[April 16, 2014]

Washington Hospital Joins Forces with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco to Provide Local Neonatal Specialists at Special Care Nursery

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 progras 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.

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