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Residents of northern Alameda
County have big reasons to smile!

Overview of Alameda County
Medical Center
An overview of Alameda County
Medical Center begins with our mission—
we are here to deliver high-quality, compassionate
care to all county
residents, regardless of their ability to
pay.
COMPASSIONATE CARE FOR EVERYONE
We are the major provider
of affordable, quality health care to underserved
individuals and communities in one of the
most ethnically,
linguistically and culturally diverse counties
in the United States. Alameda County, with
1.4 million residents, is the only county
in California in which
each of the four major ethnic groups represent
15% or more of the county’s population.
More than 80 languages are spoken here, and
some 25% percent of the residents speak no
or limited English. An estimated 23% have
no health insurance.
DESIGNATED TRAUMA CENTER
The Highland Campus of the
Medical Center houses the Level II Designated
Trauma Center for our area and one of the
top Trauma
Centers in the country - nationally renowned
for its expertise in saving
victims from life-threatening accidents and
injuries. The emergency Department is the
life-blood of the entire health care system
in Alameda County. Besides being available
24/7 for life-saving care of accident victims,
the Trauma Center stands as our disaster resource
in times of earthquake, when firestorms rage
across the densely populated Oakland Hills,
or in case of unexpected major emergency of
any kind.
Meeting the Needs of East
Bay Families
The integrated health care
system known today as Alameda County Medical
Center started in 1864, as the Alameda County
Infirmary, on the site of the present-day
Fairmont Hospital in San Leandro. Highland
Hospital opened its doors in 1927, offering
comprehensive services in a teaching hospital
environment. For many years, Highland also
operated its own School of Nursing. In the
1960's, Alameda County launched Ambulatory
Health Care Services, a chain of neighborhood-based
health clinics.
Today, Highland Hospital
and Clinics, Fairmont Hospital and HIV Clinic,
John George Psychiatric Pavilion, Eastmont
Wellness Center, Winton Wellness Center and
Newark Health Center enable us to serve our
Alameda County patients within their own communities.
STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY
With the opening of the
Koret Foundation Critical Care and Clinical
Center in 2004, on the Highland Campus, the
Medical Center is able to
offer a modern, attractive and well-equipped
facility for emergency care,
outpatient visits, surgery and other services.
The Medical Center is now
the major provider of care for Alameda
County’s medically indigent and underserved
population, accounting
for over 90% of all inpatient days and emergency
room visits by indigent
patients countywide on an annualized basis.
Nearly 80% of our
patients are ethnic minorities. The Medical
Center comprehensively
addresses the issue of cultural competence
in the delivery of quality
health care services in a way that few medical
organizations can
match. We provide on-site translation for
nine major languages and
on-call service for 25 additional languages,
as well as a range of
social services to help patients overcome
impediments to obtaining
care and ensure that they are treated with
understanding and
respect.
Special Awards and
Recognition
Trauma Service
Heart Attack Response
Safety Net Awards
Blood Bank
Laboratory
Respected Teaching
Institution
Emergency Medicine
Internal Medicine
Surgery
Primary Care
Oral and Maxillo-Facial Surgery
A TEACHING CENTER
The Medical Center is committed
to maintaining an environment that is supportive
of a wide range of educational programs and
activities. Education of medical students,
interns, residents, continuing education for
medical nursing, and other staff, along with
medical research, are all essential components
of our environments. Physicians have been
training at Highland Hospital since it opened
its doors in 1927. Through
affiliations with the University of California
- San Francisco and Pacific Medical Center,
Highland offers residency programs in Emergency
Medicine, Internal Medicine, Primary Care,
Surgery and Oral-Maxillofacial
Surgery, and a one-year Transitional Internship
program.
[ More
about the Medical Center history
]
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