CEO Laret Presents Facilities Plan to UC Regents

Mark Laret, chief executive officer of UCSF Medical Center, outlined a two-track approach for UCSF Medical Center's long-term facilities plan that includes pursuing construction of a new children's hospital at Mission Bay and making necessary seismic repairs at Mount Zion. New medical center facilities are needed to meet state and University seismic safety requirements and to accommodate growth in research and patient care programs. At a Jan. 18 meeting of the Regent's Committee on Health Services, Laret said the long-term vision remains to have two major inpatient facilities at Parnassus and Mission Bay, with Mount Zion serving primarily as an outpatient center. "The consensus is that the plan should proceed simultaneously on two tracks," Laret said. "Building a major clinical campus at Mission Bay is the right thing academically and clinically, but we should plan to build that clinical campus in phases, as we can afford it. There is agreement that the first phase should be a home for the UCSF Children's Hospital. On the second track, to address the 2013 seismic deadline at Mount Zion, even though we ultimately envision this campus as an outpatient facility, the consensus is that we should proceed now to make the necessary seismic improvements there to allow its use as an inpatient hospital, as needed, until 2030." To read Laret's entire presentation to the Regents, go to the medical center website.