Sutter Health
Careers at Sutter Health
MISSION
Sutter Health seeks to enhance the well-being of people in the communities that it serves across Northern California through a not-for-profit commitment to offering accessibility, affordability, and compassion in its healthcare services.
FOUNDING STORY
Sutter Health traces its roots back as far as the nineteenth century and takes its name from one of the first European settlements established in Sacramento, California by pioneer John Sutter.
Several of the company’s hospitals have their roots in some of California’s earliest healthcare providers, notably California Pacific Medical Centre, which was formed from the merger of several hospitals and medical schools dating back to the city's earliest days of organised medicine.
Sutter Health was first created in 1981 as a small Sacramento-based health care system.
During the 1980s and 1990s the company expanded significantly, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, and by 1995, the company controlled a network of 18 affiliated hospitals, seven medical foundations (physician organizations) and numerous outpatient care centres throughout Northern California.
The company was established in its current form in 1996 by way of a merger between Sutter Health and California Healthcare System.
Sutter Health is today among the largest healthcare system operators in the US.
It operates an extensive network of medical facilities across 100 communities in Northern California, including 24 hospitals, 36 ambulatory surgery centres, and a number of specialised clinics.
The company employs more than 5,500 physicians and has more than 53,000 network and affiliate employees.
Business model of Sutter Health
Customer Segments
As a health system operator, Sutter Health provides a range of health and medical services to the general consumer population in Northern California.
Through its various hospitals and medical centres, the company treats patients suffering from a wide range of conditions, including patients across the following categories:
- Primary and Urgent Care, including patients suffering from emergency injuries and acute illnesses through who it serves through its hospitals and clinics;
- Specialty Care, including patients requiring specialist treatments and services, including palliative care, maternity care, specialist diabetes and cancer treatments, among others; and
- Other, including patients suffering from other illnesses, such as chronic disease and general health concerns.
Sutter Health operates 24 hospitals and a number of other medical clinics and facilities across more than 100 communities in Northern California.
The company does not appear to have any significant international operations.
Value Propositions
Sutter Health provides value to its customers in the following ways:
- Reputation and History – Sutter Health is an established name and brand in the US healthcare sector, having a longstanding track record for providing high quality care through efficient, reliable, and modern facilities;
- Collaboration with Government Programs – Sutter Health collaborates with a number of federal and state medical aid programs, including Medicaid and Medicare, which helps to ensure that it is able to provide treatment to a broad range of patients;
- Research and Innovation – Sutter Health is engaged in research and development operations through its dedicated academic and training unit, seeking to develop and implement cutting-edge treatments and technologies for its patients;
- Regional Reach – Sutter Health has an extensive reach across Northern California, comprising 24 hospitals and numerous other medical clinics and facilities, ensuring that its services are accessible for patients at nearby facilities;
- Quality Care – Sutter health provide high quality services and treatments to its patients, seeking to use the most up-to-date treatments supported by innovative technologies and data systems; and
- Experience and Expertise – Sutter Health employs more than 5,500 highly trained physicians as well as qualified nurses and clinical staff, ensuring that it is able to provide the best possible care to its patients.
Channels
Sutter Health serves its customers directly through its network of medical facilities across Northern California, comprising 24 hospitals, 36 ambulatory surgery centres, six cardiac centres, nine cancer centres, five acute rehabilitation centres, seven behavioural health centres, five trauma centres, nine neonatal intensive care units, 33 urgent care centres, and 10 walk-in care centres.
These facilities are staffed by the company’s medical practitioners and clinical staff who provide in-person care to patients.
Sutter Health operates a website at www.sutterhealth.com, through which customers are able to schedule appointments and pay medical bills.
The company also operates a My Health Online portal for its customers through which customers can track their medical needs and appointments.
Customer Relationships
Sutter Health seeks to establish longstanding relationships with its patients by providing high-quality, reliable, and efficient services across its network of healthcare facilities.
The company’s medical personnel provide personalised care to the company’s patients, building rapport and close relationships in order to instil trust and build lasting relationships.
Through its above-noted website, Sutter Health provides a range of information and resources on a self-service basis.
This includes information on the locations of the company’s facilities, information on the company’s services and treatment options, information on the company’s leadership, and information on the company’s community projects.
Sutter Health also operates a customer support team that patients can contact online or over the phone in order to access additional information, make queries, or make complaints.
Sutter Health is additionally able to communicate directly with customers through its various social media accounts, including with LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. The company also provides updates and news through its blog and news portal.
Key Activities
Sutter Health operates a regional health system across Northern California.
Through its subsidiaries, the company provides a range of healthcare, education, and research and administration services.
The company operates a network of acute-care facilities, medical foundations, fundraising foundations, and various other specialised health care service facilities.
