Sutter Health Names Dr. Sumbella Baqai Chief Medical Executive of Sutter Eden Medical Center

EMERYVILLE, Calif. - Sutter Health has named Sumbella Baqai, M.D., chief medical executive of Sutter Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, Calif., effective Oct. 12, 2026.

In her new role, Dr. Baqai will serve as the senior physician executive for Eden Medical Center and partner closely with Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Nurse Executive Jonathan Judy-del Rosario to support clinical excellence, physician engagement, quality improvement and patient-centered care.

Dr. Baqai returns to Eden Medical Center after serving as chief medical executive at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital since 2024. A longtime Eden hospitalist and physician leader, she first joined the medical center in 2012 and has held numerous leadership positions since then, including assistant medical director for utilization management and physician advisor, chair of the utilization management committee, vice chair of medicine, chair of the inpatient medicine quality review committee and chair of the department of medicine.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Baqai back to Sutter Eden Medical Center," said Rob Nordgren, M.D., chief medical officer of Sutter Health's Greater San Francisco & East Bay Division. "She returns with the perspective of a successful chief medical executive at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital and the deep understanding of Eden that comes from more than a decade of caring for patients and serving in physician leadership roles there. Her collaborative leadership style, commitment to quality and safety, and focus on patient-centered care make her exceptionally well suited to lead Eden's medical staff and help shape the future of care in the community."

Throughout her career, Dr. Baqai has led initiatives focused on improving care delivery and organizational performance. She has spearheaded efforts to optimize patient length of stay and early discharges, implemented and strengthened multidisciplinary bedside rounds, contributed to reducing hospital readmissions and helped advance improvements in congestive heart failure outcomes. She has also played a key role in physician engagement, accreditation readiness and hospital-wide quality initiatives.

Dr. Baqai earned her medical degree from King Edward Medical College at the University of Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan. She completed her internship and internal medicine residency at Alameda Health System's Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus in Oakland.