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Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region Announces 2008 Financial Results 04-09-2009
Sacramento, Calif. - The Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region today announced 2008 operating income of $139 million on its hospitals and physician care centers. However, net assets were decreased by $39 million due to unrealized losses in the investment portfolio resulting from the challenging economic environment and volatility in the financial markets.
The Sacramento Sierra Region also reported contributions of $137 million to the Sutter Health employee retirement plan. As one of the area's largest private employers, Sutter Health invests in a retirement plan for all of its employees. Across the entire Northern California network, Sutter Health invested a half billion dollars during the last three months of 2008 to ensure the retirement security of its employees in this economic downturn.
Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region, which encompasses hospitals, outpatient services and physician care centers in Auburn, Davis, Roseville and Sacramento, brought in $1.7 billion in revenue last year, up from $1.6 billion the prior year.
As a not-for-profit, community-based organization, Sutter Health reinvests any earnings back into the communities to enhance the health care available to residents. Sutter strives to achieve a positive operating margin in order to help fund capital and operating needs, purchase new medical equipment, and care for the poor and uninsured.
"We are seeing an increased need for our services from those who are uninsured or underinsured because of the economic recession," said Sarah Krevans, president, Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region. "More than ever people need access to efficient affordable health care in a high quality setting. A positive operating margin ensures that our services are always available to residents regardless of their ability to pay."
"As a longtime Sutter physician and a volunteer trustee, I want to know that our patients have ready access to all of our services," said William Au, M.D., a Sacramento neurologist and chair of the Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region Board of Trustees. "We are continuing to recruit new physicians and invest in clinical services and new technology to enhance patient care."
The year 2008 was notable for the expanded health care services available to area residents:
"We are a stable organization, but we have prudently slowed down our capital projects to make sure we are balancing the needs of our communities, the uncertainties of the economy and the realities of a changing health care environment with the goal of remaining, healthy, strong and affordable to our patients," she said.
During 2008, the Sacramento Sierra Region provided more than $109 million in services for the poor and underserved and on benefits for the broader community. This is accomplished by increasing access to health care through a variety of programs that serve medically indigent adults, women and children and low income residents in Sacramento, Placer and Yolo counties. As an example, SMCS is a founding partner of T3 (Triage, Transport and Treatment), a pioneering program that provides services to patients who seek emergency room care for needs that are best addressed through preventive measures. The program seeks to provide those who chronically use the emergency room for non-emergency care with a way to obtain needed services from a primary care provider. The patients' health is greatly improved, and wait times in the emergency room are significantly reduced for those seeking care for true medical emergencies.
Sutter also continued its mission to make health care more accessible and affordable by offering free or substantial financial discounts to all uninsured patients regardless of their financial status. Sutter-affiliated hospitals have always provided free charity care to low-income patients and continue to offer substantial discounts to all patients who don't have insurance.
Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region encompasses hospitals, physicians and outpatient centers in Sacramento, Placer and Yolo counties. It is a part of the Sutter Health family of not-for-profit hospitals and physician organizations that share resources and expertise to advance health care quality. Serving more than 100 communities in Northern California, Sutter Health is a regional leader in cardiac care, and the care of women and children, and is a pioneer in advanced patient safety technology.
The Sacramento Sierra Region also reported contributions of $137 million to the Sutter Health employee retirement plan. As one of the area's largest private employers, Sutter Health invests in a retirement plan for all of its employees. Across the entire Northern California network, Sutter Health invested a half billion dollars during the last three months of 2008 to ensure the retirement security of its employees in this economic downturn.
Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region, which encompasses hospitals, outpatient services and physician care centers in Auburn, Davis, Roseville and Sacramento, brought in $1.7 billion in revenue last year, up from $1.6 billion the prior year.
As a not-for-profit, community-based organization, Sutter Health reinvests any earnings back into the communities to enhance the health care available to residents. Sutter strives to achieve a positive operating margin in order to help fund capital and operating needs, purchase new medical equipment, and care for the poor and uninsured.
