Gratitude to OR teams for extraordinary weekend of patient care
(SACRAMENTO)
When patients needed urgent surgical care this past weekend, dozens of physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists, surgical technologists and operating room professionals at UC Davis Health answered the call.
Working together across specialties, 26 surgeries were performed during July 24-26, an extraordinary number and overall effort that reflects the collaborative spirit and patient-first culture that define UC Davis Health.
The demanding stretch capped an already busy month for the Operating Room (OR), Acute Care Surgery and Trauma teams. Beginning Friday morning, teams worked continuously to care for patients with serious injuries and other urgent surgical needs, while additional faculty and staff stepped forward to ensure operating rooms remained available and patients received timely care.
Close coordination, efficiency
This accomplishment represents far more than a number, Bruce Hall, chief clinical officer at UC Davis Health, wrote in an email. “It reflects an amazing amount of care delivered matched by an amazing amount of dedication across teams and disciplines. Thank you, everyone!”
The weekend’s success required close coordination among surgeons, anesthesiologists, nursing teams, operating room staff, board runners, support personnel and hospital leaders. Operating rooms were utilized efficiently, additional staffing was mobilized and team members extended their shifts or volunteered to help beyond their scheduled responsibilities to keep patients moving safely through surgery.
In an email recognizing the effort, Rachael Callcut, division chief, trauma, acute care surgery and surgical critical care, praised the collaboration that made the weekend accomplishment possible.
“I just wanted to extend my thanks to the OR teams for helping the ACS and Trauma teams deal with a particularly busy last 48 hours,” Callcut wrote.
She noted, “Our team is tired but energized by helping so many of our community that needed us this month. The last two days we had multiple extra faculty not on call help with the case load or stay far beyond their duties to just make sure patients could get the care they needed.”
Callcut also expressed thanks to teams and their leaders for mobilizing extra staff and faculty on July 4 to help OR deal with the case load (49 new patients) from that day.
Shared purpose
Throughout the July 24-26 weekend, teams coordinated operating room schedules, found additional surgical capacity, mobilized extra staff and faculty, and maintained the high standards of quality and safety that patients expect from UC Davis Health.
Colleagues across the organization echoed their appreciation. Leaders thanked the OR teams for their efficiency, flexibility and willingness to respond as patient volumes surged. The recognition highlighted what makes academic medicine unique – highly skilled professionals from multiple disciplines coming together with a shared purpose of delivering exceptional care, regardless of the hour or workload.
While the 26 completed surgeries stand as an impressive milestone, those closest to the work say the weekend was really about people – patients receiving the urgent care they needed and teams supporting one another every step of the way.
