Largest gift in organization’s history fuels expansion and reinforces anonymous donor’s commitment to transformative healthcare partnerships
Sutter Health Charity Donation
Northern California, June 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sutter Health today announced an unprecedented $110 million philanthropic gift from a long-standing anonymous donor — the largest in the not-for-profit health system’s history. This historic donation will accelerate Sutter Health’s strategic expansion and innovation initiatives, reinforcing its vision to deliver high-quality, comprehensive and accessible care to communities across Northern California.
“We are incredibly excited and grateful to receive this generous donation,” said Warner Thomas, President and CEO of Sutter Health. “Extraordinary generosity like this allows us to create a lasting, positive impact in the lives of our patients and change and save lives. It ensures everyone who walks through our doors receives the best care possible. We’re looking forward to putting this gift to work — advancing cutting-edge technology, building state-of-the-art facilities and delivering an exceptional care experience across Silicon Valley and surrounding communities.”
This donation will accelerate Sutter Health’s efforts to expand access and reduce wait times in growing communities with rising demand for comprehensive healthcare services. It supports Sutter’s broader initiative to bring high-quality, timely care closer to home for more patients across Northern California.
“This extraordinary gift represents more than generosity — it represents a legacy of trust, partnership and belief in our shared goal of ensuring that every patient has convenient access to the care they need,” said Raya Elias-Petros, Sutter Health’s Chief Philanthropy Officer. “We have a robust plan underway to reach more people and make exceptional, comprehensive healthcare easier to access. The donor has a longstanding commitment to transformative change and believes in the power of community partnerships to drive impact.”
This historic donation is a powerful reflection of the compelling vision of Sutter Health, its philanthropy team and the organization’s momentum, following a record-breaking fundraising year in 2024 thanks to the generous contributions from many donors, big and small.
In the Silicon Valley region, the gift will support expanding access to integrated, whole-person care across one of California’s most dynamic communities. In collaboration with the region’s 95-year-old Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group (PAFMG), Sutter is creating a regional healthcare system that will be equipped to offer a full spectrum of ambulatory services to a growing number of patients across Silicon Valley and the surrounding areas — from primary and specialty care, mental health care, to imaging, lab and diagnostic services, ambulatory surgery and more. Hundreds of new physicians, advanced practice clinicians and employees will also be added to support this patient care expansion.
“We’re building the future of healthcare in the Greater Silicon Valley and across the region—expanding access, advancing innovative care, and delivering the full range of services people need to live healthier lives,” said Kurt VandeVort, M.D., CEO of Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group. “We’re working to bring on several hundred new physicians and clinicians to care for hundreds of thousands more patients by 2030. Philanthropic donations like this one are a powerful force in making this vision a reality—accelerating our ability to grow, innovate and ensure world-class care is available to more people, closer to home.”
“We are seeing increasing demand for accessible, compassionate specialty health care including mental health — right where our patients already receive their primary care,” said Dr. Elizabeth Vilardo, Sutter Health’s Strategic and Philanthropy Chief Medical Officer. “Our organization is proud to make expanding personalize care options a priority, ensuring that our services are not only accessible, but rooted in clinical excellence.”
About Sutter Health
Sutter Health is a not-for-profit, people-centered healthcare system providing comprehensive care throughout California. Sutter Health is committed to community partnerships, and innovative, high-quality patient care. Today, Sutter Health is pursuing a bold new plan to reach more people and make excellent healthcare more connected and accessible. The health system’s 57,000+ staff and clinicians and 12,000+ affiliated physicians currently serve more than 3 million patients with a focus on expanding opportunities to serve patients, people and communities better. Sutter Health provides exceptional, affordable care through its hospitals, medical groups, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care clinics, telehealth, home health and hospice services. Dedicated to transforming healthcare, at Sutter Health, getting better never stops.
Learn more about how Sutter Health is transforming healthcare at sutterhealth.org and vitals.sutterhealth.org.
About Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group
Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group (PAFMG) is one of the largest multi-specialty medical groups in the country, made up of over 2,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians in 40+ specialties, in practices throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our organization is nationally recognized for our excellence with multiple awards for quality of care, innovation, and leadership. PAFMG is affiliated with Palo Alto Medical Foundation, a not-for-profit health care organization, providing operational and administrative support, including the latest technology, allowing physicians to focus on delivering exceptional patient care.
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- Sutter Health Charity Donation
CONTACT: Jerome Hubbard Sutter Health 800-428-7377 jerome.hubbard@sutterhealth.org
