Ground is Broken for Jacobs Medical Center

May, 2012

Community leaders, philanthropists, faculty and staff of UC San Diego gathered April 9 to celebrate the official start of construction for the Jacobs Medical Center, a 10-story, 245-bed medical center being built in La Jolla, adjacent to Thornton Hospital. The 509,500 square foot facility is scheduled for completion in 2016.

Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences David Brenner, and Joan and Irwin Jacobs, who have pledged $75 million to the project, were among those wielding the ceremonial shovels at the future site of the facility. The Jacobs Medical Center will house the Hospital for Advanced Surgery, a Cancer Hospital and the Hospital for Women and Infants.

The Jacobs Medical Center will also serve as an educational space for the next generation of physicians, pharmacists and scientists. It will join an ensemble of state-of-the-art facilities and programs dedicated to interdisciplinary research, education and leading edge patient care. To learn more, visit http://health.ucsd.edu/jacobs/Pages/default.aspx

SOS - Support Our Students!

With the aim of raising awareness of the need for scholarship support as medical education costs continue to spiral, Drs. Danielle and Murray Reicher, SOM ’81, hosted an afternoon alumni reception in April 14 at home in Rancho Santa Fe.

In addition to socializing over drinks and appetizers, attendees heard the stories of two courageous medical students, who were diagnosed with cancer while in medical school. Both are now in remission. Guests also met a Bud Whipple Scholarship recipient who emigrated from Vietnam. She described her journey, from her first job as a McDonald’s employee who could barely speak a word of English, to becoming a successful UCSD medical student who is very involved in community outreach. Each student emphasized the importance of the support they received from the faculty, administration and their peers during their struggles, whether it was financial support, or the emotional support of a home cooked meal from an SOM alumnus. The students, alumni and faculty continued their conversations over dinner, forming new relationships and connections along the way. Give Now

Tackling Healthcare Reform

Nick Yphantides, MD, MPH, SOM ’92, Chief Medical Officer for the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, was one of the featured speakers at a recent Alumni Association-sponsored event called “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Healthiness.” More than 150 UCSD alumni and friends gathered at the Medical Education and Telemedicine Building the evening of April 10 to hear a lively panel discussion addressing the historic Supreme Court arguments for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Guests heard presentations on the legal, economic, and ethical elements of the health care reform issue from Constitutional Law Professor Glenn Smith, JD, of California Western School of Law; UCSD Economics Professor Melissa Famulari, PhD; health care consultant Julianne Howell, PhD, who is former Director of Planning for the UCSD Health System, and panel moderator Paul Friedman, MD, Professor Emeritus, UCSD School of Medicine. A podcast is accessible here.