Sutter Health Expands Rural Health Care Access through Strategic Community Investments

Primary and mental health services expand to align with needs of Northern California communities

Northern Calif., June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a move to expand access and advance care in some of Northern California’s most remote and rural communities, Sutter Health is making two strategic investments to expand primary care and behavioral health services in Del Norte and Lake counties. These enhancements are part of Sutter’s systemwide, not-for-profit commitment to help bridge gaps and deliver high-quality, innovative care closer to where patients live.

“Sutter Health is addressing the health care needs of rural communities head-on by making targeted investments that expand access and close critical care gaps for patients,” said Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Sutter Health. “We’re not just increasing availability—we’re building a more sustainable, coordinated system of care that ensures patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time. These efforts reflect our not-for-profit mission, bringing specialty care, behavioral health, diagnostic services and a more comprehensive patient experience closer to home.”

Innovating Behavioral Health and Primary Care for Del Norte County

Sutter Coast Hospital will break ground today on its new Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment and Healing, or EmPATH, unit. The unit leverages a nationally recognized care model designed to provide a more supportive and calming environment for individuals experiencing acute psychiatric crises. The unit aims to stabilize patients in a more appropriate setting, reducing unnecessary inpatient stays. The EmPATH unit, set to open in early 2026, will also improve wait times within the hospital’s emergency department.

"Our new EmPATH unit is an essential step forward in how we care for those with acute behavioral health needs," said Michael Lane, CEO of Sutter Coast Hospital. “It will become a safe haven for those in crisis, offering compassionate, timely care they can trust, and we are looking forward to providing this care to those in need in our community.”

“We are grateful for the collaboration with our partners, including the county’s behavioral health branch and local first responders, in supporting the EmPATH proposal that helped secure the Proposition 1 funding for this project. Sutter Health is proud to align with local and state leaders and their vision for expanding behavioral health access and strengthening services,” added Matt White, M.D., chair of Sutter Health’s Behavioral Health Service Line.

Sutter has also closed escrow on a 18,000 square-foot building across the street from the hospital that will expand access to primary care, urgent care and rehabilitation services. Construction is set to begin the first quarter of 2026 with plans to occupy the space by the first quarter of 2027.

Additionally, workforce recruitment and retention are essential to Sutter’s efforts to expand care access. Workforce housing is just one growing need for health care professionals, especially in rural areas. The Sutter system is committed to exploring affordable housing initiatives, starting in Crescent City, as well as other potential solutions that can further enhance recruitment and retention. Sutter closed escrow on more than 6.5 acres of land to develop for workforce housing, that will support the additional primary care, urgent care and rehabilitation services, as well as the physician residency program.

$17.5 million has been approved to date to support planning for these two projects.

“These efforts are all a part of Sutter Health’s goal to be the best place to work, to receive care and to practice medicine,” said Thomas. "We are proud to create opportunities that strengthen our communities, our people and health care system for generations to come.”

New Care Center Helps Close Access Gap in Lake County Community

Sutter Health is also investing $5.5 million to build a new 6,900-square-foot care center in Lake County’s Hidden Valley Lake—long known as a health care desert with limited options for care. The new site will help address provider shortages and reduce long appointment wait times. When it opens in June 2026, the care center will offer urgent care, primary care, on-site lab and X-ray services, and rotating specialty care in cardiology, OB/Gyn and orthopedics.

“Currently, Lake County has only 12 primary care clinicians serving more than 67,000 residents – a shortage that contributes to wait times of up to six months for new patient appointments,” said Timothy Stephens, CEO of Sutter Lakeside Hospital, which will oversee the new care center. “This new site brings care closer to home for residents of Hidden Valley Lake and the surrounding communities and is projected to serve 3,000 new patients each year. It will also bring the strength and expertise of Sutter Health into this market – connecting more patients to an integrated system of care that includes urgent, primary and specialty services. That means earlier diagnoses, better management of chronic conditions and improved long-term health for the region.”