"We are seeing an increased need for our services from those who are uninsured or underinsured because of the economic recession," said Sarah Krevans, president, Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region. "More than ever people need access to efficient affordable health care in a high quality setting. A positive operating margin ensures that our services are always available to residents regardless of their ability to pay."
"As a longtime Sutter physician and a volunteer trustee, I want to know that our patients have ready access to all of our services," said William Au, M.D., a Sacramento neurologist and chair of the Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region Board of Trustees. "We are continuing to recruit new physicians and invest in clinical services and new technology to enhance patient care."
The year 2008 was notable for the expanded health care services available to area residents:
- Sutter Roseville Medical Center opened its 40-bed Sutter Rehabilitation Institute in November. The region's first freestanding inpatient physical rehabilitation center delivers state-of-the-art therapy for patients who have been disabled by illness or injury, offering a level of care previously unavailable locally.
- Sutter Roseville opened its Level III neonatal intensive care unit with 16 licensed beds in September. An extension of the renowned NICU at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento (SMCS), the SRMC program connects to the hospital's Family Birthing Center, which is the only one in the Sacramento region to receive a five-star rating from the national consumer group, HealthGrades.
- In midtown Sacramento, SMCS broke ground this fall on the 242-bed Anderson Lucchetti Women's and Children's Center. When completed in late 2011, patients and their families will obtain the highest level of neonatal and pediatric intensive care services, pediatric cardiac care, pediatric neurosurgery services, pediatric cancer services, and high-risk and conventional maternity services. This facility also will feature a life-saving helistop atop the building. In addition, Sutter General Hospital is being significantly renovated and will be transformed into the 257-bed Ose Adams Medical Pavilion when the work is completed in 2011. The renovated building will include many services, including an entire floor dedicated to cardiovascular services, and a specially designed pediatric emergency department - the only one of its kind in the area. This construction is continued as planned.
- Sutter Medical Foundation (SMF) opened three new Medical Office Buildings in Roseville, Carmichael and Rocklin during the summer. SMCS and SMF also made significant progress on the construction of a 210,000 square foot Medical Office Building in midtown Sacramento, which will open in early 2010 with physician offices, ambulatory surgery services and digital imaging services for patients.
- Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital began upgrading patient rooms and renovating many other places in the hospital as part of an updating effort. A portion of the remodeling is being funded by a generous $1 million donation in 2008 from the United Auburn Indian Community.
- The City of Elk Grove approved the construction of an ambulatory surgery center and a future 68-bed community hospital. Sutter Health has funded the project through the design phase.
"We are a stable organization, but we have prudently slowed down our capital projects to make sure we are balancing the needs of our communities, the uncertainties of the economy and the realities of a changing health care environment with the goal of remaining, healthy, strong and affordable to our patients," she said.
During 2008, the Sacramento Sierra Region provided more than $109 million in services for the poor and underserved and on benefits for the broader community. This is accomplished by increasing access to health care through a variety of programs that serve medically indigent adults, women and children and low income residents in Sacramento, Placer and Yolo counties. As an example, SMCS is a founding partner of T3 (Triage, Transport and Treatment), a pioneering program that provides services to patients who seek emergency room care for needs that are best addressed through preventive measures. The program seeks to provide those who chronically use the emergency room for non-emergency care with a way to obtain needed services from a primary care provider. The patients' health is greatly improved, and wait times in the emergency room are significantly reduced for those seeking care for true medical emergencies.
Sutter also continued its mission to make health care more accessible and affordable by offering free or substantial financial discounts to all uninsured patients regardless of their financial status. Sutter-affiliated hospitals have always provided free charity care to low-income patients and continue to offer substantial discounts to all patients who don't have insurance.
Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region encompasses hospitals, physicians and outpatient centers in Sacramento, Placer and Yolo counties. It is a part of the Sutter Health family of not-for-profit hospitals and physician organizations that share resources and expertise to advance health care quality. Serving more than 100 communities in Northern California, Sutter Health is a regional leader in cardiac care, and the care of women and children, and is a pioneer in advanced patient safety technology.