UC DAVIS HEALTH
The UC Davis Rehabilitation Hospital , which will help stroke , spinal cord injury and complex surgery patients transition to care in their homes , is slated to open in 2023 . RENDERING COURTESY OF UC DAVIS HEALTH
region of the most important state in the United States ,” Lubarsky says of all the changes taking place at UC Davis Health .
With features such as negative-pressure rooms that prevent the spread of germs and the ability to close down the ventilation and scrub the air when smoke from wildfires blankets the valley , Lubarsky says the proposed California Tower would markedly change Northern California ’ s ability to handle whatever the next disaster might be .
It would also allow UC Davis Health ’ s staff , recognized as among the best in the country , to fulfill their full potential . “ We would have a building and facilities that are the equal to our physicians and nurses ,” Lubarsky says . “ Right now , we ’ re better than the buildings we practice in .”
LEVERAGING THE BRAIN TRUST UC Davis Medical Center is a “ tertiaryquaternary care ” institution , which means its primary focus is on providing a higher level of specialized and advanced care for patients who are referred to UC Davis Health by other hospitals that can ’ t offer that level of care . Lubarsky says UC Davis Health ’ s goal is to complete — rather than compete with — other health systems through its advanced programs , leading technology and the largest group of subspecialists ( doctors with particular expertise within a specialty , such as internal medicine ) in Northern California .
“ We want to take that incredible brain trust of physician experts and leverage what they do especially well and uniquely well to complement what our other colleagues — excellent physicians — do in their communities every day ,” Lubarsky says .
Expansion of UC Davis Health ’ s services in surrounding communities such as Rocklin and Folsom is also planned to increase capacity and help make care available closer to patients ’ homes , says Brad Simmons , chief administrator of the Medical Center and COO of UC Davis Health ’ s hospital division .
“ We ’ re always looking at different communities as we continue to serve more patients in these areas ,” Simmons says . “ We ’ re also looking at our facilities to say , how do we keep patients out of the hospital ? How do we move patients into areas that are more of an ambulatory environment — where we can best treat patients at that same high quality , but do it in an area that ’ s more efficient ? I think that ’ s where health care is definitely going .”
Simmons says UC Davis Health is rolling out what it is calling an “ anchor institution mission ,” which emphasizes working with local businesses and communities in mutually beneficial and sustainable ways . It also means addressing pressing community issues such as mental health and homelessness . The Medical Center receives the majority of patients in the area who arrive at emergency rooms in crisis .
“ We do see it as part of our role to be in those discussions , working with the city officials and the county officials and the other health systems , to try to address a systemic problem we have in our community ,” Simmons says . “ It is a very , very complex situation , but we are not going to walk away from it . We ’ re going to be at the table to help try to do what we can to solve it .”
Simmons says that although the UC Davis Health system has grown to treat patients from as far as southern Oregon and down the Central Valley , he likes to remind people that it still takes care of the neighborhoods around the Medical Center and strives to be a good partner in Sacramento .
18 comstocksmag . com | 2022