[Updated: Tue., Sept. 2, 2025, 5:32 p.m.]
Sutter Health has responded to a wave of blowback the company received in reaction to a viral video, originally posted by a former healthcare worker at Sutter Health’s Pesetas Urgent Care clinic in Santa Barbara. The video, which spread quickly online over Labor Day weekend, shows multiple workers posing around what appears to be bodily fluids on an exam chair, with the caption that reads “guess the substance.”
The original video was posted to TikTok by an account called @angieuncut, run by a healthcare worker identified only by the first name, Angie. The account has since been locked, the username changed, and all videos deleted.
Screenshots of the video obtained by the Independent reveal a slideshow of six different images, the first of which show eight smiling workers in scrubs, with white words on the screen displaying the question: “Are patients allowed to leave you guys gifts?”
The first image is followed by five more photos of workers standing next to exam chairs stained with unknown bodily fluids. In one image, a nurse in pink scrubs smiles as she holds a thumbs-up sign; another woman in all blue scrubs bends over and sticks her tongue out near a stained exam chair; one blonde woman in thick-rimmed glasses smiles and points at another stain, as the words on the screen say “all shades and opacities.”
In the final image, a group of six workers in scrubs stand around an exam table. One woman is on top of the table, squatting with her hands in a praying position. Another woman has her left leg up on the table, her shoe inches away from a wet pool on the disposable paper sheet. Some appear to be holding back laughter as the message across the screen reads, “Make sure to leave your healthcare workers sweet gifts like these.”
Over the Labor Day weekend, the video gained thousands of likes on TikTok, and within hours a user posted the video on the Santa Barbara Reddit thread, which drew more than 500 comments within a day — many of which criticized the workers involved and called on Sutter Health to take disciplinary action.
Commenters called the post and the actions of the workers “dehumanizing,” “unprofessional and unethical,” and “childish behavior.” Some pointed out that the user, “Angie,” had previously posted similar content, including one photo of a toilet stall splattered with feces with a caption reading, “A great way to start my shift.”
On Instagram, users discovered Sutter Health had begun deleting comments on its official account. “Have you fired everyone who posted that TikTok making fun of patients?” one commenter wrote under an older post.
The clinic received a wave of one-star reviews on Yelp, some of which have already been deleted. One review called out the fact that the workers were “stupid enough to post these pictures with their faces.” “Makes me not trust their competence as medical professionals,” the reviewer wrote. “I am considering leaving Sansum as a whole after this … These are extremely cruel, genuinely soulless, heartless, and brainless people.”
According to a public statement released by Sutter Health on Tuesday morning, the videos were in fact taken at the Pesetas Urgent Care location in Santa Barbara, though Sutter Health representatives stated that the individual who posted the videos was “a former employee” who was not actively employed at the time the video was posted to TikTok.
“The trust and dignity of our patients always remain our top priority,” Sutter Health’s statement read. “We are deeply concerned about a disrespectful social media post made on a personal account by a former employee and we are conducting a full review in line with our policies.”
Sutter Health said the incident is under investigation, and that any other staff shown in the video, or otherwise associated with the content, have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation.
“The post goes against the values, professionalism, and respect we expect from all staff,” the company’s statement read. “We have strict policies to protect patient privacy and dignity and any behavior that disrespects those standards is unacceptable. The trust and dignity of our patients always remain at the center of everything we do.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect comments made from Sutter Health representatives stating that other staff members associated with the videos have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the company’s investigation into the incident.
You must be logged in to post a comment.