Recognition

UC Davis Health System is proud to have earned accolades and recognition by virtue of its medical excellence and significant health-care contributions.

UC Davis Cancer Center is one of only two such centers in Northern California that has earned National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation. The center plays a key community and regional role and serves to influence standards of cancer prevention and treatment. To receive the prestigious title, UC Davis proved itself capable of making a major contribution to the nation’s war on cancer. The UC Davis Cancer Center first received designation in July 2002. In August 2005, designation was renewed for five years, the longest term possible.

UC Davis Medical Center has been certified as an advanced primary stroke center by The Joint Commission, signifying that the medical center’s services have the critical elements to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes for stroke patients.

Joint Commission certification is based on recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition, and the American Stroke Association’s statements and guidelines for stroke care.

In 2006, the American Society for Bariatric Surgery designated UC Davis as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. The designation, awarded to those programs with outstanding outcomes, safety records and facilities, also recognized bariatric surgeons Mohamed Ali and William Fuller.

U.S. News and World Report consistently ranked UC Davis Medical Center among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for 16 consecutive years (1993-2008).The annual survey includes several thousand hospitals nationwide and aims to identify institutions where the sickest patients are sent for advanced care and in which new treatment guidelines are used and often pioneered. These top hospitals also conduct bench-to-bedside research to advance patient care and utilize the latest advances in imaging, surgical devices and other technologies.

UC Davis Medical Center patients receive exceptional and compassionate nursing care from our team of highly trained nurses. Our nursing staff ratio betters the state ratio for California hospitals of one nurse for every five patients. UC Davis Medical Center was one of only five hospitals in the nation recognized by The Advisory Board Co. in Washington, D.C., for creating an outstanding work environment for nurses.

Everyone deserves a great doctor, and UC Davis Health System is filled with them. In the latest annual survey by Best Doctors, Inc., more than 100 UC Davis physicians earned praise and recognition from their peers for being among the nation’s best in 2007. The Best Doctors in America® database contains the names and professional affiliations of approximately 33,000 doctors in the United States, all chosen through a peer-review survey that asks: “If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer them?” The results can be found in at www.Bestdoctors.com.

U.S. News and World Report ranks UC Davis School of Medicine among the best in the country. In its annual list of America’s best medical schools for 2010, the magazine ranked the school 35th for primary care and 48th in research among the nation’s medical and osteopathic schools.

UC Davis Health System received the Association of American Medical Colleges’ prestigious Outstanding Community Service Award for 2005 in recognition of its exceptional community service programs addressing the needs of underserved citizens in the Sacramento region and beyond.  Some of the programs considered in the award process included the health system’s partnership with St. HOPE Public Schools, the Communities and Physicians Together program, UC Davis School of Medicine’s student-run health clinics, and the Asian-American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training.

The UC Davis School of Medicine is ranked tenth among all U.S. medical schools in the annual survey of best graduate schools for Hispanic students conducted by Hispanic Business magazine. The ranking is based on an evaluation of leadership on diversity on a variety of measures, including enrollment, faculty, student services, retention and reputation, according to editors.

The National Hispanic Health Foundation presented a 2009 Hispanic Health Leadership Award to Claire Pomeroy, vice chancellor of Human Health Sciences at UC Davis and dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, for efforts to improve the health of Hispanics and other underserved populations.

The nonprofit foundation is the education and research arm of the National Hispanic Medical Association. The foundation aims improve the health of Hispanics and the underserved, eliminate health disparities by supporting Hispanic researchers and Hispanic health services research, and increase workforce diversity.

The Community Services Planning Council in Sacramento presented UC Davis Health System with its prestigious Sustained Community Support award at its 2009 People Helping People Awards luncheon. UC Davis received the nonprofit group’s highest honor for its contributions to area schools, improving health access for diverse populations and developing a comprehensive employee volunteer program.

The People Helping People Awards, presented annually since 1989, honor businesses, civic organizations and individuals for exceptional community service. UC Davis was selected for its award this year from a field of 56 nominees.

The Huntington's Disease Society of America named UC Davis a Center of Excellence for Family Services and Research, recognizing its expertise in clinical care for Huntington's disease patients. Huntington's is a hereditary, degenerative brain disorder that gradually inhibits motor and cognitive functions. Patients in the advanced stage become wholly dependent upon others for their care. UC Davis has held the distinction since 2001.

The National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities honored the UC Davis-based Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness Research and Training with its Health Disparities Leadership Award.

The network is a national effort is based at UC Davis Cancer Center and funded by the National Cancer Institute as part of an effort to reduce ethnic disparities in cancer. AANCART members conduct community-based participatory education, training, and research by, for, and with Asian Americans. AANCART is the largest project ever undertaken to curb cancer in Asian Americans.

UC Davis School of Medicine was one of only nine U.S. medical schools in 2009 to receive an "A" grade from the American Medical Student Association for having one of the nation's best conflict-of-interest policies.

The association's PharmFree Scorecard ranks medical schools according to their pharmaceutical influence policies. Schools earn "A" rankings for comprehensive policies that restrict pharmaceutical company representatives' access to both medical school campuses and academic medical centers. The 2009 report card noted UC Davis' "exemplary conflict-of-interest policy."

UC Davis bans employees from accepting gifts from any vendor, including payments, free or discounted items, medical samples for personal use, food and travel. Specific examples are pens, notepads, textbooks, meals and payment for attendance at a meeting.

United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Sacramento awarded its 2009 Humanitarian of the Year award to Claire Pomeroy, vice chancellor of Human Health Sciences at UC Davis and dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine. The Humanitarian of the Year Award is given to individuals who have displayed a passion for life and a sincere desire to work toward enhancing the lives of others.

The American College of Radiology highlighted the breadth and quality of the UC Davis Health System’s breast imaging services by awarding designation as the Sacramento area’s only Breast Imaging Center of Excellence. The title means the center is accredited in all areas of breast imaging, including mammography, ultrasound and stereotactic biopsy. Because equipment, physicians and technologists have all passed rigorous requirements, the result is a “one-stop shop” for patients featuring the highest quality of care.

UC Davis Medical Center was honored as “The Best Medical Center of Northern California by the Russian-Speaking Community” in the annual “Best of the Best” contest by Sacramento-based ANONS Russian-Speaking Community Newspaper. Russian is one of the top three non-English languages spoken by patients at the medical center, and is the second most-requested language of the hospital’s translators.

For exposing students to opportunities in the health-care professions, UC Davis Health System received the Outstanding Dedication to Educational Partnerships Award from Sacramento-based Linking Education to Economic Development or L.E.E.D.

The nonprofit promotes partnerships between business, labor, education and government, such as these examples involving the Health System:

• Lead sponsorship of the Sacramento High School of Math, Engineering and Health Science, offering speakers, hospital tours, mentorship and job shadowing opportunities;
• CURE High School Research Academy partnership with St. Hope Public Schools, exposing students to cancer science, medical technologies and scientific research;
• Member of the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine, offering pre-medical education for high school students;
• Participation in Saturday Academy, where students from the UC Davis School of Medicine introduce groups of teenagers to what amounts to a condensed version of medical school.

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