UCSD Medical Center
Encyclopedia
UC San Diego Health System is an academic health system in San Diego and has been in operation since 1966. It is composed of UC San Diego Medical Center, Thornton Hospital, Moores Cancer Center, Shiley Eye Center, Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center and Jacobs Medical Center (opening in 2015), as well as other primary and specialty practices of UC San Diego Medical Group located throughout southern California
.
The Medical Center and Thornton Hospital operate under one license with a combined licensed capacity of 552 beds. The mission of UC San Diego Health System is to provide excellent and compassionate patient care, advance medical discoveries and educate the health care professionals of tomorrow. The Medical Center houses the UC San Diego Stroke Center, the area’s only Regional Burn Center and is one of only two Level I Trauma Centers in San Diego County. It includes a Level III neonatal intensive care unit
and is the only hospital-based Birth Center in the area.
, 21st in Psychiatry
, 22nd in Diabetes & Endocrionology, 45th in Orthopedics
and 46th in Geriatrics
.
UC San Diego Health System has been widely recognized for its health care services.
, 18th in rheumatology
, 30th in kidney disease, 30th in gynecology, 39th in cancer
, and 50th in ear, nose, and throat
. In 2009, the UC San Diego Medical Center once again was named among the best in the nation by US News and World Report in six specialty areas. UC San Diego Medical Center ranked 14th in respiratory diseases, 20th in psychiatry
, 21st in rheumatology, 39th in urology
, 43rd in kidney diseases, and 47th in cancer.
The region's only academic medical center offers both primary care and specialized services, including a full range of surgery, diagnosis and management of genetic disease, neurology, orthopedics, oncology, and the Sleep Medicine Center.
The recently renovated 386-bed hospital at UC San Diego Medical Center, Hillcrest, is also the primary site for such regional services as the Comprehensive Organ Transplant Program,
Bone Marrow Transplantation, San Diego Regional Burn Center, Infant Special Care Center (NICU), UCSD's Birth Center, San Diego County's only academic Level One Trauma Center, and the National Institutes of Health-designated Clinical Research Center.
of the School of Medicine, performed the first surgery at this hospital. It was a delicate brain operation. It is located on the UCSD campus in La Jolla, California. It is a 119-bed general medical-surgical facility that offers a full range of services, including surgery
, cardiology
, endocrinology
, neurology
, orthopedics
, oncology
, reproductive medicine
, pulmonary medicine and physical therapy
. Thornton Hospital has a hotel-like atmosphere and patients staying in the intermediate care wing of the hospital can order room service meals at any time of the day.
In 2007, US News and World Report ranked the UCSD Medical Center 39th in the nation for cancer treatment.
The Abraham Ratner Children's Eye is immediately adjacent to Shiley and is the only eye facility in the San Diego region dedicated to meeting the special vision needs of children.
On November 19, 2010, the UC Regents approved a plan to build a new building for Clinical and Translational Institute (CTSI). This building is planned to have 311,000 gross square feet at a cost of $269 million.
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
The Medical Center and Thornton Hospital operate under one license with a combined licensed capacity of 552 beds. The mission of UC San Diego Health System is to provide excellent and compassionate patient care, advance medical discoveries and educate the health care professionals of tomorrow. The Medical Center houses the UC San Diego Stroke Center, the area’s only Regional Burn Center and is one of only two Level I Trauma Centers in San Diego County. It includes a Level III neonatal intensive care unit
Neonatal intensive care unit
A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit —also called a Special Care Nursery, newborn intensive care unit, intensive care nursery , and special care baby unit —is an intensive care unit specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants.The problem of premature and congenitally ill infants is not a...
and is the only hospital-based Birth Center in the area.
Current Awards & Rankings
UC San Diego Medical Center for the 17th year in a row has been named as the best in the nation by US News and World Reports in five specialty areas in 2010-2011. UCSD Medical Center was ranked 11th in PulmonologyPulmonology
In medicine, pulmonology is the specialty that deals with diseases of the respiratory tract and respiratory disease. It is called chest medicine and respiratory medicine in some countries and areas...
, 21st in Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, 22nd in Diabetes & Endocrionology, 45th in Orthopedics
Orthopedics
Orthopedics is the study of the musculoskeletal system. The Greek word 'ortho' means straight or correct and 'pedics' comes from the Greek 'pais' meaning children. For many centuries, orthopedists have been involved in the treatment of crippled children...
and 46th in Geriatrics
Geriatrics
Geriatrics is a sub-specialty of internal medicine and family medicine that focuses on health care of elderly people. It aims to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. There is no set age at which patients may be under the care of a geriatrician, or...
.
UC San Diego Health System has been widely recognized for its health care services.
- Received $15 million Beacon Community Collaborative grant in 2010 on behalf of a broad collaboration of health care providers and other community partners – one of only 15 communities across the country selected for this grant, designed to pilot the wide-scale use of health information technology.
- Honored as one of the top 15 teaching hospitals in the country by Thomson Reuters in 2010.
- UC San Diego Health System has been ranked in the annual U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals” issue for the last 17 years and is the region’s only adult hospital consistently ranked among the best in multiple specialties.
