Changing Lives

by Caring for Patients

The physicians, nurses, and other caregivers at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics change lives around the clock through a tireless devotion to safe, highly specialized, patient-centered care.

These health care providers are skilled individual specialists who work as members of multidisciplinary teams sharing knowledge and expertise, enabling patients to recover faster and return home sooner.

Every patient’s care is delivered in an environment that embraces best practices for safety and quality. For example, a new safety initiative has been created to make systematic improvements that help assure the best possible outcome for each patient, while improving efficiency and decreasing the potential for medical errors.

The use of evidence-based medicine and rigorous comparisons to benchmarks are driving quality-related improvements that benefit patients, including those with illnesses that make them more vulnerable to infections and other complications. Goals include decreased pneumonia rates among patients who require ventilator assistance; reduced infections among patients who require central venous catheters; and fewer complications among patients receiving dialysis.

As part of Iowa’s only comprehensive academic medical center, UI Hospitals and Clinics is a technological leader. Among the newest advances are sophisticated systems for performing robotically assisted and minimally invasive surgeries, 4-D radiation therapy, and diagnostic tests for cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses.

Located within a Big Ten university campus, UI Hospitals and Clinics also partners with nationally recognized UI researchers in computer science and other disciplines to investigate ways to improve health care delivery.

These and other advances illustrate the benefits of knowledge-sharing and a continuing focus on patient safety, quality, and service. The result: A 24/7 devotion to changing lives through compassion, creative energy, and pioneering innovation.