academy’s Corporate Work Study program. In it, the 17-year-old spends Mondays at Sutter’s California Pacific Medical Center’s...
This Device Saved ‘Jeopardy!’ Champ’s Life. What Is TAVR?
Heart patient Leslie Frates, right, appears with "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek during the taping of the "Battle of the Decades" tournament in 2014. “I don’t know if I’m the only 'Jeopardy!' champion with a TAVR, but I’m one of the only ones," she says. By Catlin...
Couple Establish Endowed Chair for Cardiology Research
By Kathy Engle and Ashley Boarman, Vitals contributors Napa residents Jim and Carol White have pledged $5 million to advance cardiology care at Sutter Health. While the couple are dedicated to improving healthcare overall, according to Jim, the gift also carries a...
Surprise Diagnosis Made Easier by Virtual Pharmacy Program
By Bryan Gardner and Liz Madison, Vitals contributors Friends and family of Cathy Woolley would describe her as all heart. But last year after visiting doctors, they determined only 25% of her heart was functioning. The shocking diagnosis — congestive heart failure...
Closer Look
Colonoscopy vs. At-Home Test?
Chief Resident Committed to Her Latinx Community
‘Light the Night’ Puts Spotlight on Blood Cancer
Alta Bates Summit Launches Residency Program
Check Your Symptoms
Is it allergies, the flu, or COVID? Use our interactive screener or check this list.