PHE Response & Forward Vision

 

UC Davis Health has served our region during the pandemic and provided a national model for innovations in public health with advanced vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.  Protecting our community, and our world. 

 

We are one of 50 sites for the Pfizer vaccine global clinical trial.  We are bridging gaps in testing and equipment; and highlighting the importance of socio-economic disparities to bring vaccinations, testing, telehealth and training to vulnerable populations and communities. 

 

We are very proud of our UC Davis medical students who volunteer countless hours in free community clinics delivering care to underserved populations including by telehealth throughout the pandemic.

 

Navigating our way through the pandemic provided us the opportunity to RESTORE, RENEW, and REIMAGINE a better path forward for our patients as well as for our staff in how we provide healthcare out of the pandemic and into the future.

 

Telehealth services exploded during the pandemic, this graph shows that prior to the pandemic telehealth services were rarely used in radiation oncology, we spiked immediately from March to August 2020 before we started to transition patients back to onsite visits.  To this day we continue to provide and track telehealth services averaging 80 to 100 visits per month; we will continue this practice going forward and into the future to support the needs of our community.     

 

The pandemic has changed our daily operations, we re-designed how and where we work by implementing the Digital Workplace Program to include Onsite, Hybrid, and Remote workers to promote flexibility, leverage new ways of working, foster innovation, to be better stewards of our resources, and to promote Work Life Balance.  We offer a Compressed Work-Week, Flextime, and Flex-Place; and we provide our managers and staff with resources such as our Flex Work Resource Toolkit. 

 

Our Digital Workspace Initiative shortens meeting times across UC Davis Health as part of our strategic plan to establish cultural norms that respect people’s time and support wellness among staff.

 

The Digital Front Door drives data exchange across the organization, increased virtual service demand with COVID-19 pushed us to adapt quickly.  We are working through service improvements, while making care more accessible.  The goal is to not only deliver high quality care but to do so when and where patients want it. 

 

Promoting a culture of Health and Wellness at UC Davis Health is a priority.  Wellness Champions work with our Chief Wellness Officer (Dr. Peter Yellowlees) to set the workplace climate for self-compassion and resilience. 

 

Finally, Workplace Recognition Programs such as “BEST Rewards” provide a sense of accomplishment making employees feel valued for their work.  Recognition boosts employee engagement, increases productivity and loyalty to the organization leading to higher employee retention.