Tri-City Healthcare District and UC San Diego Health  have officially entered into an exclusive affiliation agreement designed to enhance the delivery of high quality health care to patients in the North County.

Under the terms of a master agreement, UC San Diego Health and the public healthcare district are collaborating to recruit primary care and specialty care physicians to Tri-City Medical Center’s service area supplementing the needs of their existing medical staff, jointly developing and marketing certain healthcare services and clearing a pathway to clinical integration for interested physicians and specialists. Additionally, services for neurosurgical, cardiac, and other service care areas will be significantly enhanced.

“Tri-City Healthcare District and UC San Diego Health have advanced and strengthened our affiliation through persistent and unselfish cooperation. The steps we are taking to implement this first round of initiatives uphold the promises we made to the North County community to provide high quality health care,” said Jim Dagostino, Chairman of Tri-City Healthcare District. “We look forward to a long beneficial relationship with such a respected healthcare organization.”

Maysent added that Tri-City Medical Center and UC San Diego Health will launch a neurosurgery program under which UC San Diego faculty neurosurgeons will evaluate patients and perform operations at Tri-City Medical Center.  UC San Diego faculty will also oversee the existing cardiac surgery program at Tri-City while working collaboratively with its current cardiac surgery team.

UC San Diego Health plans to place faculty physicians locally to provide select clinical services to North County patients.

In addition, UC San Diego Health and Tri-City have taken steps to enable the Tri-City Medical Center to become a contracted provider under UC HealthNet Blue & Gold HMO and a provider under the Blue Shield/UC Care PPO product.

UC San Diego Health and Tri-City have also developed plans for qualified local Tri-City physicians and medical groups to affiliate with the UC San Diego Health Care Network (UCSDHCN). UCSDHCN is a collective of regional health care providers that includes UC San Diego Health System and faculty physicians, community hospitals, medical groups and physicians based in San Diego, Riverside and Imperial Counties. Affiliates of UCSDHCN are collaborating to develop systems, infrastructure, care pathways and quality initiatives that will provide high-value health care for the benefit of patients, health plans and employers.