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 Coast Hospital just broke ground this June 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.

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.

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.

As a not-for-profit health system, Sutter Health said it 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.