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Ranked #1 in Metro San Diego, again
- Construction officially begins on UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center in January and official groundbreaking ceremony is held in April. (See Fact Sheet: Facilities.)
- UC San Diego Health System was ranked among the nation’s best in U.S. News & World Report’s 23rd annual “America’s Best Hospitals” issue. The magazine ranked UC San Diego Health System #1 in the San Diego metropolitan area and #5 in California.
- UC San Diego Health System has been ranked in the annual U.S. News & World Report‘s “Best Hospitals” issue for 19 years and is consistently ranked among the best in multiple specialties. Recognized in four specialties: geriatrics (#37), nephrology (#32), pulmonology (#22) and urology (#37) and ranked as “high-performing” in cancer; cardiology & heart surgery; diabetes & endocrinology; ear, nose & throat; gastroenterology, gynecology, neurology & neurosurgery; orthopedics; psychiatry; and rheumatology.
- UC San Diego Health System’s Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center was named one of the nation’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals for 2013 by Truven Health Analytics.
- UC San Diego Health System’s Bariatric and Metabolic Institute was recognized as a fully accredited Level 1 Bariatric Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons Bariatric Surgery Center Network (ACS BSCN).
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2012 Continued
- UC San Diego Health System’s Center for Transplantation was recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as a heart-lung transplant Center of Excellence.
- UC San Diego Health System’s Birth Center, the only place of its kind on the West Coast where women can have a natural birth experience with minimal medical intervention within a hospital setting, welcomed baby number 4,000 on August 6, 2012.
- UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center was one of the first oncology practices in the nation to be recognized by the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) certification program — a new initiative to certify oncology practices that meet rigorous standards for high-quality cancer care.
- The Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences (RMAS) became an official academic department within UC San Diego School of Medicine.
- A transplant team at UC San Diego Health System successfully performed the West Coast’s first ex-vivo liver resection.
- A UC San Diego Health System surgeon was the first in the United States to successfully implant the new FDA-approved LINX™ Reflux Management System in a patient suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
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Magnet Status, Best Hospitals and More
- UC San Diego Health System was granted Magnet® status by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The Magnet Recognition Program recognizes health care organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in nursing practice.
- The Joint Commission approved Disease Specific Care (DSC) certification for Ventricular Assist Device (VAD). Fewer than 110 facilities are approved for VAD destination therapy. UC San Diego Health System is one of only two San Diego-based health systems and one of only eight California-based health systems offering this option.
- UC San Diego Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center officially opened its doors as San Diego’s first and only dedicated cardiovascular center, combining groundbreaking research and lifesaving care under one roof.
- The UC San Diego Medical Education and Telemedicine building opened. This new, stateof- the-art building houses the Center for the Future of Surgery, ones of the largest, most comprehensive training facilities for surgeons in the world.
- The East Campus Office Building opened, providing space and support for clinical trials.
(See Fact Sheet: Facilities.)
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2011 Continued
- The Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine facility opened; it is designed to support both individual and collaborative team research. It brings together five of the world’s top research institutions — UC San Diego, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, The Scripps Research Institute and La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology. (See Fact Sheet: Facilities.)
- UC San Diego Health System achieved Stage 7 of electronic medical record (EMR) adoption — a ranking devised by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics group; achieved by only 1.1 percent of hospitals in the United States in 2011.
- UC San Diego Health System performs the West Coast’s first implant of the world’s only FDA-approved total artificial heart in a four-hour procedure.
- Steve and Lisa Altman pledged $10 million towards the planned Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute building in La Jolla, which will include research laboratories and clinical research space to support UC San Diego medical and bioengineering investigators. It is slated for completion in 2015.
- UC San Diego Health System was ranked first in San Diego in U.S. News & World Report’s first-ever “Best Hospitals” metro rankings — a prestigious ranking that requires a hospital to score in the top 25 percent among its peers in at least one of 16 medical specialties.
