Amador County – A group of local Emergency Room doctors on Monday donated $50,000 to Sutter Amador Hospital for the expansion project under way at the SAH Emergency Department.

Doctor Paul Beatty, a member of Valley Emergency Physicians Group, and a long-time ER doctor at Sutter Amador Hospital, and the donating group includes eight doctors who all work at the Jackson Emergency Room. Beatty said the partnership met and discussed the donation as a way to give back to the community and improve the quality of care at SAH Emergency Department.

Beatty said the Emergency Department now operates with six beds and it can cause patients to have to wait for a very long time. He said that is insufficient, and the donation will help the hospital reach the Stage 4 of the project, when it will have 14 beds in the Emergency Department and wait times for patients will go down and they will be able to give better service to patients. The expansion is slated to be completed at the end of this year.

Anne Platt, CEO of the Sutter Amador Hospital Foundation, and Board members Loretta Porteous and Jody Boetzer, accepted a ceremonial check from Doctor Beatty and four of the other Doctors on Monday outside the Sutter Amador Hospital Emergency Department entrance.

The local members of the Valley Emergency Physicians Group, who practice medicine at Sutter Amador Emergency Department, include Doctors Paul Beatty, Sean Brady, Brad Chew, Steven Gabaeff, Drew Hood, Ron Hood, Michael Juby and Kurt Popke.

Beatty jokingly said he “leaned on” his associates in the Group, but he said they met and had a partnership discussion, in their decision to make the donation. He said he argued that they make the $50,000 donation over five years, and Sutter Amador Hospital graciously accepted the donation.

Beatty said he told his associated that it is only $10,000 a year, and broken down over months, it is a couple hundred dollars a month. He said the money is generated in the community and it stays in the community, and the decision was easy for them to assist with the project to help increase the quality of service at the Sutter Amador Hospital Emergency Department.

CEO Anne Platt said the hospital is very thankful to the physicians group for their donation. Beatty said the administration and the physicians at Sutter Amador Hospital are very close to one another in their view of the needs of the Emergency Department.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.