University of California, Irvine Medical Center

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The University of California, Irvine Medical Center (or UCI Medical Center) is a major research hospital located in the City of Orange. It is Orange County's central public hospital and the teaching center for the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.

Contents

[edit] History

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[edit] Capabilities and Ranked Programs

The medical center is the only Level I trauma center in Orange County and conducts studies in a wide variety of disciplines. The facility contains 493 licensed beds, has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a top research hospital and has highly respected geriatrics and gynecology programs. Special facilities include the University Children's Hospital unit and the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

[edit] New University Hospital

On February 7, 2005, construction begun on a new $375 million replacement central hospital adjacent to the existing UCI Medical Center facility.[1] In addition to expanding on patient services (with 191 rooms, 13 operating theaters, and 3 procedure rooms), the new hospital will provide the UCI College of Medicine with modern research and training facilities. It will also employ architecture that offers private patient rooms, natural light for daytime illumination, and carefully-designed labs and offices.

The new seven-story facility was designed by HOK architects, and the project contractor is Hensel Phelps Construction Company.

[edit] UC Irvine Health Sciences

The UCI Medical Center is part of the UC Irvine Health Sciences system, which is composed of a number of patient care locations that mainly cater to lower-income areas of Orange County. In addition to the main hospital in Orange, other facilites include:

  • UCI Family Health Center in Anaheim
  • Gottschalk Medical Plaza in Irvine (which on the UCI campus and also serves as the health center for graduate students)
  • UCI Medical Pavillions in Orange
  • UCI Manchester Pavillions in Orange
  • UCI Family Health Center in Santa Ana
  • Surgery Laser Clinic in Irvine (sharing facilities with the Beckman Laser Institute at UCI)
  • UCI Westminster Medical Center in Westminster

[edit] Controversy

The University of California, Irvine Medical Center has been involved in a number of scandals.

In 2003, UCI hired Jagat Narula and Mani Vannan as the chief and division chief of cardiology. Neither was board certified in internal medicine nor cardiology, and neither had a California medical license.[2] Narula then allegedly forced out electrocardiologist Michael Brodsky, and hired David Cesario, the son of med school dean Thomas Cesario, to take his place.[3]

In 2003, Dr. Glenn Provost presented a 13-signature petition alleging anesthesia safety problems. He stated that soon after complaining about a supervisor forcing him "to take patients to the operating room without consent, chart, or preoperative check-in by the operating room nurse ... in an attempt to cut costs," he was fired and allegedly blackballed. However, persons close to the case feel that there may be a vendetta against the current department chair by Dr. Provost[4]

In 2005 came news of the death of 32 patients waiting for liver transplants that were never going to come. The livers were available, but, for two years, UCI did not have a full time surgeon to implant them, in contravention of federal regulations. UCI's surgeon was actually on staff at UC San Diego, almost 100 miles away.[5]

The woman whose lawsuit eventually led to exposure of this scandal was Elodie Irvine. Ms. Irvine, who had liver and kidney disease, had 95 organs offered to her by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), while she waited for a transplant at UCI. All those organs were rejected by UCI, while she was told they were just waiting for organs. Only one UCI physician advised her to look elsewhere for a transplant; the rest allegedly left her and most everyone else on the transplant list to die.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ New Hospital Project. UCI Medical Center. Retrieved on September 8, 2006.
  2. ^ Heisel, William. "UCI cardiology heads uncertified", The Orange County Register, 2005-12-22. Retrieved on 2006-05-06.
  3. ^ Berthelsen, Christian. "UCI Execs' Families Got Jobs at Med Center", Los Angeles Times, 2006-02-08.
  4. ^ Fisher, Marla Jo. "M.D. says UCI fired him for speaking up", The Orange County Register, 2006-02-03. Retrieved on 2006-05-06.
  5. ^ Berthelsen, Christian. "FBI Investigating UCI Liver Transplant Center", Los Angeles Times, 2006-04-09. Retrieved on 2006-05-06.
  6. ^ "Hospital turned down organs despite need", MSNBC, 2005-11-10. Retrieved on 2006-05-06.

[edit] External links

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