- UC San Diego School of Medicine was among 27 research institutions selected across North America to be part of the Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network, funded by the National Cancer Institute, to establish a network of top academic immunologists to conduct multicenter research on agents that boost patients’ immune systems in order to fight their cancer.
- The National Institutes of Health awarded UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers an inaugural grant designed to fast-track development of a novel Alzheimer’s disease therapy as part of its $50 million Blueprint for Neuroscience Research.
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Ranked in Nation's Top 15 Major Teaching Hospitals, Jacobs pledge $75 Million
- UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center was designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology — a designation given to fewer than 6 percent of the imaging centers in California.
- UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center began participating in a statewide University of California collaboration called the ATHENA Breast Health Network. This groundbreaking project involved 150,000 women who will be screened for breast cancer and followed for decades through the five UC medical centers.
- Joan and Irwin Jacobs pledged $75 million to build UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla, which will include four hospitals: Thornton Hospital, the hospital for advanced surgery, the hospital for cancer care, and the hospital for women and infants.
- UC San Diego Health System was listed as one of the nation’s top 15 major teaching hospitals by Thomson Reuters for the first time.
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2010 Continued
- UC San Diego Health Sciences and its Clinical Translational Research Institute (CTRI) partners received a $37.2 million Clinical and Translational Science Award grant to speed up the development of laboratory discoveries into effective treatments for patients.
- UC San Diego Health System received a $15.3 million Beacon Community Collaborative award on behalf of a broad collaboration of San Diego health care providers and other community partners — one of only 17 communities across the country selected for this award, designed to pilot the wide-scale use of health information technology and health information exchanges to improve quality of care and efficiency.
- UC San Diego Health System was named a Designated Hospital by Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) — the only national geriatric initiative dedicated to improving the care of older hospitalized adults.
- UC San Diego Health System surgeons achieved what is believed to be the nation’s first stomach reduction via the mouth. This novel weight loss procedure is known as a sleeve gastrectomy.
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Leading Edge Procedures
- UC San Diego Health System was the first hospital in region to offer microwave technology to destroy liver tumors.
- The Breast Center at Moores Cancer Center became the first hospital-based program in California to receive accreditation from the National Accreditation Program of Breast Centers, a program administered by the American College of Surgeons.
- Surgeons removed a patient’s diseased kidney through a single incision hidden in the belly button. This groundbreaking procedure was the 15th in a series of single-incision clinical trial surgeries performed by the UC San Diego Center for the Future of Surgery.
- The San Diego Epigenome Center at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at UC San Diego was established and is one of four National Institutes of Health (NIH) Reference Epigenome Mapping Centers (REMC).
- UC San Diego had more Alzheimer’s disease researchers on the top 100 list than any other institution in the world, according to the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
- The Comprehensive Kidney Stone Center was established. The first program of its kind in southern California, it is dedicated to the prevention, advanced surgical treatment and research of kidney stone disease.
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An Extremely Busy Year
- Surgeons at the Center for the Future of Surgery were the first in the United States to remove an appendix and a gallbladder through the mouth, and the first in the U.S. to remove an appendix through the vagina. UC San Diego Health System is leading the way in minimally invasive surgery techniques, such as natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES).
- UC San Diego’s new Institute of Engineering in Medicine is created.
- UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest celebrates expansion of Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
- The UC Regents approve planning for a new health sciences biomedical research building in La Jolla.
- UC San Diego Health System and the Salk Institute establish a center to formally explore the origins of humanity.
- Roger Tsien, PhD, professor of pharmacology, is one of three scientists awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- UC San Diego Health System received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Gold Performance Achievement Award for the first time for using evidence-based guidelines to provide the best possible heart disease and stroke care to patients. (Awarded again in 2009, 2010 and 2011.)
- UC San Diego Health System was the first hospital in California to enroll patients in a multicenter clinical trial to examine the safety and feasibility of administering adult stems cells to treat congestive heart failure.
- The Stroke DOC trial proved the effectiveness of remote-site diagnosis of stroke patients through the use of telemedicine.
