As more employees and patients return to UCSF campuses, we are challenged with increased parking demand primarily at Parnassus Heights and Mission Bay. To better accommodate the needs of all of our constituents, and preserve parking close to our health care facilities for patients and visitors, we are making changes effective Monday, February 6. They include:

• Expanding valet service for employees at the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) Garage at Parnassus Heights which will increase employee parking by 150 spots.
• Discontinuing the daily discounted employee parking rate ($26) at two locations: Millberry Union (MU) Garage at Parnassus Heights, and Medical Center Garage and lots at Mission Bay. Daily discounted rates were introduced during COVID-19, and while we will not fully discontinue daily rates, we need to eliminate discounts from patient parking areas. The daily discounted employee rate continues to be offered at the ACC Garage and all other non-Medical Center parking locations in Mission Bay.
• Promoting conveniently located non-UCSF facilities.

We continue to encourage you to use UCSF Shuttles, public transportation, and transportation options such as biking, ride share, and carpools, which also contribute to our sustainability efforts and goal to reach carbon neutrality.

Ensuring patients and their visitors have convenient access to UCSF health care is one of our top priorities, and we greatly appreciate...

Dear Colleagues,

Nurses comprise almost one-third of UCSF Health’s employees and enable us to deliver the high-quality, patient-centric care for which we are known. Even in the toughest circumstances, nurses are advocates for our patients, always ensuring our organization is doing its best for patients and families.

That’s why we are especially pleased to announce a well-deserved recognition. UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco have again earned the prestigious Magnet designation for excellence in nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Only 9.86% of all registered hospitals in the United States achieve Magnet status, which recognizes health care organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice.

Redesignation takes place every four years, and this is our third time achieving Magnet status. We remain the only hospital in San Francisco to hold this distinction. In addition, all UC Health medical centers have achieved Magnet status. You can read more here.

The requirements to achieve Magnet status are rigorous.

In collaboration with colleagues across the campus and health system, we filed an extensive application document highlighting the leadership, exemplary practice, innovations and commitment to research and education of UCSF nurses. In addition, we outperformed the majority of national benchmarks for our nurse-sensitive indicators. Our...

Dear UCSF Community,

As we transition to a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to refine and improve our practices to protect the health of our UCSF community. Among these improvements is an upgrade and renaming of the Daily Health Screener to the new UCSF Digital Screener.

Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, the new Digital Screener fully automates the process for users to:

• Complete the onsite screener
• Report positive COVID-19 tests and get guidance
• Obtain clearance to return to work for most COVID-19 exposures, symptoms, and positive test results

The new Digital Screener is available in four languages: English, Spanish, Russian and Chinese. For any information that is being stored in the Occupational Health Service medical record, you will be asked to provide two-factor authentication – your email and your date of birth – to confirm your identity.

Once employees, learners, and volunteers answer the questions in the Digital Screener, they will receive automated return-to-work clearance based on their specific situation and get guidance if they test positive.

This change will reduce delays for employees and learners waiting to hear back from the COVID Response Team. It also streamlines and automates the documentation process enabling UCSF to track current case counts and transmission rates faster and easier.

You can access the new Digital Screener here.

Thank you for your continued dedication and commitment to our public health mission as well as your cooperation as we revise our COVID-19 policies and guidelines.

Sincerely,

Dear UCSF Community,

I write with good news that the updated COVID-19 booster shots, recently authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use, are now available at UCSF.

The new booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer are the first updated boosters since the initial vaccines were introduced in late 2020. This bivalent booster is specifically formulated to protect against infection from the two most prevalent Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5 and contains the components of the original booster shots.

As the virus changes and your immunity naturally decreases over time, you may lose some protection from previous COVID-19 vaccines. Getting the latest booster shot will help increase your protection against severe COVID-19 disease, slow transmission of the virus and reduce the likelihood of new variants emerging in our community. Here’s what you should know:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination to protect against severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

Booster Eligibility

• To be eligible for the new booster shots, you must have completed your primary vaccination series — and be at least two months out from your last dose of any COVID vaccine,...