UC Health innovation fellowships to improve clinical care
January 28, 2013
Two UC Irvine anesthesiologists have received fellowships from the University of California’s Center for Health Quality and Innovation to support projects designed to improve the quality and value of care delivered by UC Health.
Maxime Cannesson, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor, and Shermeen Vakharia, M.B.B.S., clinical professor and vice chair for quality and patient safety, are among 10 fellows selected from 36 applicants by UC faculty and staff. Applicants were evaluated on their leadership potential, mentorship opportunity available at the campus for the applicant, and the strength and strategic relevance of the proposed project.
Cannesson’s UC Health Fellowship will allow him to develop an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery program at UC Irvine that can then be adapted at all UC medical centers. The program includes evidence-based best practices delivered by a multidisciplinary team intended to improve patient recovery following high-risk surgery. Participating sites report significantly improved patient experience, clinical outcomes, healthcare team collaboration, and reduction in length of stay and lower risk of hospital-acquired infections.
Vakharia’s project, “Urological Surgical Home: A Transformative Model of Perioperative Care,” will leverage the unique training, skills and perspectives of perioperative personnel and anesthesiologists to improve patient outcomes and reduce complications and expense in a range of urological surgeries. Once implemented successfully, the model can be extended to other surgical services as well as other University of California hospitals.
The yearlong UC Health Fellowships will build leadership skills and address a range of projects including ones to increase access to specialty care, expand the use of telehealth and enhance patient recovery after surgery. The fellows’ institutions will receive a $50,000 award that will support a portion of the salary and benefits associated with their time spent on their projects.
UC Health launched the center in 2010 as part of its commitment to improve the quality of care to medically vulnerable Californians while also developing strategies to improve the delivery of care to help contain costs. The center is governed by a board composed of the six UC medical school deans, five UC medical center CEOs and chaired by the UC Health senior vice president.
About UC Irvine Medical Center: Orange County’s only university hospital, UC Irvine Medical Center offers acute- and general-care services at its new, 482,000-square-foot UC Irvine Douglas Hospital and is home to the county’s only Level I trauma center, American College of Surgeons-verified regional burn center and National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. For 12 consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has counted UC Irvine among “America’s Best Hospitals.”
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UC Irvine is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County’s second-largest employer, UC Irvine contributes an annual economic impact of $4 billion. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu.