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Further Plans of Expansion
- UC Regents approved planning for new inpatient bed tower to expand UC San Diego Health System to La Jolla.
- Ground was broken for the new Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center and the expansion of Thornton Hospital in La Jolla.
- The School of Medicine expanded its class size from 122 to 134 students.
- One of six Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) in the country was established at UC San Diego Health System.
- UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center was one of the first medical facilities in the nation to offer the SAVI™ breast brachytherapy applicator.
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Welcome Skaggs School of Pharmacy
and Center for Regenerative Medicine
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences officially opened its doors.
(See Fact Sheet: Facilities.)
- UC San Diego Health System received prestigious international recognition as a Baby-Friendly birth facility. The award recognizes birth facilities that actively encourage breastfeeding as the primary source of newborn nutrition. The UC San Diego Medical Center - Hillcrest is now one of only 110 birth facilities in the United States with this designation.
- UC San Diego Health System joins with the Burnham Institute, Salk Institute and Scripps Research Institute to form the San Diego Center for Regenerative Medicine.
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UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
Opens Its Brand New Doors
- Dedication ceremonies marked the opening of the new Rebecca and John Moores UC San Diego Cancer Center building in La Jolla (now known as UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center).
(See Fact Sheet: Facilities.)
- Skaggs Pharmaceutical Sciences Building opened with state-of-the art lab and instructional facilities for UC San Diego’s pharmacy program.
- Groundbreaking was held for La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology and Gemini Science.
- $10 million leadership gift from the Sulpizio family supports the new cardiovascular center project.
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Stroke Center Recognised and Further Expansion Plans
- UC San Diego Health System Stroke Center became the first in San Diego to receive a Gold Seal from The Joint Commission.
- UC San Diego Health System Stroke Center was first in San Diego to receive certification as a Primary Stroke Center.
- $30 million gift from the Skaggs Institute for Research was given to the pharmacy school.
- UC Regents approved planning for a new cardiovascular center and the expansion of Thornton Hospital in La Jolla.
- UC San Diego Health System dedicated new state-of-the-art glaucoma and retina centers to expand the Shiley Eye Center complex.
- Interventional cardiologists performed the first FDA-approved carotid stent to prevent stroke in San Diego County.
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New Buildings on Campus
- Ground was broken on the new School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences building.
- UC San Diego Health System named new biomedical research building on the School of Medicine campus the Leichtag Family Foundation Biomedical Research Building. (See Fact Sheet: Facilities.)
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New UC San Diego Pharmacy School
- Palmer Taylor, PhD, chair of pharmacology, was named founding dean of the new UC San Diego Pharmacy School; the first class enters pharmacy school.
- UC San Diego Health System dedicated center for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
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National Recognition and Novel Surgery
- UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center was designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. Moores Cancer Center is now the only NCI-approved comprehensive cancer center in San Diego and one of only 41 in the nation.
- UC San Diego Health System team performed historic first surgery in an experimental protocol using gene therapy to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
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Teaming Up and Grand Donations
- UC San Diego’s Department of Pediatrics established a formal affiliation with Children’s Hospital and Health Center.
- $20 million gift from Rebecca and John Moores boosts philanthropic efforts toward a new cancer center facility.
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Joint Ventures and Grand Openings
- UC San Diego Health System and Sharp HealthCare combined forces to establish a joint Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program that is managed by both organizations.
- UC San Diego Health System opened the region’s first Women’s Incontinence Center.
- UC San Diego Health System opened a new family-centered birthing unit called The Birth Center.
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Holding Strong
- UC San Diego Blood and Marrow Transplant Program was designated as the only National Marrow Donor Program-approved transplant center in San Diego.
- UC San Diego Thornton Hospital introduced the Hospitalist Program.
- UC San Diego Health System team performed its 1,000th pulmonary thromboendartectomy procedure (PTE).
- The Women’s Pelvic Medicine Center was established, becoming the region’s first center dedicated exclusively to the diagnosis and treatment of pelvic floor disorders.
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Congratulations on 25 Years!
