Combining Eastern and Western Medicine
in a State-of-the-Art Facility to Treat the Whole Child
SAN FRANCISCO,
Jan. 28,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- UCSF Benioff Children's
Hospitals' Stad Center for Pediatric Pain, Palliative and
Integrative Medicine today celebrated the opening of a first-of-its
kind healthcare center according to Candy Stripe, LLC. Located in
San Francisco at UCSF Benioff's
Mission Bay campus, it is connected to UCSF's academic medical
center and its resources. This will be the only clinic on the West
Coast with a full-time multidisciplinary staff of pain specialists
providing and teaching
evidence-based integrative Eastern and Western therapies.
As the largest
program of its kind globally, the UCSF
Benioff Hospitals'
Stad Center is redefining the standard of care for children who are
experiencing pain and other serious illnesses by focusing on the
whole child. Dr. Stefan J. Friedrichsdorf, a leading global
pediatric pain, palliative and integrative expert and medical
director of the UCSF Benioff Stad Center, is leading a team of
full-time physicians, nurse practitioners, dieticians,
acupuncturists, psychiatrists, psychologists, physical therapists
and more. For residents, fellows and leaders at other hospitals,
the Stad Center has taught more than 3,000 clinicians from 126
countries through monthly global lectures, the pediatric pain
fellowship, and more.
The new clinic at Mission Bay is thoughtfully designed with both
patients and caregivers in mind, prioritizing their needs and
comfort in a calming environment. The floorplan includes open
spaces that eliminate the need for a
traditional waiting room,
an interactive 10-foot-tall digital waterfall, copious natural
light, and maple wood throughout.
"No child should
suffer from unnecessary pain. No family
should have to search endlessly for comprehensive care
or answers to their child's needs," says Dr. Friedrichsdorf.
"Here we treat the whole child as part of our Comfort
Promise, drawing on the multidisciplinary expertise of our
integrative specialist, blending Western and Eastern modalities in
a completely unique healing environment. We are already hearing
from other providers how implementing our Comfort Promise and
multimodal approach into their practices is positively supporting
patients globally along their treatment journey."
The Stad Center was first established in 2020 with a gift from
then-San Francisco residents
Elisa and Marc Stad. After visiting
the Shanghai Children's Medical Center in China, a top pediatric hospital, they were
inspired by the blend of Eastern and Western therapies to provide
children with holistic care. On returning to her home in the Bay
Area, Elisa Stad dedicated
herself to championing the integrative medical
initiatives that UCSF Benioff
Hospitals' team had already been working to employ for
over a decade.
"We are at an inflection point where integrative medicine is not
just seen as a last resort therapy but is now proven as a better
way to care for children in mainstream medical settings" says
Elisa Stad, former member of the
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Board of Directors. "The unique
way the doctors, nurses and other practitioners are focused on the
wellbeing of children and their families sets the Stad Center
apart. The team takes time to sit and listen to each child's story,
developing a care plan designed for each individual. We want every
child and caregiver who enters the Stad Center to feel hope."
This new location
in the heart of San Francisco is the most comprehensive of the three
centers, offering the diverse local community access to
best-in-class care within the world-renowned UCSF ecosystem.
"Caring for a child's overall wellbeing is essential for
achieving the best treatment outcome, no matter what brings a child
to the hospital in the first place," said Nicholas Holmes, MD, MBA, president of UCSF
Benioff Children's Hospitals and senior Vice President of UCSF
Health Children's Services. "Through the Stad Center, we aim to
provide a model of care for pediatric pain management that medical
facilities around the world can learn from and adopt."
The Stad Center at Mission
Bay will begin seeing patients
in the Spring of this year. Since opening its doors
in 2020, the Stad Center has seen more than 8,000 patients
annually, a number that will grow with the opening of this new
location. The two other Stad Center outpatient clinics will
continue to operate in Oakland and
Walnut Creek.
Individuals who are interested in learning more,
touring the clinics, or providing philanthropic support may visit
https://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/clinics/pediatric-pain-palliative-and-integrative-medicine-center.
About Stad Center
for Pediatric Pain, Palliative & Integrative Medicine:
Due to the investment from the Stad
family and their relationship with the University of California, San Francisco, UCSF
Benioff Children's Hospitals are the only children's hospitals to
have a Division of Pain, Palliative, and Integrative Medicine in
the United States. Understanding a
child's pain also affects their caregivers, the Stad Center team
embraces each family member on the care continuum. It is part of
the world class UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals network, with
three locations including the main center in San Francisco, in addition to the Oakland and Walnut
Creek satellite locations.
Expansion of the San
Francisco-based center finished in January of 2025 and the
center will open its doors to patients and family in early Spring.
It is the most comprehensive center of its kind, combining the
latest medical innovations with complementary Eastern and Western
therapies staffed by full time physicians, nurse practitioners,
dieticians, acupuncturists, psychiatrists, psychologists, physical
therapists and more.
Contact:
Ryan Stewart
rstewart2@webershandwick.com
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stad-center-at-ucsf-benioff-childrens-hospitals-to-open-doors-to-treat-and-teach-integrative-therapies-for-pediatric-pain-302362711.html
SOURCE Candy Stripe, LLC
