Comprehensive COVID-19 Response
Using Our Integrated System to Fight Covid
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Sutter Health has used the full breadth of our integrated system to help meet the needs of clinicians, staff and patients across Northern California.
Invested in testing solutions at COVID-19’s onset
Adapted swiftly to treat patients during even the largest statewide surges
Scaled to provide equitable access to vaccines
Sutter’s network stood up to each phase of the pandemic, helping to protect the communities and patients we serve.
Responding Rapidly to the Pandemic
Our team rapidly responded and adapted to meet the needs of the COVID-19 moment and scaled to care for patients quickly throughout the pandemic.
Critical Care
Converted existing space to increase our system’s critical care capacity by 200-300% and used Sutter’s integrated network to provide access to care environments best suited to patient needs.
Capacity
Doubled the capacity of our eICU system – providing patients access to an ICU team regardless of hospital location.
Testing
Launched an in-house testing solution with the capacity to test up to 5,000 patients per day during surges – with a turnaround time of less than 2 hours for some of the sickest patients.
PPE
Acquired 35 million pieces of critical personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks, isolation gowns and face shields for patients and providers across our network.
Scaling Innovation to Meet Patient Needs
We invested in innovations that prioritized quality to drive better health outcomes for our patients. Our integrated network allowed Sutter to expand existing investments and create new programs to respond to evolving patient and provider needs throughout the pandemic.
Telehealth
Rapidly expanded telehealth and provided over 1 million video visits in 2020.
Clinical Training
Trained 5,000 clinicians in telehealth.
Length of Stay
Reduced hospital length of stay for COVID-19 patients by 12 days – from 20 days at the start of the pandemic to 8 days by the end of 2020.
Research & Clinical Trials
Conducted and partnered on more than 10 research projects that helped usher in the approval of convenient all-in-one tests, investigated cutting-edge treatments, provided patients access to a promising vaccine clinical trial and explored the pandemic’s impact on mental health.
96% of Patients Reported a Positive Telehealth Experience
Understanding that video visits and telehealth became a crucial tool during the pandemic, we are also working to scale digital care for the long-term to continue providing convenient, safe and seamless care – especially for hard-to-reach patients.
Addressing Core Issues for Our Communities
Our teams led and participated in key clinical trials and research, testing new treatments and promising vaccines. We also developed studies that identified disparities in how the pandemic was affecting diverse communities and worked to build local partnerships to help meet the needs of the current crisis and address gaps in care in the future.
Health Disparities
Identified that Black COVID-19 patients are 2.7 times more likely to be hospitalized – and partnered with local organizations to increase outreach and provide testing to Black Californians in the communities in which we operate.
Equity-Focused Research
Conducted 9 COVID-19-specific health equity research projects in the last year alone.
Maternal Health
Studied COVID-19’s impact on maternal health across diverse patient populations.
Policy Changes
Coordinated with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to safely move and care for some of the most at-risk patient populations, ranging from farm workers in the Imperial Valley to inmates from San Quentin State Prison.
Prepared for Recovery
As we build toward recovery, Sutter Health is focused on helping Californians – especially populations most impacted by the pandemic – access vaccines.
More Than 750,000 Shots in Arms
By inoculating as many patients as quickly as possible, Sutter proactively prepared by deploying a scalable vaccine infrastructure that has provided more than 750,000 shots to patients to date – and this number is growing daily.
Learn More About How Sutter is Serving Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic:
Get The Facts About Telehealth
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that telehealth is a viable option for providing convenient, accessible and seamless care for patients.
