Sutter Health has agreed to acquire Hayashida Physical Therapy, a longtime provider of orthopedic and sports rehabilitation services in Santa Barbara County, the organization announced Tuesday.

The transition, expected to take effect in January, will bring Hayashida’s Santa Barbara clinic, at 319 Anacapa St., and Goleta clinic, at 271 N. Fairview Ave., into Sutter’s network.

Together with an existing site at 5385 Hollister Ave. in Goleta, the three locations will form Sutter’s Greater Central Coast Physical Therapy department.

Sutter Health, a nonprofit system that serves more than 3.5 million patients across California, expects the combined department to treat about 8,700 patients each year, with no changes expected for current patients or therapists.

“Physical therapy, like a lot of different services, is getting hard to get in Santa Barbara,” said Dr. Kurt Ransohoff, president of Sutter Health Greater Central Coast. “We’re hoping that by combining we’ll be able to improve recruitment in the future and offer more people those kinds of services.”

Dr. Maury Hayashida, who founded the practice in 2002, said in a statement that the move aligns with their “mutual ambitions to continue developing clinical excellence while creating new access points” for care.

He called the practice’s orthopedic residency program the “first of its kind in Santa Barbara County,” and said it will continue and expand under Sutter, helping retain physical therapy talent on the Central Coast.

“Better clinicians contribute to better outcomes, which help people live better lives,” Hayashida said.

Sutter officials said the combined department will continue to focus on post-surgical rehabilitation and support services for athletes and patients recovering from orthopedic procedures, including outpatient joint replacement and other minimally invasive surgeries performed at the Foothill Surgery Center at Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara.

The acquisition is intended not only to expand access to care, but to preserve the legacy of a trusted local provider and maintain continuity for patients.

“Hayashida has been viewed as a very excellent provider of physical therapy, and we’re just delighted that we can join forces with them,” Ransohoff said.