Our core teaching facility is Highland Hospital, a 169 bed, county-owned facility, located in Oakland. It is one of five campuses of the Alameda Health System (formerly known as Alameda County Medical Center). It serves a patient population which is largely indigent, inner city and culturally diverse. Highland Hospital is the only level 1 trauma center for the East Bay, and the only trauma center for the city of Oakland, seeing over 3500 trauma activations per year. The Emergency Department has an annual census of over 90,000, with one quarter of the patients being evaluated in the contiguous FastTrack system. Approximately 21% of these patients are admitted to the hospital, 3.5% to critical care beds. The ED has 55 patient care beds and two X-ray units. A stat lab, CT, MRI and Ultrasound are available 24 hours a day. The ED possesses four dedicated ultrasound machines that are used extensively for patient care, housestaff teaching, and credentialing purposes. In addition to core ED rotations, residents rotate on the Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, OB/GYN, Cardiology, and Trauma services.
UCSF Medical Center is a 790 bed, world-renowned tertiary referral center with 135,000 annual inpatient-days. There are over 1,000 physicians on staff. Recognized as a leader in medical education and research, UCSF ranks eighth in total federal research grants in the US. The Emergency Department has an annual census of 34,000, with an admission rate of 23%, an estimated 30% of these going to critical care or telemetry beds. The adult and pediatric urgent care clinics each see another 15,000. With a mix of indigent patients, third party payer patients, and patients being referred or already in research protocols, the emergency department offers a unique experience for the resident. A recent survey of case mix complexity at university teaching hospitals found UCSF to be in the 99th percentile nationally, and at least 30% higher than any other major teaching hospital. Residents rotate through the Emergency Department, Neurology/Neurovascular ICU, and the Medical ICU at UCSF Medical Center. In addition, there are numerous electives and research opportunities available.
Children's Hospital is a 193 bed pediatric medical center, the largest and busiest between Los Angeles and Seattle. It is recognized nationally as a leader in Pediatric Medicine. Children's is the designated pediatric trauma center for all of Alameda County. It is also a major tertiary referral center for Northern California, with patients frequently transferred by helicopter from outlying areas. The Emergency Department has an annual census of approximately 30,000 with over 5,500 admissions. This high volume provides the resident an extensive exposure to the spectrum of pediatric emergencies. The Emergency Department faculty are all Board certified in Pediatric Emergency Medicine. In addition to the Emergency Department, residents rotate through the Pediatric ICU and on Pediatric Anesthesia.
Eden Medical Center is a community hospital located in Castro Valley, a scenic 15-minute drive from Oakland. This hospital gives the residents experience in a private hospital located in a more suburban area. The hospital sees a broad mix of patients, including a considerable volume of high acuity cases and many pediatric cases. They have a very active Cardiac and Neuro interventional program as well as a full Women's Health program. The hospital also serves as the Trauma Center for all of Southern Alameda County. Residents rotate there during their third and fourth years of residency, allowing a greater degree of responsibility.
Kaiser Hospital Oakland is a 300+ bed facility in downtown Oakland and participates in the Permanente HMO system. There is a freestanding residency in Internal Medicine as well as a large number of rotating surgical housestaff from UCSF - East Bay. EM residents rotate through the Emergency Department during all four years of residency and on the ICU service in the PGY-II year. Housestaff are offered a wonderful exposure to community EM while in the ED and, while in the ICU, exposure to critical care and procedures. There are opportunities to do subspecialty electives and collaborate on large research projects; Kaiser faculty are an integral part of the Highland Emergency educational program, including weekly conference and boards preparation.
