Oceanside CA— UC San Diego Health and Tri-City Healthcare District announced Thursday that they plan on entering into an exclusive, long-term strategic affiliation designed to enhance the delivery of high quality health care to patients in North San Diego County.
“We are pleased to be aligned with UC San Diego Health, a nationally recognized academic health system,” said Larry Schallock, chairman, Tri-City Healthcare District. “As public institutions, both Tri-City Healthcare District and UC San Diego Health are committed to providing the highest quality health care services to our community.”
“We considered a number of health care providers in San Diego County before making this decision. By affiliating with UC San Diego Health, Tri-City Healthcare District will greatly expand the depth and breadth of specialized medical and surgical services available to our community,” said Tim Moran, CEO, Tri-City Healthcare District. “Connecting to the region’s only academic health system will also benefit our clinical teams, helping them to gain access to novel research and education of UC San Diego School of Medicine.”
“For patients to receive the best possible health care, community physicians, local hospitals and academic health providers must integrate systems of care and align clinical, research and administrative expertise,” said Patty Maysent, interim CEO, UC San Diego Health. “With this exclusive affiliation, the combined strengths of UC San Diego Health and Tri-City Healthcare District will be synergized to better serve the primary and specialty needs of patients in Carlsbad, Oceanside, and Vista.”
Maysent added that collaboration among health care providers is key to creating a sustainable health care delivery system in Southern California. As part of an inter-connected system of care, hospitals can deliver services that are affordable and efficient, accessible, and of measurable quality.
The affiliation between UC San Diego Health and Tri-City Healthcare District is focused on creating a cost-effective, clinically integrated network of care. Tri-City Healthcare District will continue to operate as a District Medical Center in an alliance with UC San Diego Health Care Network as the network’s northern San Diego hub. Through the affiliation, patients of Tri-City Healthcare District will have local access to UC San Diego Health experts for neurosurgical and certain other designated subspecialties of care, as well as continued access to comprehensive psychiatric services.
If needed, patients of Tri-City Healthcare District will also have access to tertiary and quaternary care services of UC San Diego Health. These include highly specialized and advanced diagnostic, imaging, surgical, oncologic and cardiac services, along with clinical trial interventions, that typically are found only in academic health centers.
Through a shared strategic plan, Tri-City Healthcare District and the University will jointly recruit physicians, develop customized clinical programs based on local patient needs, and integrate information technology and care pathways to improve clinical outcomes, practice protocols and patient satisfaction. Tri-City Healthcare District and UC San Diego Health also intend to collaborate to increase the number of insurance plans under which Tri-City Healthcare District is an authorized provider.
The UC San Diego Health Care Network (UCSDHCN) is a collective of regional health care providers that includes UC San Diego Health System and faculty physicians, community hospitals, medical groups and physicians based in San Diego, Riverside and Imperial Counties. Affiliates of UCSDHCN are collaborating to develop systems, infrastructure, care pathways and quality initiatives that will provide high-value health care for the benefit of patients, health plans and employers. Through the affiliation with UCSDHCN, Tri-City Healthcare District will become a contracted provider under UC HealthNet Blue & Gold HMO and a provider under the Blue Shield/UC Care PPO product.
Tri-City Healthcare District has served its community for over 50 years and is a 397 bed full service, acute-care hospital in Oceanside, Calif. with a primary care clinic and over 700 physicians practicing in 60 specialties. Its Gold Seal of Approval®from the Joint Commission recognizes its commitment to safe and effective patient care for the residents of the community it serves. It operates the only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in North County as well as an Orthopaedic & Spine Institute and Cardiovascular Health Institute along with the Tri-City Wellness Center in Carlsbad, Calif., recognized as one of the best wellness centers in San Diego County. It also specializes in women’s health, robotic surgery, cancer and emergency care.
UC San Diego Health, the region’s only academic health system, has been ranked #1 in San Diego for five consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. It comprises UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest and Thornton Hospital, Moores Cancer Center (one of only 45 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country), Shiley Eye Institute, Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center and Jacobs Medical Center (opening 2016) in La Jolla, as well as other primary and specialty practices located throughout Southern California. For more information, visit http://health.ucsd.edu.
Tri-City Healthcare District and UC San Diego Health Exclusive Affiliation
October 16, 2015