1. < Message from the Chair

There is so much happening in our department that we are challenged at times to share all of the ways in which our colleagues, including faculty, trainees and staff, are making impactful contributions to the school of medicine, university, our Los Angeles community, and the world. One thing that is clear to me is that we are stronger when we work collaboratively together to achieve our common vision of to lead in innovation, transform care and advance health for all. We recently held our annual Department of Medicine Professional Group (DMPG) retreat and as will be summarized later, the daylong gathering underscored our strengths, our community and our resilience even in the face of significant challenges that could impact all of our missions. I also acknowledge and believe that our diversity is our strength and recognizing members of that tapestry underscores how each member of the UCLA Department of Medicine (DoM), brings invaluable perspectives that strengthen us all.

Celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month 

Last week, we celebrated Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. While May has come to a close, we are pleased to continue our recognition of the depth and breadth of cultures represented in the DoM’s faculty and staff by honoring Jewish American Heritage Month, which is also recognized in May.

Jewish American Heritage Month was established in 2006 as a time to celebrate the many contributions of Jewish Americans have made to the fabric of American history, culture, and society. In the DoM, we mark this observance by highlighting a few of the many Jewish LEADERS in the DoM whose notable contributions have contributed to our department’s strengths. They were happy for us to share their perspectives with the broader DoM community.

DoM Faculty Share How Tikkun Olam Impacts Their Path in Medicine 

On May 23^rd, UCLA Health hosted “Tikkun Olam in Practice: Journeys into Medicine and Healing” where three DoM faculty joined David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) Vice Dean of Inclusive Excellence Dave McIntosh, PhD and medical student Stuart Fine to share how the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, which means “repairing the world” both physically and spiritually, has shaped their careers in medicine.

Arash Naeim, MD, PhD 

“Helping [families] find peace, helping them feel like they made the right decision, even in the hardest moments, that felt meaningful. That is where I learned that healing is not always about curing. Sometimes, it is about presence, clarity, and compassion,” he stated.

In addition to providing support to patients and families, Dr. Naeim aims to make a difference in the world by connecting with people both locally and internationally. He believes in building bridges with colleagues here at UCLA as well as supporting global collaboration in cancer research.

“We are not just Los Angeles, or California, or the United States. If we want to solve big problems in medicine, we have to work together. That starts with shared valued like compassion and dignity.”

Whether in his role as clinician, researcher, or colleague, Dr. Naeim advances tikkun olam by connecting with the healing power of community, mentorship, and human connection.

Jonathan Goldin, MD, PhD

A defining moment in his career was when he helped to rebuild Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, in South Los Angeles. As a public hospital with deep ties to the community and a history rooted in health equity, Dr. Goldin feels that helping to re-build MLK Jr. Community hospital was “the best thing I have ever done.” He notes that the doctors working there every day — with limited resources but limitless commitment — was tikkun olam in action.

As he reflects on the future of medicine, mentorship is another area where Dr. Goldin sees the principles of tikkun olam. “You do not need to be visible in everything you do,” he said. “Sometimes it is about opening the door for someone and stepping aside. Helping them break out to do something and make a difference.”

As graduating medical students prepare to take the next step in their career, Dr. Goldin notes that tikkun olam is in their hands. He believes that through education, they will carry these values forward and build a better world.

Stacey Weinstein, MD 

“In med-peds, you care for individuals at every stage of life. It means being present not just for the clinical moment, but for the broader context of someone’s life and that includes their family, their community, their challenges,” she said. “Sometimes ‘healing the world’ can mean being present with the person in front of you in clinic.”

Her commitment to being present extends beyond the clinic. As an educator and residency program leader, she sees her role as a mentor for future generations who will carry compassion, curiosity and conscience into their careers. She also strives to ensure that trainees and clinicians feel supported through wellness initiatives.

“It’s not just about patients – it’s also about our community of healers,” Dr. Weinstein said. “What does it mean to be present for each other in hard times? What does it mean to support the next generation of educators, researchers, and advocates?”

Whether advocating for her patients, or helping trainees navigate residency, or simply being present during a difficult conversation with a colleague, Dr. Weinstein sees tikkun olam not as a single act but as a way of being where each day we decide to show up, to listen, and to care.

For Jodi L. Friedman, MD, Jewish Identity is Source of Humanism and Care 

As vice chair for education in the DoM, Jodi L. Friedman, MD embodies the characteristics of community, education and humanism — three attributes that she credits to her experience growing up in a secular Jewish household, which regularly celebrated Jewish holidays with extended family.

Even as she leads our education mission, Dr. Friedman never stops learning.

“It is also inspirational to work with such talented and brilliant students and housestaff that we have here at UCLA,” she added. “It may sound trite, but there is no doubt I learn more from our trainees and by being a teacher than they do from me.”

Thank you Jodi, for your service, and a heartfelt thanks to all of our Jewish colleagues who every day make integral contributions to our department’s missions and successes.

