When Dr. Eugene Washington, the new dean of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and vice chancellor of health sciences, arrived at UCLA, he immediately set out to evaluate his new terrain.
After three months, his efforts to familiarize himself with UCLA have resulted in the decision to develop a five-year strategic plan aimed at improving the UCLA Health System and the David Geffen School of Medicine.
The main goals of the initiative are to improve the basic work environment in UCLA hospitals and the institution’s national reputation, according to Joyce Fried, director of the strategic planning initiative and an assistant dean in the UCLA medical school.
A steering committee comprised of administrators, faculty, residents and graduate students was selected to oversee the planning process and implement design teams to spread the plans.
“We’re a very, very large complex, with literally thousands of employees,” said Dr. David Feinberg, CEO and associate vice chancellor of the UCLA Health System. “So it’s great to get everybody on the exact same page.”
The strategic planning initiative is still in the research phase, meaning that administrators are still in the process of finding out what the health system needs, Fried said.
An external consultant, AMC Strategies, LLC, was also hired to assist in putting together and executing the plan.
“The consultants conducted interviews with our faculty, staff and students to find out what our strengths and weaknesses are,” Fried said. “The plan is to identify, discuss and study the core values and goals for the school.”
Administrators began working on putting together a timeline immediately after Washington arrived at UCLA, Fried said.
“(Washington) knew that one of the first things he wanted to do was to establish a strategic plan for the hospital,” Fried said. “It’s the perfect time for him to get to know and understand this vast enterprise.”
After conducting preliminary meetings, the steering committee asked 17,000 of those affiliated with the health system and School of Medicine to complete a survey about their expectations and experiences.
The next step, according to Fried, is to establish four design teams of about 30 people each in the areas of research, education, clinical care and community engagement. These teams will “flush out the strategies to the rest of the people in the system.”
The first phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. At this point, the dean will compile a comprehensive outline for the next four years based upon recommendations from the steering committee and the data collected.
“We can’t predict further out than five years with a reasonable goal,” Fried said. “We don’t know beyond that what the healthcare climate and the resources available to use will be like.”
The strategic planning initiative began soon after Washington took over as the new dean of the School of Medicine and vice chancellor of health sciences roughly three months ago.
Washington did not wait long after his appointment to jump into other ventures as well. Following a tip-off from a professor about the free Remote Area Medical clinic at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Washington alerted hospital employees about possible involvement.
“I thought this (was) actually a perfect opportunity for UCLA,” said Dr. Michael Rodriguez, professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Family Medicine. “So I told Dr. Washington, and he wrote to the leadership and all the chairs of the departments to get their support.”
The event turned out to be a success, Rodriguez said.
UCLA contributed over 150 volunteers and a van for eye checkups, as well as laboratory tests and funding to process materials.
UCLA’s involvement with the clinic, Rodriguez said, marked an effort to increase the school’s presence in the surrounding community.
In an e-mail he sent out to health system employees marking his 100th day as dean and vice chancellor, Washington addressed UCLA’s reputation as a leading medical school.
“Quite simply, our excellence and impact are even better than perceived locally and nationally, and we are already the envy of most peer institutions,” Washington wrote.
Feinberg also stated a desire to improve patient health and satisfaction after they leave the hospital.
“We’d like to come up with a strategy for better integration of our patients after discharge from the hospital,” Feinberg said. “We don’t have that very much in the U.S., so we want to be in the forefront.”