Below is a letter to California’s Central Coast community, including physicians, staff, patients and residents, sharing information about exclusive partnership discussions underway between Sansum Clinic and Sutter Health, with a non-binding letter of intent signed this week.
The partnership, which involves Sansum Clinic becoming part of Sutter Health over time, plans to create more access to primary care and ambulatory multi-specialty care currently in high demand in the region. At a time when health systems across the country face increasing industry pressures, these two like-minded California not-for-profit health systems have recognized an opportunity to collaborate to best serve the needs of patients and communities for generations to come.
May 5, 2023
Dear Central Coast community,
We are excited to share that Sansum Clinic and Sutter Health are planning to enter into a strategic partnership to provide even greater access to high-quality care to the Central Coast for years to come. We have entered into exclusive discussions with each other, signing a non-binding letter of intent this week, and expect to formalize our partnership in the coming weeks. We look forward to a structured integration process designed to strengthen our ability to bring more resources to meet the healthcare needs of our patients and provide them a more connected, seamless experience.
For more than a century, Sansum has been dedicated to improving the health of Central Coast communities. Sutter Health has shown that same dedication during our more than 100 year-history with a commitment to making a positive impact on health across the diverse communities we are privileged to serve.
Sansum and Sutter share common values and a not-for-profit mission of providing exceptional care across our communities. We even have shared history in being among the first few medical foundations of our kind in California.
In bringing together two storied, not-for-profit health systems, we intend to provide even greater access to excellent, high-quality care along the Central Coast, including more primary care and ambulatory multi-specialty care currently in high demand in the region.
Together, we will continue to expand access to primary and specialty care in Santa Barbara and learning and integrating best practices from both our organizations. We plan to continue working with our existing partners to serve our mutual patients while also bringing more physicians and clinicians to the region, expanding services and impacting more lives.
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.
We are committed to keeping you updated on our progress as we undertake this partnership and look forward to answering questions as more details become available.
Sincerely,