- UC San Diego Health System physicians are consistently named by their peers at the San Diego County Medical Society as “Top Doctors” in San Diego Magazine’s “Physicians of Exceptional Excellence” annual survey.
- UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center was designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology in 2010, a designation given to fewer than 6 percent of the imaging centers in California.
- UC San Diego Health System’s Stroke Center was the first in San Diego to receive a Joint Commission Gold Seal.
- For five consecutive years, UC San Diego Health System has been among the nation’s 100 “Most Wired” hospitals, and for four years, one of the 25 “Most Wireless,” according to Hospitals & Health Networks.
Past Awards & Rankings
UC San Diego Medical Center was named among the best in the nation by US News and World Report in 2007 in six specialty areas. UCSD Medical Center ranked 8th in respiratory disordersRespiratory disease
Respiratory disease is a medical term that encompasses pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange possible in higher organisms, and includes conditions of the upper respiratory tract, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleura and pleural cavity, and the...
, 18th in rheumatology
Rheumatology
Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...
, 30th in kidney disease, 30th in gynecology, 39th in cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, and 50th in ear, nose, and throat
Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders....
. In 2009, the UC San Diego Medical Center once again was named among the best in the nation by US News and World Report in six specialty areas. UC San Diego Medical Center ranked 14th in respiratory diseases, 20th in psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, 21st in rheumatology, 39th in urology
Urology
Urology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...
, 43rd in kidney diseases, and 47th in cancer.
Hillcrest Medical Center
The UC San Diego Medical Center, Hillcrest (32.75442°N 117.166009°W), is the primary hospital for the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.The region's only academic medical center offers both primary care and specialized services, including a full range of surgery, diagnosis and management of genetic disease, neurology, orthopedics, oncology, and the Sleep Medicine Center.
The recently renovated 386-bed hospital at UC San Diego Medical Center, Hillcrest, is also the primary site for such regional services as the Comprehensive Organ Transplant Program,
Bone Marrow Transplantation, San Diego Regional Burn Center, Infant Special Care Center (NICU), UCSD's Birth Center, San Diego County's only academic Level One Trauma Center, and the National Institutes of Health-designated Clinical Research Center.
Thornton Hospital
The John M. and Sally B. Thornton Hospital and Perlman Ambulatory Care Center (32.879225°N 117.223717°W) opened in the summer of 1993. John Alksne, a neurosurgeon and the DeanDean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the School of Medicine, performed the first surgery at this hospital. It was a delicate brain operation. It is located on the UCSD campus in La Jolla, California. It is a 119-bed general medical-surgical facility that offers a full range of services, including surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
, cardiology
Cardiology
Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
, endocrinology
Endocrinology
Endocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation and the coordination of...
, neurology
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
, orthopedics
Orthopedics
Orthopedics is the study of the musculoskeletal system. The Greek word 'ortho' means straight or correct and 'pedics' comes from the Greek 'pais' meaning children. For many centuries, orthopedists have been involved in the treatment of crippled children...
, oncology
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
, reproductive medicine
Reproductive medicine
Reproductive medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with prevention, diagnosis and management of reproductive problems; goals include improving or maintaining reproductive health and allowing people to have children at a time of their choosing...
, pulmonary medicine and physical therapy
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
. Thornton Hospital has a hotel-like atmosphere and patients staying in the intermediate care wing of the hospital can order room service meals at any time of the day.
Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center
Established in 1979, the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center is one of just 39 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States. Such centers are prominent among the leading institutions in the nation dedicated to scientific innovation and clinical excellence. UCSD is the only Comprehensive Cancer Center in San Diego and Imperial counties to have earned this honor.In 2007, US News and World Report ranked the UCSD Medical Center 39th in the nation for cancer treatment.
Shiley Eye Center
The UCSD Shiley Eye Center provide comprehensive eye care services, from basic eye exams to advanced diagnostic tests and sophisticated surgery. Eye care services offered at UCSD Shiley Eye Center include cataract surgery, cornea transplants, glaucoma diagnosis and treatment, low vision services, neuro-ophthalmology, optometry and contact lens service, pediatric ophthalmology, plastic surgery, refractive surgery, retina care, and trauma repair.The Abraham Ratner Children's Eye is immediately adjacent to Shiley and is the only eye facility in the San Diego region dedicated to meeting the special vision needs of children.
Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center
As part of the La Jolla Campus construction. UC San Diego Health Systems is planning to open the new 128000 square feet (11,891.6 m²) facility, which will provide ambulatory, clinical, and inpatient heart and stroke care in one central location.North Coastal Cardiology Clinic
As part of providing health care to all areas of the county with the opening of the Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center to residents in Northern Part of San Diego. UCSD Health Systems opened in November of 2010, the North Coastal Cardiology Clinic was opened in Encinitas, CAPlans
On May 18, 2007, the UC Regents approved a plan to build an additional 125- to 150-bed inpatient tower in La Jolla.On November 19, 2010, the UC Regents approved a plan to build a new building for Clinical and Translational Institute (CTSI). This building is planned to have 311,000 gross square feet at a cost of $269 million.