Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health, owner of 33 ASCs, 23 hospitals and several multispecialty clinics on the West Coast, plans to enter a strategic partnership with Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Sansum Clinic, one of the oldest outpatient facilities in the state.
The organizations signed a nonbinding letter of intent with plans to formalize the partnership in the coming weeks, according to a May 5 letter from Sansum CEO Kurt Ransohoff, MD.
The clinics plan to expand access to primary and specialty care in Santa Barbara and bring more clinicians to the region, the letter said.
"As health systems across the country face increasing industry and financial headwinds from increasing labor and supply costs to caring for an aging population, this partnership provides us the resources necessary to invest in best serving our patients and communities for generations to come," Dr. Ransohoff wrote.
"Increasing access to much-needed primary care and specialty services is core to Sutter’s community-focused mission and vision. Sutter Health has a long history of working closely with medical group physicians to meet the needs of patients and communities, including helping to grow physicians and services at places like Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Sutter Gould. We look forward to doing the same with Samsum to invest in and bring more high-demand services and physicians to the central coast," Warner Thomas, Sutter's president and CEO said in a statement.