University of the Pacific has a long and successful history in training healthcare professionals through personalized educational models, collaborative research and a deep commitment to service.
By utilizing new models of patient care and research, the Pacific Health Care Collaborative (PHCC) will improve overall health outcomes, lower costs, enhance the patient and provider experience, and transform health care professional education and training.
Primary medical and dental care in the United States have historically operated in independent, parallel systems. Within these two systems of care, there is a separation of education; financing; health records; care delivery locations; professional organizations; and state and federal policies. These systems have developed with little recognition that diseases in the mouth and the rest of the body can affect one another. As a result of this separation, many patients have difficulty accessing health care services, leading to health disparities and escalating costs.
We know that improving health in the United States will require a coordinated, multisystem solution, and focusing on oral health is key to boosting the overall wellbeing of the nation.
The clinic will serve as a safety net for vulnerable and underserved populations in Northern California by providing preventive, acute and chronic care. The clinic will be well positioned to pilot innovative care models that involve shared information and co-location, integrating medical and dental electronic records to improve outcome tracking and enhancing the curriculum to reshape the culture of healthcare education and training.
Collaborative care has the potential to enhance health outcomes and lower costs. Traditional fee-for-service healthcare systems may not consistently prioritize patients' overall well-being and outcomes. Value-based care offers an opportunity to reshape healthcare delivery and compensation, emphasizing improved quality of care and patient outcomes. It shifts healthcare from a reactive to a proactive approach, preventing issues before they affect quality of life.
Our plan is to demonstrate the success of the PHCC and create systematic changes in how healthcare is taught and delivered both in California and across the United States.
University of the Pacific’s three campuses in Stockton, Sacramento and San Francisco all offer health science programs; however, the Collaborative will be located on our Sacramento campus. This location was chosen due to its proximity to the state capitol and to the University’s McGeorge School of Law, helping the Collaborative demonstrate the efficacy of integrating primary and dental care to policy makers and drawing upon the expertise of our McGeorge School of Law to assist with advocacy and policy efforts.
The clinic will be housed in a 30,000-square foot building at 3333 3rd Ave., which is being fully renovated to create a state-of-the art facility scheduled to open in summer 2024.
The building will include eight medical exam rooms, two medical procedure rooms, 30 dental operatories, an Ambulatory Surgery Center with two operating rooms, four enclosed sensory flexible medical/dental procedure rooms and a dedicated sensory waiting area for patients with intellectual, developmental and acquired disabilities with sensory sensitivity. The facility will also feature classrooms and a simulation clinic for students.
The PHCC will extend its care services to communities within the county and neighboring areas through a new mobile health clinic. This mobile clinic will reach patients in locations with limited access to healthcare. It will feature three treatment/exam areas, facilitating the delivery of both oral and primary medical care. ADA access will be ensured with a lift, and the clinic will include an ADA-compliant bathroom. The mobile clinic will serve as a platform for exploring innovative collaborative practice models through a participatory process of discovery, allowing us to experiment with scheduling, electronic health record integration, insurance, and other support services before implementing them in the permanent facility. The insights gained will be invaluable as we scale up this model.
The university is continuing to build resources to support the development of the project. Thanks to generous anchor philanthropic gifts, we are off to a strong start. Project financing will include other philanthropic and public support as well as existing university resources. Within two years of operation, we project that the health clinic will be sustainable based on estimated revenues.
For information about how to make a gift to the Pacific Health Care Collaborative, please call 415.929.6403 or email sf_development@pacific.edu.
If you are interested learning more about the Pacific Health Care Collaborative, including opportunities for teaching, patient care, research or collaborations within the local community, please contact Dr. Kim Benton, director of the Pacific Health Care Collaborative, at kbenton1@pacific.edu or 628.277.9406.
