What You Should Know:
– Sutter Health and GE HealthCare announced a seven-year strategic partnership, called a Care Alliance, to enhance access to innovative imaging services and create a more seamless and coordinated experience for clinicians and patients across the Sutter Health system.
– The collaboration, one of GE HealthCare’s largest enterprise strategic partnerships, will bring advanced imaging technology and digital solutions to communities throughout California.
Expanding Access to Essential Diagnostic Care
The Care Alliance aims to improve patient care by:
- Increasing access to care: Expanding diagnostic imaging services across California, particularly in underserved communities.
- Enhancing patient experience: Providing convenient access to advanced imaging technology and faster scan results.
- Improving clinical outcomes: Enabling earlier diagnoses and more timely treatment through cutting-edge technology.
- Promoting consistency: Delivering consistent and high-quality care across all Sutter Health facilities.
Accelerated Technology Program
A key focus of the partnership is an accelerated technology program that will deploy GE HealthCare’s latest AI-powered imaging solutions across the Sutter Health system. This includes:
- Advanced imaging modalities: PET/CT, SPECT/CT, MRI, CT, X-ray, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound.
- Digital and AI advancements: Improving image quality, reducing scan times, and enhancing diagnostic accuracy.
- Innovative solutions: GE HealthCare’s Omni Legend PET/CT, StarGuide SPECT/CT, Vscan Air™ SL ultrasound with Caption AI™ software, and AIR™ Recon DL MR image reconstruction.
Expanding Care Delivery
The partnership also supports Sutter Health’s broader access strategy, which includes:
- Opening new care sites: Expanding access to care in Northern California.
- Developing advanced service lines: Enhancing specialty care in areas such as heart and vascular care, cancer care, and neurosciences.
- Building new facilities: Constructing a new cancer center and flagship campuses with specialized care focuses.
Investing in Workforce Development
The Care Alliance includes a significant investment in workforce development programs, with a focus on:
- Training and education: Providing ongoing learning opportunities for technologists, nurses, and physicians through Sutter Health University.
- Talent development: Creating a scalable program that includes community outreach, collaboration with radiologic technologist schools, and talent acquisition and retention initiatives.
- Addressing clinician shortages: Supporting Sutter Health’s clinical staffing needs and developing the next generation of healthcare professionals.
“We are committed to support Sutter Health in its mission and have deep respect for their openness to a collaboration that meets the heart of their needs,” said Catherine Estrampes, U.S. and Canada president & CEO at GE HealthCare. “This Care Alliance is a customized, clinician-focused approach aligned with our shared goals. It was jointly designed with expert assessment of how we provide our latest imaging technology in the right settings to serve patients most efficiently throughout their care journey, closer to home. We look forward to supporting Sutter Health physicians and clinicians in delivering enhanced patients’ outcomes.”
