Martin Brotman, MD, a trailblazer in the Sutter Health system, died Dec. 20. He was 81.
Dr. Brotman practiced gastroenterology and internal medicine. In 1995, he was appointed president and CEO of the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, which is now part of Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health. Dr. Brotman is credited with turning around the medical center's finances and improving employee morale.
California Pacific Medical Center became the bellwether of the Sutter chain. In 2009, Dr. Brotman was named the first CEO of Sutter's West Bay Region. At the time, the region comprised eight hospitals and two multispecialty medical groups.
In 2012, Dr. Brotman became Sutter's first senior vice president for education, research and philanthropy. He held that role until his semi-retirement in 2015.
He was a driving force behind Sutter's new Van Ness Campus hospital and adjoining medical building, which opened in 2019.
Dr. Brotman was elected president of the American Gastroenterological Association in 2002, and was awarded the association's Julius Friedenwald Medal in 2008. He received the Humanitarian Award from the San Francisco NAACP in 2011.
Read his full obituary here.