9/22/97

CONTACT: Terry Shepard, University Communications (415) 725-8396

Stanford approves consolidation of hospitals and clinics with UCSF

The committee to which the Stanford University Board of Trustees delegated power of approval has unanimously approved a motion to complete the consolidation of hospitals and clinics at Stanford and UCSF.

The vote Monday morning allows the two universities to move ahead with the historic merger, which has been in negotiation for more than two years. It gives Stanford President Gerhard Casper authority to sign the documents that define the mission and detail the scope of the merger. Ratification will follow at the Oct. 6-7 meeting of the full Board of Trustees.

Last week, the University of California Board of Regents also voted to approve the merger.

"This unprecedented partnership of private and public university medical centers offers long-term potential, not just for outstanding patient care, but for joint projects between two leading medical schools," Casper said. "With closer coordination and cooperation in teaching, training and research, we can strengthen even further our ability to move new medical treatments from the laboratory bench to the bedside.

"The level of quality presented by the combination of UCSF and Stanford is, to use a term popular with today's students, 'awesome.' We will be more than the sum of our parts, going from leadership in six specialties each to leadership in 20 with our combined strengths. I am especially pleased about what this merger will do for the pediatric programs at Stanford and UCSF, and the established excellence at Packard Children's Hospital. The combined program is expected to be the West Coast leader in specialty services for children."

The merged organization ­ called UCSF Stanford Health Care ­ will include Stanford University Hospital, Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, UCSF Medical Center, UCSF/Mount Zion, and the clinical practices of the medical school faculties. The not-for-profit, public benefit organization is expected to begin operation on Nov. 1.

The two universities' schools of medicine will not be merged, and faculty members and postdoctoral fellows who care for patients and conduct research studies at UCSF Stanford Health Care will remain employees of the schools.

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By Terry Shepard