- More than 100 UC San Diego Health System physicians were included in The Best Doctors in America: Pacific Region 1996-1997 published by Woodward/White.
- UC San Diego School of Medicine celebrated the 25th anniversary of the charter class graduation.
- UCSD School of Medicine established a new center for AIDS research.
- The Cancer Center was designated a Specialized Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute.
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Grants and Twins
- UC San Diego School of Medicine received a $2.6 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
- Conjoined twins who were born attached at the chest and abdomen were discharged from UC San Diego Health System after being separated.
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La Jolla Campus Expands
- The Anne and Abraham Ratner Children’s Eye Center opened as an extension of the Shiley Eye Center, providing specialized care for children.
- Construction of the Cellular and Molecular Medicine East (CMM East) Building was completed.
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Housing and Transplant Breakthroughs
- The Bannister Family House in Hillcrest opened, providing affordable lodging for families of patients from outside the area.
- UC San Diego Health System Heart/Lung Transplant team performed the first infant heart transplant in San Diego history.
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La Jolla Expansions
- The John M. and Sally B. Thornton Hospital and Perlman Ambulatory Care Center open in La Jolla.
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Great Transplantation!
- The first pancreas-kidney transplant in the region is performed on a man with diabetes and kidney failure at UC San Diego Health System.
- Several thousand staff members, physicians and community members attend opening ceremonies for the completion of the UC San Diego Medical Center - Hillcrest expansion project.
- Transplant surgeons perform UC San Diego’s 1,000th kidney transplant surgery and celebrate the Kidney Transplant Center’s 25th anniversary.
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Expansion
- Region’s first double-lung transplant is performed at UC San Diego Health System.
- The Donald P. and Darlene V. Shiley Eye Center opens, consolidating patient care and research programs in a state-of-the-art facility.
- Stein Clinical Research Building opened. Established with a gift from Sam and Rose Stein, it houses the university’s leading-edge research laboratory and includes the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging. (See Sheet: Facilities.)
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Inaugural Surgery
- First heart and heart-lung transplants are performed at UC San Diego Health System.
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Welcome Stuart Jamieson, MD
- Heart-lung Transplant Program is established with the recruitment of Stuart Jamieson, MD, an innovator in the field.
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Liver Transplant Program Begins
- Liver Transplant Program is inaugurated.
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National AIDS Research Center
- UC San Diego Health System is designated as one of eight national centers for research and treatment of AIDS.
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The First Level 1 Trauma Center for San Diego County
- Hyperbaric Medicine Center opens.
- The Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment is established.
- UC San Diego Health System is designated the only Level I Trauma Center for San Diego County.
- UC San Diego Health System was designated as one of the original five national Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers by the National Institute on Aging.
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Welcome Stroke Center
- University Hospital begins operating a Stroke Hot Line; stroke unit is dedicated.
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Lease to Own
- UC purchases University Hospital and adjacent County Mental Health complex from San Diego County.
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Midwives and Helicopters
- UC San Diego Health System’s Nurse Midwife program becomes the first in California to be fully accredited.
- The Life Flight helicopter-ambulance program is inaugurated.
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A Year of Development
- The UC San Diego Health System Outpatient Center is completed.
- The Cancer Center was designated a Specialized Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute.
- The Teratogen Birth Defects Registry was made a statewide service.
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Regional Trauma Center
- The Regional Trauma Center opens.
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General Clinical Research Center
- The federally sponsored General Clinical Research Center is established.
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Regional Burn Center
- The Regional Burn Center opens.
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Firsts
- The first class enters the UC San Diego School of Medicine.
- San Diego’s first kidney transplant operation is performed at University Hospital.
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UC Leases University Hospital
- The University of California assumed the lease of the former county hospital, and began operating the newly named University Hospital as its primary clinical teaching facility (now known as UC San Diego Health System). (See Fact Sheet: Facilities.)
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Welcome UC San Diego School of Medicine
- University of California Regents granted approval for a medical school at the San Diego campus.