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1st appeared 30 June 2000

Medical Center Leaders Address Auxiliary

Chief Medical Officer Ted Schrock told the Hospitals Auxiliary of UCSF Medical Center that faculty and staff are feeling "a new sense of optimism."

The reunion of the medical center with the University coupled with the arrival of Mark Laret, chief executive officer, this April have had a positive influence on morale in recent months, said Schrock.

Schrock and Laret were guest speakers last week at the auxiliary’s annual meeting, which was held to recognize its accomplishments over the past year and celebrate 40 years of fund-raising.

Dorothy Duffy Price, outgoing president, reported that the auxiliary raised more than $48,000 for patient amenities and that volunteers put in more than 2,500 hours of time on behalf of the medical center.

"Just as staff and faculty have continued their commitment to patient care over the past difficult year, I am delighted that in spite of all the stresses and strains of the dissolution of the merger, people still came forward to support our mission," Price said.

Acknowledging that while the hospital "came out of the merger a little bit bruised and a little bit battered," Laret said it is now focusing on how to make it easier for patients to access the system and how faculty can expand their services.

Laret said another initiative is to heighten awareness of the plight of the nation’s academic medical centers, which are hard-pressed to provide top-notch patient care, medical education and research within the cost-containment pressures of managed care. "We need to urge our friends in Sacramento and Washington, DC, and in managed care, that quality does have a cost."

Laret concluded his remarks by thanking the auxiliary for its efforts. "All of us at UCSF are deeply appreciative of what you have done and what you will continue to do and it isn’t just providing money, it’s your energy and support."

Among the 20 requests from doctors, nurses and staff to be financed through the auxiliary’s special wishes program:

• Teddy bears for children air transported to UCSF and recovering from surgery;

• edible and non-edible treats given by hospital volunteers to patients during major holidays;

• small refrigerators to keep self-service snacks for adult cancer and bone marrow transplant patients who experience difficult and unpredictable appetites; and

• financial assistance for families who cannot afford cremation or caskets after a tragic loss of a loved one.

The auxiliary also earmarked $20,000 for a major renovation project, yet to be determined.

Other highlights of the past year included raising more than $11,000 during a winery tour, dinner and wine auction at the estate of Jim and Jane Rowe, past auxiliary president; attending a luncheon for the Mount Zion and UCSF Medical Center auxiliaries at the home of Chancellor Mike Bishop and his wife, Kathryn; raising more than $9,000 through the vehicle donation program; and dedicating the remodeled hospital admissions area in honor of the late auxiliary president Dora Mustacchi.

Officers for 2000-01 are Danette Magilligan, president; Betty Blumlein, treasurer; Nancy Douglass, vice president; Isle Steinbach, vice president; Kai-Yee Woo, vice president; Linda Klett, secretary; and Duffy Price, past president.

Source: Lisa Cisneros, Newsbreak Editor

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