Happy holidays and reflections on the year ahead at UC Davis Health

By David Lubarsky

I would like to wish everyone a joyous and harmonious holiday season this year, take a moment to reflect on what we’re accomplishing at UC Davis Health on behalf of our patients, and look ahead to the opportunities that await us in 2023. The holidays give us a chance to slow down, spend time with loved ones, and recharge and revitalize ourselves, and look ahead – I hope you will be able to take some time to care for yourself as well as your loved ones in the coming weeks.?

In this season of gratitude, I find myself thinking about the last several months and feeling both proud and humbled by the incredible things we have delivered together to our patients and community. As a collective team, we’re all pulling in the same direction to transform care and the patient experience across Northern California. Innovative technology, artificial (“augmented”) intelligence and digital health trends are shaping the future of care everywhere, especially here at UC Davis Health:?

• 74% of patients think sharing information about lifestyle could help doctors treat them more effectively.
• 55% of patients would share their information digitally if this reduced costs.
• 50% of patients would be comfortable contacting their doctors digitally.

Trends like these and others are propelling us into a new realm of care, with tremendous potential benefits to patients and providers alike. The amount of data being generated and stored by the health and digital industries is massive and growing – data from sensors, apps, wearables, laboratory tests, electronic medical records and more. As we use more of this available data for research, I predict there will?be an even greater focus on preventive medicine, as well as the delivery of value-based care in the most equitable and efficient ways.?

And, as UC Davis Health embraces these changes and challenges in health care, I hope we will see opportunities where others see roadblocks – and be unafraid of trying new things. Growth can only come from change, and 2022 was a year of evolution in health care in ways one could never have anticipated a few years ago. I believe that 2023 will be the same; the idea that the only constant is change will probably describe health care for the foreseeable future. The ways we respond and adapt to those changes will make a difference in how well we are able to care for patients in a new digital era.

As we turn the corner into the New Year, we have much to look forward to – here are just a few highlights:

• Our new rehabilitation hospital will open to patients in March, and this will take us from ‘just?saving lives’ to fully maximizing a patient’s recovery after major surgeries and life-threatening events.??
• Work is progressing on the California Tower, slated to open in 2030 – this state-of-the-art hospital of the future embodies our commitment to education, research, patient care and the unique quaternary care this region needs. In this tower, every day we will be able provide tomorrow’s health care today.?
• Construction is well underway on the 48X Complex, an ambulatory surgical center opening in 2025 that will include 14 ambulatory operating rooms – the most of any such center in the U.S.??It will complement the California Tower as a wonderful work environment, friendly to patients, visitors and staff.
• Site work is underway in Folsom for our new state-of-the-art medical office building at Scott Road and Highway 50.??It is the next generation of office buildings, essentially a hospital without beds.

These projects – and many more – are part of our “Vision 2030 plan,” a strategic investment in our people and patients through leading-edge facilities to serve the needs of all in our community.?

Through all of this growth, we are absolutely focused on serving patients in ways that produce better health outcomes, the kind that is reflected in our national rankings like the U.S. News & World Report among others.

From COVID to respiratory syncytial virus infection (RSV) – and patient cases of any magnitude – every one of you has contributed in ways large and small to safeguarding our community over the past few years. Since the pandemic began and now with the combination of flu and RSV, our doctors and nurses (especially those who treat children!) have worked around the clock to treat and save patients, conduct clinical trials and test new therapies, while taking care of a larger than normal number of emergency cases. We are most needed when patients get really sick, and each one of you makes us who we are – the academic medical center that our entire region turns to when challenged by difficult cases, and we answer by saving lives.??There is no greater gift we can provide our community this holiday season than by just continuing to do that.

Thank you for rising to the challenges during these ongoing times of need. Your efforts are truly applauded and recognized by our community – near and far. We’re all here to support each other as teammates, so during this holiday season, I encourage you to take some time to spread kindness and human connection by checking in with a colleague and asking, “how are you really doing?” This sense of humanity and fellowship defines UC Davis Health. It is who we are. It inspires me as I hope it inspires you.

I wish you and your loved ones a warm, happy, and inspired holiday season.?