UC Davis Medical Center

The UC Davis Medical Center is a major research hospital located in Sacramento, California and is the primary teaching hospital of UC Davis School of Medicine.

Researchers and specialists at the 577 licensed bed medical center work in over 150 areas of specialty. The UC Davis hospital has been ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation in the 2004 survey of US News and World Report. Particularly respected are its programs in heart surgery and ear, nose, and throat treatment. It is also a Level I trauma center for both adults and pediatrics.

History
The history of UC Davis Medical Center dates to May 3, 1850 when Sacramento City Council recommended that a hospital be built. The Sacramento County Hospital was established as a result, in 1852.

In 1871, the hospital was moved to a 22 acre parcel of land on Stockton Blvd in Sacramento, CA; the present location of UC Davis Medical Center. Just five years later, the original facility was destroyed by fire. In 1879, a new hospital was completed and accepted by the county. This facility was designed by N.D. Goodell, architect of the Governors Mansion in Sacramento. It stood until 1914, when construction of an entirely new facility was proposed. The main hospital building was completed in 1928, and still stands today. It was incorporated into the north/south wing of the main hospital in 1950.

In 1964, 34000 sqft of space was added to the hospital. Two years later, the facility became a community hospital, making everyone in Sacramento County eligible for patient care. In 1966, an affiliation agreement was reached with UC Davis, making the hospital a primary teaching hospital, and expanding its mission to include education and research. The Medical School at Davis opened its doors on September 23, 1968 and one month later a dedication ceremony changed the name of the hospital from Sacramento County Hospital to the Sacramento Medical Center.

In 1970, defeat of a Health Sciences Bond issue squelched the hopes of a new V.A. hospital in Davis, CA, setting in motion an agreement signed two years later between the County of Sacramento and UC Davis. This agreement provided for the transfer of ownership and operation of the hospital to the University. That same year, UC Regents purchased 32 acres of vacant land east of 45th street, formerly used by the California State Fairgrounds. This purchase increased the size of the medical center campus to 54 acres. The Sacramento Medical Center officially became the University of California, Davis, Medical Center on July 1, 1978.

Construction Activity
The construction activity that will predominate at UC Davis Medical Center for the next several years is designed to achieve dual purposes: to comply with a state law governing seismic safety for hospitals, and to satisfy a pressing need for more space and modernized facilities.

Like all of the approximately 470 acute-care hospitals in California, UC Davis Medical Center is working to comply with SB 1953, which outlines sweeping seismic safety standards. The law requires that, by 2008, all general acute-care inpatient buildings at risk of collapsing during a strong earthquake must be rebuilt, retrofitted or closed.

As part of its compliance plan for SB 1953, the medical center will demolish the North-South Wing of the hospital. Much of the new construction is required to provide replacement space for the functions in the North-South Wing.

At the same time, the half-dozen major projects that will be in progress through 2008 will address a variety of urgent needs that will permit the medical center to maintain its role as an indispensable resource for the Sacramento region’s health and well-being. The projects will:


 * provide additional, critically needed hospital beds, operating rooms and space for the emergency department;
 * provide for the medical center’s energy needs;
 * establish a state-of-the-art medical library;
 * provide classrooms, conference space and other facilities to improve and expand educational opportunities for medical students, residents, nurses and other health-care professionals;
 * expand the UC Davis Cancer Center to accommodate new equipment, additional patients and doctors; and
 * construct quarters for a new research center being established with the help of $40 million from the National Science Foundation.

The medical center must accommodate an increasing demand for inpatient services through additional beds and operating rooms. The increased demand for surgical cases has been so dramatic that elective surgeries must be performed on weekends and evenings.

The medical center also has been operating at capacity for several years. On occasion, it has been forced to turn away all but the most seriously ill and injured patients because the hospital is completely full. The problem is likely to worsen with a growing population, growing numbers of uninsured patients who crowd emergency rooms because they cannot obtain care elsewhere, and a severe nursing shortage that is straining area hospitals.

Official Web sites

 * Official Web site
 * UC Davis School of Medicine
 * University of California, Davis

Student Web sites

 * School of Medicine Student Web site
 * Clínica Tepati
 * Imani Clinic
 * Paul Hom Asian Clinic
 * Joan Viteri Memorial Clinic