Clinical Support Departments

It is the goal of The CARE Project to provide direct patient-care interdisciplinary services through The Creative Arts and Recreation Therapy Department. The CARE Project aims to enhance the healthcare environment and aid in the healing and recovery of all patients. They support patients, their families, and caregivers in their journey to wellness and healing. The CARE Project provides opportunities for self-expression through Art Therapy, relaxation using Reiki, and normalization by means of pet therapy and special events. This donor-funded initiative promotes independence, reinforces identity, and improves quality of life through evidenced-based clinical interventions and therapeutic activities.

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UC Davis Health Pulmonary Services includes the Pulmonary Services Lab (PSL), and the Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) Lab. Both areas are staffed with Registered Respiratory Therapists (RRT). The PSL provides pulmonary function testing (PFT), cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), high altitude simulation testing (HAST), methacholine challenge testing (MCT), and others to help doctors identify and treat a multitude of lung conditions. While most patients seen in the PSL are outpatient, the PSL does perform bedside studies for inpatients as well, including bronchoscopies, metabolic testing, and spirometry. RRT’s working in the PSL have additional credentials to perform their highly specialized work.

The ABG lab runs 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to provide a vital service to the hospital. Blood is analyzed and values reported back to care providers so that clinical decisions for treatment can be made. Approximately 190,000 blood samples are analyzed every year in the ABG lab. RRT’s working in the ABG lab respond to emergencies when immediate bedside analyzation is needed in critical situations.

The PICC Services department serves several missions for the health system.  Our department provides therapeutic apheresis including therapeutic plasma exchange, platelet reduction, red cell exchange, and white cell reduction.  We offer stem cell collection services, both autologous and allogeneic and photopheresis treatments.  Additionally, we are a Northern California  peripheral stem cell collection site for the National Marrow Donor Program and participate in clinical trials related to advancing stem cell treatment therapies.

Our department also provides peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) placement and care. The PICC team follows each catheter placed by our institution and those that are in place prior to patient admission to our facility.  Our expert PICC certified team provides consultation and education to physicians, nursing staff and patients on the appropriate use and maintenance of PICC lines and other vascular devices.  All of our services are provided both in the inpatient setting and to outpatients in our department on North 6 of the main hospital.

The UC Davis Medical Center Radiology department consists of Diagnostic Radiology, Interventional Radiology, Neuro-Interventional Radiology, Ultrasound, Computerized Tomography (CT), Nuclear Medicine, Positive Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MR).  The Department has four Interventional Suites, three CT scanners, four Ultrasound procedure rooms, five Nuclear Medicine cameras, one PET Imaging unit, three MR scanners and eight Diagnostic radiology rooms.

Nursing provides support in all areas of the department for the following;  one-on-one nursing care during the administration of moderate sedation for interventional procedures, responding to emergency situations such as patients experiencing allergic responses to intravenous contrast administration, patients undergoing cardiac stress testing in Nuclear Medicine , PET and MR  Imaging.  Nursing also provides care to patients in MR and CT who require general anesthesia.  The Department has 17 beds, 10 pre- and post –procedure recovery beds and seven holding beds for inpatients awaiting diagnostic exams. 

The Department performs approximately 450 interventional procedures per month, where nursing is required.  Many of these are advanced procedures such as cerebral aneurysm coiling of arteriovenous malformations,  Trans Jugular Intrahepatic  Portostystemic  Shunts (TIPS) , Radioembolization  of Hepatic Malignancies, chemoembolization of hepatic malignancies, visceral and extremity arteriovenous malformations, trauma management, dialysis fistula care, central venous access, percutaneous biliary Interventions and CT guided radio frequency and microwave ablation of tumors.   Overall the department performs, on average, 27,000 procedures and examinations per month.

Radiology employs 23 RN's, three nurse practitioners, four MOSC’s and two radiology assistants that are directly involved in patient care. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 6:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. and nursing is on-call for off hours, weekends and holidays.

The UC Davis Palliative Care Services team includes physicians, nurses, social workers, and chaplains, all with specialized training and expertise in helping people feel better through serious illness. Our team specializes in interdisciplinary medical care focused on relieving the pain, symptoms, and stress of serious illness. We work with the patient and, as appropriate, their family to navigate treatment plans to best achieve the patient's goals.

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Acute Renal Services is a hospital unit service department providing dialysis to adult and pediatric patients admitted to the hospital. Dialysis is either provided in a central service area for those patients stable enough to leave their units or at the patient bedside for those who are not. Renal Services also provides dialysis services and consultation to the pediatric population at the Shriners Hospital for Children. All types of dialysis are provided including intermittent, continuous, and peritoneal. Acute Renal Services is home to 22 registered nurses, 2 dialysis techs, and one unit service coordinator. Acute Renal Services has one of the highest percentages of advance certification nursing staff in the institution.