This includes 24 hospitals across Northern California. Sutter Health offers bariatric and cosmetic surgery, oncology treatments, clinical trials, integrative medicine, diabetes, heart and vascular health services, home health services, mental and occupational health services, and orthopaedic services, among various others.
Sutter Health is based in Sacramento, California and traces its roots back to the nineteenth century.
Key Partners
Sutter Health works closely with a wide network of partner companies and organisations across Northern California and the broader US These partners can be organise broadly into the following categories:
- Supplier and Vendor Partners, including specialist suppliers of medical equipment and medications, as well as third-party providers of other services that support the company more broadly in its corporate activities;
- Academic and Research Partners, including medical research organisations and academic institutions with which the company collaborates on the implementation of clinic trials and research programs;
- Insurance and Government Partners, including medical insurance providers and various government health acre programs, including Medicaid and Medicare, with which the company works to ensure that the needs of its patients are covered;
- Healthcare Partners, including various other healthcare providers and medical companies with which the company partners to ensure that patients receive the best possible care at the most appropriate facilities and clinics; and
- Community Partners, including various no-profit and charitable organisations with which the company works closely on community and social projects across Northern California.
In 2017, Sutter Health notably piloted an Adult Asthma Program partnership in Oakland with LifeLong Medical Care to help reduce the health inequity for African-American adults seeking care for asthma.
The company has also established partnerships with organisations such as African American Community Health Advisory Committee, Ethnic Health Institute, Healthfirst, and Samaritan House.
Key Resources
Sutter Health’s business model depends on its ability to provide high quality medical services to patients through efficiently run modern facilities.
As such, the company’s key resources are its medical facilities and physical assets, its equipment and inventory, its suppliers and supply chain, its personnel – most notably its specialist medical practitioners and clinical staff, its partnerships, and its IT and communications infrastructure.
Sutter Health key assets are its network of healthcare facilities, comprising 24 hospitals, 36 ambulatory surgery centres, six cardiac centres, nine cancer centres, five acute rehabilitation centres, seven behavioural health centres, five trauma centres, nine neonatal intensive care units, 33 urgent care centres, and 10 walk-in care centres.
Cost Structure
Sutter Health incurs costs in relation to the procurement of supplies and equipment, the procurement of external services, the operation of its numerous medical facilities – including occupancy and utility costs, the payment of salaries and benefits to its personnel, the management and maintenance of its IT and communications infrastructure, and the management of its partnerships.
The bulk of the company’s cost relate to its personnel and procurement expenses.
Revenue Streams
Sutter Health generates revenue through the provision of healthcare services to patients through its network of hospitals and medical facilities.
The company derives the bulk of its revenue through the collection of patient service fees, either directly from patients and relatives or via insurance companies and government health programs.
The company also derives revenue through its own insurance services in the form of monthly premiums. In 2017, Sutter Health recorded USD 12 billion in total patient revenue for the year.
Our team
info: Sarah Krevans (“Krevans”) has served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Sutter Health since January 2016. She has overall responsibility for leading the company’s strategic direction and functions as Sutter Health’s principal decision maker. Krevans began her career in 1986, when she joined the Maine Bureau of Medical Services as Deputy Director. She held this role for a year before joining Kaiser Permanente in 1987 as Senior Vice President and Area Manager for the Valley Service Area. Krevans joined Sutter Health in 1999 after 12 years with Kaiser Permanente, initially serving as the company’s Senior Vice President of Managed Care. She has since held several roles of increasing responsibility, including spells as Regional Executive Officer and President for the Sacramento Sierra Region, and Chief Operating Officer.
info: James Conforti (“Conforti”) has served as Chief Operating Officer at Suter Health since June 2018. He is responsible for overseeing the everyday management of the company and its operations. Conforti began his career as a serviceman in the US Army where he reached the rank of Captain between 1986 and 1995. He has since held a series of senior leadership positions at Sutter Health and its operating units, beginning in 2002 with a spell as Chief Executive Officer of Sutter North Medical Foundation. He went on to serve as Chief Executive Officer at other Sutter Health units, namely Sutter Gould Medical Foundation and Sutter Health Memorial Medical Centre. In 2012 he was named Regional President and prior to assuming his current position he served as the company’s President of the Valley Area.
info: Eileen Kahn (“Kahn”) has served as Vice President of Care Management since June 2015. She oversees operations relating to the company’s care management schemes. Kahn began her career in 1986 at Washington Hospital, where she served in a role related to critical care. In 1999, she was appointed Director of Cardiovascular Services and Outpatient Infusion Centre at John Muir Health. She was later promoted to the role of Director of Case Management, Social Services, and Palliative Care in 2003, a position she held for more than eight years before joining Sutter Health in 2011. Prior to assuming her current role, Kahn served as Sutter Health’s Regional Vice President of Case Management and Utilisation Management.
