Strengthening Stanford through Collaboration
In addition to being dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine, I am delighted to be a member of the staff of Stanford Hospital & Clinics (SHC). With a new state-of-the-art facility now starting to come out of the ground, it is an exciting time at SHC, and I am honored to have the opportunity to work with such an outstanding leader as president and CEO Amir Dan Rubin.
One of my primary responsibilities as dean is leading the Campaign for Stanford Medicine on behalf of the School of Medicine, SHC and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Launched last summer with an initial goal of $1 billion over three years, the Campaign has garnered so much generosity among our many enthusiastic supporters and transformative ideas among our academic community that we are already looking toward the next billion.
In launching the Campaign for Stanford Medicine, President John Hennessy, Provost John Etchemendy and the Stanford University Board of Trustees recognized that the school of medicine and the hospitals are stronger together than they are alone. They share not just a common mission to improve human health but a common future. Our ability to face a daunting health care landscape will in many ways depend on our ability to work together.
One of the goals of the campaign is to raise $700 million for the new Stanford Hospital. This new space will not only allow us to provide our patients with the best in modern facilities and technology but will also give us the opportunity to implement more patient-centered care and transform the patient experience.
Our excellence as an academic medical center is dependent upon the delivery of premier, patient-centered care. Guiding our clinical mission is the overarching desire to transform the patient experience by bringing the very best science to the treatment and prevention of disease, by focusing on the health and well-being of each patient who receives care through our system, by communicating our knowledge and advances to others so that we are a leader in the transformation of health care and by training the leaders who will have an impact.
Academic medical centers have historically focused on providing acute care but our mission is broader than that. We must have a commitment not just to curing disease, but also to providing life-long health. Ultimately, I believe we must extend our responsibility beyond the hospital and clinic walls to take accountability for the overall health of our patients in an otherwise fragmented health care system.
One of the many ways we are already ensuring that inpatient care translates to health at home is a program called Cardinal Commitment. When a patient has narrowed or obstructed arteries, an angioplasty can widen these arteries. This procedure, however, does not address the diet and lifestyle habits that contribute to the underlying disease. After this specialized procedure, patients return home to the same environmental conditions that helped make them sick in the first place.
To address this disconnect, the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute established Cardinal Commitment, which leverages wireless technology to help patients manage their heart health at home. A life coach helps patients monitor their blood pressure and pulse readings and reviews their exercise and eating habits.
Working together as Stanford Medicine we can ensure that the new Stanford Hospital is not just a new space, but a new opportunity to achieve more patient-centered care through innovative ideas like Cardinal Commitment. Our role as health care providers is not simply to cure disease, but to promote the health of each of our patients through high-quality care that is both cost-effective and individualized.
Please join the hospital and school leadership in our vision to elevate our clinical mission and deliver truly premier, patient-centered care. With your help, we can transform the patient experience here at Stanford.
By Lloyd Minor, MD, Dean, Stanford University School of Medicine, featured contributor