Presidio Trust to host free wellness events in partnership with Sutter Health

By Max Darrow

On a peaceful morning at the Presidio, Diana Simmons joined a group of strangers who showed up for a group yoga session.

“I think it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever done yoga,” she said.

As the group focused on their well-being, Simmons, the chief operating officer of the Presidio Trust, also had her mind on the Presidio’s well-being.

“Sutter Health’s partnership helps us fund this place and makes sure that all of these offerings are available to the public for free,” she said.

The Presidio and Sutter Health just entered a new partnership, which the organizations say is the first of its kind.

“It’s the first partnership between a nonprofit health care organization and a national park site,” Simmons said.

Moving forward, there will be free health and wellness events at the Presidio, including outdoor yoga and an outdoor wellness installation in 2027 through Sutter Health’s partnership with the San Francisco 49ers.

From Sutter Health’s standpoint, this will help improve accessibility for people to take proactive approaches to taking care of their health.

From the Presidio Trust’s standpoint, Simmons says this will provide a much-needed new source of revenue. The Presidio makes most of its money from residential and commercial real estate.

“Those are not enough revenue for us to get after some of the big, deferred maintenance challenges that we have,” Simmons said. “We have things like our utilities that we need to take care of that were left by the Army. It’s a lot of money to keep this place looking so beautiful and available to the public and safe.”

Dr. Nisha Patel is an internal medicine specialist at Sutter Health. She says people are craving things they can do to improve their health.

“The more physical activity an individual can get, for the most part, the better their overall health is going to be,” she said.

She is eager to begin prescribing patients time in the Presidio where she sees fit.

“There’s a lot of great data out there that shows health benefits from being out in nature – especially with physical activity,” she said. “We know that even just two hours a week out in nature can improve our mood and overall sense of well-being.”

The Presidio has a unique funding model. Simmons says the move will help them stretch their finances reach.

“We get almost 10 million visits in the park – that is a lot of people that we want to support with a beautiful and well-maintained place,” she said. “We have to earn all of our own revenue to do that.”

Leaders from both organizations hope this partnership is a model others can learn from.