DMPG Annual Retreat Highlights Bright Points Amid Challenges 

Members of the Department of Medicine Professional Group (DMPG) convene every spring at the weeklong DMPG Annual Retreat to network, learn and brainstorm about the future of our department, and as this year’s event showed, it just keeps getting better and better. From May 5 through 9, faculty took part in a series of virtual events on community engagement and inclusive excellence in patient care, documentation and billing practices, artificial intelligence and much more. The retreat culminated in an in-person gathering on Saturday, May 10 at the Luskin Center, with 446 guests in attendance!

The State of the Department 

As is customary, department leaders including DMPG President Michelle R. Hwang, MD; DGSOM Dean Steven M. Dubinett, MD; and I updated our faculty on the state of the DoM, medical school, and health system, including new appointments, progress on our ongoing clinical integration and expansion efforts, current headwinds and much more. I will briefly recap key points below.

As of the end of fiscal year 2024, 1,819 faculty comprise our department, including 223 clinical instructors, 465 assistant professors, 193 associate professors, 231 professors, 79 professor emeriti, and 32 faculty on recall. Over the past year we have gained 184 new faculty and seen 70 depart, bringing us to a net gain of 114 — roughly 30% more than last year. Thus, we continue to expand the size of our faculty, which has been true each year for the past 4 years. 

I provided an update on the clinical integration across the health system. Specifically, all clinical departments within UCLA Health are in the process of moving all clinical expenses to the health system an important step towards the goal of developing integrated funds alignment. The clinical integration exercise means that expenses that were previously incurred by the department will ultimately reside in health system accounts. Net clinical revenues after expenses will return to departments to support their missions. This first phase of clinical integration will take place over a two and a half -year period and launched in Sept. 2023. As part of this initiative, the DoM transferred the Hematology/Oncology non-wRVU enterprise into the health system. This past February all remaining DoM operated clinics moved into the health system. Importantly there have been no major changes to administration or staffing levels of these clinics and the process has not impacted faculty activity in these clinics, nor materially impacted department operations or our financial status.

The growth and evolution of our department underscores our excellence across all missions. However, it is important to note that the first few months of this year has challenged us in many unexpected ways. The LA wildfires in January took the homes of many in the DoM; this disaster tested our resilience and revealed agility in our responses and communication infrastructure as we came together to mobilize resources and ensure continuity of care for our patients. The DoM is especially grateful to Chief Wellness Officer Sun M. Yoo, MD, MPH and Director of Physician Wellness Joshua N. Khalili, MD for leading the effort to organize shelter and other necessities to displaced members of our community, as well as to our Division Wellness Champions who have continued to provide much-needed support to faculty as we recover from the fires.

On top of the wildfires, the DoM faces new challenges in the form of wide-ranging cuts and other disruptions to federal funding for research programs. Our research faculty are navigating a rapidly evolving and unpredictable array of grant terminations, involuntarily pulled applications, cancelled study sections and award delays. To navigate this uncertain time, we have collected information from all divisions on terminated, at-risk and delayed grants along with faculty and staff compensated effort. We have estimated the potential loss of federal funding across all divisions and developed bridge funding principles to help us plan for the future. For the remaining fiscal year, faculty with grants terminated will have salary support continued at its current level; for fiscal year 2026, we have worked with faculty to identify opportunities to reallocate effort to other sources to minimize unfunded research effort. We will be prorating unfunded effort to X+X’ at a percentage of impacted effort. The department continues to actively monitor this situation and will continue to provide updates as the situation evolves.

Now let us turn our attention to the ongoing expansion of ambulatory clinics, a major strategic effort aligned with the patient care pillar of the DoM Strategic Plan. We are opening clinics in three geographic markets that are brand new to UCLA Health. First, in West Adams, we have signed a new lease for an approximately 3,000 square-foot building that previously housed an EXER Urgent Care location. It will house four family medicine physicians and will open in 18 to 24 months.

The next 18 to 24 months will also see the opening of a primary care and oncology clinic in Long Beach. It will be housed in a two-story, freestanding building with 17,000 square feet of space dedicated entirely to UCLA Health.

Third, we are making progress towards the execution of a lease in Inglewood’s new Hollywood Park campus. This clinic will be a multi-specialty community hub that will offer a wide range of services, including primary care, medicine and surgical services. It will also provide imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, group health rooms and more. Full planning will begin after the lease is completed, and should that be successful, we expect it to open within 24 months.

Expansions to our inpatient services are underway as well. We are collaborating with UCLA Health for the UCLA West Valley Medical Center expansion, which launched this year with eight specialties.

We are working with all divisions to understand what staffing needs will be in the next year and have gathered data to plan a phased approach to creating services. We are also working with the health system on future increased capacity at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital relocates to mid-Wilshire in 2026.

Another goal under the Strategic Plan’s patient care pillar is to strengthen our clinical infrastructure and operational efficiencies. That entails several projects, each of which are summarized below.