“This care center helps close critical care gaps by expanding access to both primary and urgent care,” said Elyse Donald, M.D. “We expect to serve 11,000 patients annually – a 30% increase over what we’re able to see today. That kind of reach allows us to deliver more timely, comprehensive care and make meaningful progress toward improving health outcomes in our community.”

Sutter’s Strong Track Record in Supporting Rural Health Care

As a not-for-profit health system, Sutter Health is committed to helping close health care gaps—especially in rural communities. Sutter’s investments in Del Norte and Lake counties are the latest examples of the system’s efforts to provide care that is aligned with local community health needs that can also have a ripple effect on the overall health and well-being of those throughout California.

Dynamic Physician Residency Programs
Sutter Health is investing in physician residency programs to address shortages and increase training pathways in remote areas so more patients can benefit from greater access to high-quality care. This includes a recent accreditation for a Family Medicine and Rural Residency Program at Sutter Coast Hospital, where residents will train in Crescent City during their second and third years, with experiences in both the hospital and a continuity clinic. The three-year program will begin recruiting residents in Fall 2025 with the goal to train six residents annually, focusing on two residents per year. The program will launch in 2026.
Sutter Health also established its federally supported Family Medicine Rural Residency Program in rural Amador County. Physician residents care for patients inside the Sutter Family Medicine Continuity Clinic in Jackson, along with rotations at Sutter Amador Hospital.

Innovative Tech and Telehealth Options
By leveraging telehealth and other technologies, Sutter teams are supporting timely access to high-quality care to even the most remote communities.
In collaboration with Concert Health, Sutter enhanced behavioral telehealth care services by connecting patients who report a behavioral health concern to their primary care provider with Concert Health via phone or video within 24 to 48 hours to monitor symptoms and offer appropriate support. The service is particularly important in rural Lakeport and Crescent City, where it is difficult to recruit and retain mental health providers, leaving patients with fewer options.
Through around-the-clock virtual support, Sutter’s telestroke program helps emergency department and hospital-based medical teams across Northern California, including those rural communities, deliver faster, clinically guided stroke treatment. Since 2023, Sutter’s telestroke program has provided nearly 3,000 stroke consultations at its rural and remote hospitals – more than 1,600 of which involved confirmed strokes or brain bleeds.
Sutter’s eICU monitors and helps care for patients in 20 Sutter hospitals for more than 20 years. It is a sophisticated telemonitoring program that supports critically ill patients in even the smallest communities with 24/7, remote access to an expert team of Sutter specialized doctors and nurses who collaborate with bedside staff. Each year, Sutter’s eICU treats an average of more than 3,400 patients who are based in rural and remote locations.

Building a More Sustainable Rural Health Care Workforce

Beyond expanding health care services, Sutter Health is looking to address broader challenges affecting rural communities. Workforce housing is just one growing need for health care professionals. The system is committed to exploring affordable housing initiatives, starting in Crescent City, as well as other potential solutions that can further enhance recruitment and retention.

About Sutter Health

Sutter Health is a not-for-profit health care system dedicated to providing comprehensive care throughout California. Committed to community partnerships and innovative, high-quality patient care, Sutter Health is pursuing a bold new plan to reach more people and make excellent health care more connected and accessible. Currently serving nearly 3.5 million patients, thanks to our dedicated team of more than 57,000 employees and clinicians, and 12,000+ affiliated physicians, with a unified focus on expanding care to serve more patients.

Sutter delivers exceptional and affordable care through its hospitals, medical groups, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care clinics, telehealth, home health and hospice services. Dedicated to transforming health care, at Sutter Health, getting better never stops.

Learn more about how Sutter Health is transforming health care at sutterhealth.org and vitals.sutterhealth.org.

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Liz Madison
Sutter Health
916-396-5156
liz.madison@sutterhealth.org

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