Washington Hospital joins forces with UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
San Francisco to provide local neonatal specialists at Special Care Nursery
Fremont, CA. April 16, 2014 - Babies born at Washington Hospital have access to some of the nation’s
finest pediatric care thanks to a new strategic relationship, which commenced
on March 15, with UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco.
The Hospital became an affiliate of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
San Francisco to provide southern Alameda County residents with local
access to a team of highly trained neonatologists who will staff the Washington
Special Care Nursery in Fremont. The Washington Special Care Nursery is
an intermediate intensive care unit with nine licensed beds for infants
requiring more intensive medical care. In June 2013, the Washington Township
Health Care District Board of Directors approved a broad, collaborative
relationship with UCSF with the goal of creating a comprehensive regional
health care network that serves both the current and future needs of the
District’s residents. This affiliation with UCSF to provide high
quality care to infants with special medical needs is the latest step
in Washington’s strategic relationship with UCSF.
“We’re pleased that babies who require a higher level of care
can be treated locally by specialists from UCSF, an institution with a
reputation for providing some of the best neonatal care in the country,”
said Nancy Farber, chief executive officer of Washington Hospital Healthcare
System. “The affiliation with our special care nursery is another
important step toward creating an integrated regional health care network
that provides the communities we serve with local access to the wide range
of resources of an internationally renowned academic medical center.”
The Washington Special Care Nursery has specially trained neonatal nurses
working with UCSF neonatologists to provide care to ill infants at Washington
Hospital. Among the participating UCSF physicians are Yao Sun, MD, PhD,
director of neonatal clinical programs at UCSF, and Gavin Jeffrey Henderson,
MD, PhD. Dr. Sun also serves as the medical director of the Washington
Special Care Nursery, and with Dr. Henderson, will provide inpatient consultation
at Washington Hospital. Additionally, the Hospital’s neonatal patients
who need more specialized care will have access to UCSF’s Benioff
Children’s Hospital specialists in San Francisco.
The affiliation also includes the pediatric hospitalist program in which
UCSF physicians will provide around-the-clock consultation for hospitalized
children at Washington, as well as consultation in the emergency department
and emergency response to the delivery room. “Working more closely
with Washington Hospital will provide opportunities to improve the effectiveness
of the care we deliver by making it easier for patients in Alameda County
to see UCSF physicians,” said Mark R. Laret, CEO of UCSF Medical
Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco. “This
relationship builds on our strategy of forming collaborations with community
physicians and hospitals in order to better serve patients throughout
Northern California.”
About Washington Township Health Care District
Washington Township Health Care District is governed by an elected board
of directors. Unlike a municipal or county hospital, Washington Hospital’s
operating expenses, research, community programs, and employee salaries
are funded by revenues generated through providing patient and other health
care services. Washington Hospital Healthcare System includes a 359 acute-care
bed hospital; the Taylor McAdam Bell Neuroscience Institute; The Gamma
Knife® Center; Washington Radiation Oncology Center; Washington Outpatient
Surgery Center; Washington Outpatient Rehabilitation Center; Washington
Outpatient Catheterization Laboratory; Washington Institute for Joint
Restoration and Research; the Institute for Minimally Invasive and Robotic
Surgery; and Washington West, a complex which houses Washington Women’s
Center, Outpatient Imaging Center, Sandy Amos R.N. Infusion Center, Washington
Urgent Care and additional outpatient hospital services and administrative
facilities.
About UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco creates an environment
where children and their families find compassionate care at the forefront
of scientific discovery, with more than 150 experts in 50 medical specialties
serving patients throughout Northern California and beyond. The hospital
admits about 5,000 children each year, including 2,000 babies born in
the hospital. For more information, visit http://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/.
About UCSF Medical Center
UCSF Medical Center
Consistently ranks as one of the top hospitals in the United States. Recognized
for innovative treatments, advanced technology, collaboration among health
care professionals and scientists, and a highly compassionate patient
care team, UCSF Medical Center serves as the academic medical center of
the University of California San Francisco. The medical center's nationally
preeminent programs include children's health, the brain and nervous
system, organ transplantation, women's health and cancer. It operates
as a self-supporting enterprise within UCSF and generates its own revenues
to cover the operating costs of providing patient care.