City: Santa Barbara, CA

Category: Health Care

Telephone: (805) 681-7500

Description: In October 1998, Santa Barbara witnessed the merger of two of the oldest medical groups in the region: Sansum Medical Clinic and Santa Barbara Medical Clinic. The parent organization is now called Sansum–Santa Barbara Medical Foundation Clinic and serves in an administrative capacity for the newly formed medical group of more than 140 physicians. Sansum Medical Clinic was established in 1924 by William David Sansum, MD, who is widely credited as the first American to successfully isolate, produce, and administer insulin to treat diabetes. For decades, Sansum Medical Clinic has enjoyed a local, regional, national, and international reputation as a leading health care provider for medical evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment. Santa Barbara Medical Clinic was founded in 1921 by three physicians. They succeeded in forming a carefully designed group practice to make comprehensive specialty care available to all segments of Santa Barbara at a time when solo practitioners provided most of the care. In 1973 the physician-­owners entrusted the clinic’s assets, buildings, administrative operations, and contractual agreements to the non-­profit Santa Barbara Medical Foundation Clinic. The physician group kept the name Santa Barbara Clinic, Inc., and was retained by the foundation as a multispecialty physician group to administer health services. In a nutshell, the merger of these two groups means that you are likely to find excellent health care that matches your needs, no matter what ails you or what type of health plan you have.