Academic excellence
In February, the Keck School received the highest level of accreditation available to a medical school in the United States from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting body for medical schools.
“Full accreditation is a reflection of the excellence of our faculty, staff and students,” said Laura Mosqueda, MD, dean of the Keck School. “The report is a strong affirmation of the quality of the medical education program at the Keck School.”
New leadership
In August, the USC Board of Trustees appointed Wanda M. Austin, PhD, as interim president of USC. She has served on the USC Board of Trustees since 2010.
Austin is an American businesswoman who is internationally recognized for her work in aeronautics and systems engineering. She is co-founder of MakingSpace Inc., a systems engineering and leadership development consultant and motivational speaker.
A new dean
Laura Mosqueda was formally installed as dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC before a standing-room-only audience. The ceremony took place Aug. 23 on the Health Sciences Campus. From left, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, MPA, Laura Mosqueda and Interim President Austin.
USC Student Health
Since the fall of 2017, when Keck Medicine of USC assumed management of providing health care to students on the University Park and Health Sciences campuses, there has been a renewed commitment to the highest standards of care.
Joining USC Student Health under the leadership of Sarah Van Orman, MD, are new physicians Anne Michels, MD; Erin Jones, MD; Deirdre Logan, MD; and Heather Needham, MD.
New faculty leaders
Hugo Rosen, MD, arrived from the University of Colorado as chair of the Department of Medicine, and two additional department chairs were promoted from within the USC family: Narsing Rao, MD, chair of ophthalmology and Jehni Robinson, MD, chair of family medicine. Donna Elliott, MD, assumed the role of vice dean for medical education and Kathleen Nelson, MD, came to the Keck School from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in a newly created role as associate dean for leadership and wellness. Jeffrey Tolstad, MD, (not pictured) was appointed to the new role of senior associate dean for organizational development.
Remarkable research
The Keck School of Medicine of USC ranked No. 29 by National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding this past year while seven of the school departments ranked in the Top 10 in NIH grants. Pictured is Takeshi Saito, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine.
Quality recognized
Keck Medicine received the most prestigious ratings by U.S. News & World Report Hospital Rankings in the past 10 years, placing USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center as the highest-ranking cancer provider in Southern California. Urology ranked at No. 9 nationally and seven other service lines placed in the nation’s top 50: ophthalmology, geriatrics, orthopaedics, neurology and neurosurgery, gynecology, nephrology and cardiology and heart surgery.
Excellence in nursing
On July 18, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) announced that Keck Hospital of USC had joined a select group of health care facilities in achieving Magnet recognition, one of the highest honors in nursing excellence. Associated with positive outcomes, higher patient satisfaction and excellence in patient-centered care, less than 10 percent of hospitals nationally have achieved this recognition.
Expanding patient care
In January, Keck Medicine significantly expanded its patient care services and health care facilities with the opening of the new Norris Healthcare Center (HC3), a seven-story, 116,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility on the Health Sciences Campus. Representing the fourth outpatient facility built adjacent to Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the new building incorporates integrated care delivery with a patient-centric design for multidisciplinary ambulatory care.
This beautifully designed facility helps meet the growing demand for specialty services by accommodating more than 100,000 patient visits annually. The building offers an Outpatient Surgery Center with six large operating rooms, as well as 46 examination rooms, several procedure treatment rooms, a blood draw station, a pharmacy, an image enhancement center, a gift shop and a dining area with retail space.
USC Verdugo Hills Hospital anniversary
In July, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital (USC-VHH) celebrated five years as members of the Trojan Family. Keck Medicine has made it possible for USC-VHH to offer state-of-the-art technology and upgrade its facilities. The hospital’s technology investments include the da Vinci Surgical System surgical robot, a high-intensity frequency ultrasound (HIFU) device and a Xenex disinfection robot for superbug infections.
In March, the hospital opened its new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The 3,100-square-foot, level II NICU has six private suites, each one equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and 24-hour webcam access to the baby’s incubator on a secured, private server.
Community connections
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center appointed internationally recognized cancer researcher and advocate Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, PhD, MPH, as its first associate director of community outreach and engagement. Baezconde-Garbanati will leverage the cancer center’s resources to engage the community in cancer prevention strategies, screening and treatment, including participating in clinical trials.
Commitment to our community
Each month, more than 20 staff members, physicians and leaders from the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Keck Medicine of USC spend an afternoon working together to purchase, prepare and serve dinner to more than 60 beneficiaries of Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission.
Proyecto Pastoral is a local nonprofit organization established to improve the quality of life in Boyle Heights. Proyecto Pastoral is associated with the Dolores Mission, which offers an elderly women’s shelter and adult men’s shelter.
Each year, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital offers free tuberculosis testing and results readings for local school volunteers. This effort is coordinated with local PTA groups and district nurses at the La Cañada and Glendale unified school districts. Last year, more than 325 parent volunteers were screened through the program.