• Standardize patient referral protocols: This will reduce unnecessary referrals to specialists for diagnoses that fall under the scope of primary care providers (PCPs). This will include utilizing e-consults and decision support to inform referrals, as well as the education for PCPs on when to refer common symptoms and diagnoses for specialty care.
• Ambulatory operational standards around rooming and after-visit activities: We will establish operational workflows across all DoM outpatient sites to improve efficiency, consistency and quality of care in rooming and after-visit activities. This project is expected to be completed in September 2025.
• Expanded access to ambulatory procedures and tests: This will expand the availability of procedures and tests in the ambulatory setting to improve patient access and reduce the need to admit patients for imaging, studies and workups. Estimated completion of this project is estimated to be December 2025.
• Shifting care from inpatient to outpatient: This project will improve inpatient capacity by identifying new clinical pathways for complex treatments that can effectively be conducted in the outpatient setting.
• Expand access to inpatient procedures and tests: To improve access to procedures and tests after hours and on weekends, we will determine testing and procedure barriers to patient throughput and disposition. Estimated completion of this project is December 2025.
• Ambulatory operational standards around in-basket management: This project will standardize operational workflows across all DoM outpatient sites to improve efficiency, consistency and quality of care in in-basket management. The project is expected to be completed in June 2026.

A separate set of projects, representing another objective under the patient care pillar of the department’s strategic plan, aims to cultivate a culture and environment in the clinical setting that supports provider and staff well-being and retention. This includes an expansion of our well-received professional coaching program, which entails six one-hour sessions held via Zoom over a three-month period. The first cohort launched in April 2025 and included waitlisted faculty from the pilot, while the second launched in May 2025 with a group of physician-scientists. Further expansion to other groups will begin in August and September based on availability.

We are also participating in the health system’s pilot of AI scribes. The project has selected a tool, Nabla, and is in the process of integrating new modifications that will translate languages, suggest diagnoses and run billing processes. Those who are interested in being included in the project’s expansion can reach out to DoMWellness@mednet.ucla.edu to be added to the waitlist. Note that only those who directly obtain history from a patient can be part of the pilot, thus AI scribes will not currently be available in resident run clinics.

The DoM is also making progress on establishing and growing partnerships with community organizations and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), an important objective under the community engagement pillar of the Strategic Plan. These partnerships include:

• California Hospital Medical Center: Cardiology inpatient coverage
• Chinatown Service Center: Care from UCLA Health Center for East-West Medicine faculty; we plan to expand by adding supervising fellows from the East-West Center.
• Homeboy Industries: We currently offer tattoo removal services; expansion plans include addiction medicine and primary care.
• Homeless Healthcare Collaborative, UCLA Health: Our faculty care for patients through our street medicine program, with an expanded leadership role for our faculty.
• LA LGBT Center: We currently have one general internal medicine med-peds physician present for 16 hours per week, and are exploring adding an endocrinologist for six hours per month
• Martin Luther King Jr. Community Healthcare: Our partnership currently includes one hospitalist who oversees IM residency wards training and six cardiologists, each of whom practices at the facility one to two days per month. A primary care physician practices there one day per week, and an infectious disease specialist offers call coverage five days per month. We plan to add one to three full-time primary care physicians, one full-time geriatrician and one part-time primary care physician in the future.
• Olive View-UCLA Medical Center: Residents in 22 specialties train here; we also offer population health management and value-based care.
• To Help Everyone Health & Wellness Center: We currently have two infectious diseases faculty providing HIV care one day per week and have recently expanded to add a cardiologist and two endocrinologists. We will add another primary care physician one day per week, another endocrinologist one day per month, and dermatology faculty and psychology post-doc trainees.
• Venice Family Clinic: Our existing partnership includes many part-time or volunteer internal medicine and meds-peds resident clinic preceptors as well as one full-time equivalent of primary care service. We plan to add an additional 1.5 full-time equivalent of primary care and street medicine; cardiology two days per month; pulmonary and sleep medicine an additional two half-days per month; endocrinology two half days per month; and rheumatology two half-days per month.
• UCLA-Saban/Silver Lake Community Church Clinic: Our partnership includes primary care and street medicine services through the IM Residency Health Equity and Advocacy Pathway.

I also shared exciting updates to initiatives under the education pillar of the strategic plan. As many of you know, last November we launched Proceedings of the UCLA Department of Medicine on the Cureus platform as a way to expand our efforts to document faculty creativity. So far, the journal has seen 36 articles published, with 28 in review and another 30 in unsubmitted drafts. In 2025 we will continue to make progress on its optimization and will launch a second venue to showcase faculty scholarship. This venue, that will be hosted on the UC eScholarship Site, will accept clinical images/videos, narrative essays and QI project summaries.

In addition, we have some exciting developments within the DMPG Affinity Groups, which showcased their programs during a networking and dessert session at the in-person conference. A few highlights:

Thank you to all those who made this year’s DMPG retreat such a success, including the DMPG education team, the DMPG executive board and the DoM administrative staff. I look forward to sharing new progress on all areas that we discussed, in the coming months!

Dale

P.S.

One of my personal goals has been to visit all 50 states within the USA. I recently met this milestone. Next week, I will make the big reveal and announce which was the 50^th state visited. In the meantime, I will buy coffee for the first person to share with me, in the next 5 days, what that state was.

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