From left: Tip Kim, chief market development officer at Stanford Health Care; David Lam; Konstantina Stankovic; Nader Nadershahi, dean of the University of the Pacific school of dentistry; Matthew Fitzgerald, assistant professor of otolaryngology - head and neck surgery at Stanford Medicine; Gabriella Musacchia, chair of the audiology department at the University of the Pacific.
Chris Woodrow Photography
Stanford Medicine's Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery has signed an affiliation agreement with University of the Pacific's Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry to improve patient access to specialty care for oral health and hearing conditions.
Leaders from both institutions met on July 29 to celebrate the new agreement, which was signed in March. The agreement includes two outreach clinics located on the University of the Pacific's downtown San Francisco campus, combining the University of the Pacific's expertise in dentistry and audiology (the study of hearing and balance disorders) with Stanford Medicine's advanced diagnostic and surgical capabilities in oral cancers and ear conditions.
"It's a truly collaborative initiative that allows us to take the best possible care of our patients and to train the next generation of uniquely skilled clinicians and clinician-scientists," said Konstantina Stankovic, MD, PhD, the Bertarelli Foundation Professor and chair of otolaryngology - head and neck surgery at Stanford Medicine.
The outreach clinics bring Stanford Medicine's state-of-the-art services to a broader and more diverse patient population, including individuals who may otherwise have difficulty accessing specialty care.
One of the clinics, the Head and Neck Cancer Outreach Clinic, will focus on the evaluation of pre-malignant oral lesions, including biopsies, imaging and testing. Dentists are often the first to notice oral lesions in their patients, and their ability to refer patients for onsite specialty evaluations is expected to greatly improve outcomes.
"Because people usually have regular dental exams, disease can often be detected early on, before it progresses into a highly aggressive cancer that may require the removal of part of the tongue or jawbone," Stankovic said. "Removing an extra few millimeters of the tongue could be the difference between having understandable versus almost unintelligible speech. It's a tremendous opportunity to detect and treat diseases early on."
The other new clinic, the Otology Outreach Clinic, will leverage University of the Pacific's audiology program to provide screening for hearing disorders and quickly refer patients in need of advanced care, such as cochlear implant surgery, to Stanford Medicine. Patients in and near San Francisco will be able to receive both pre-surgical care and post-surgical follow-up care close to home, at University of the Pacific's clinics in San Francisco.
The new affiliation builds on existing research, clinical and educational collaborations between Stanford Medicine and the University of the Pacific, which has campuses in Stockton, Sacramento and San Francisco. In 2018, the two institutions began a five-year clinical education and training agreement for University of the Pacific dentistry and audiology students. The agreement included a dental medicine rotation at Stanford Health Care, guest faculty lectures and seminars, and collaborative biomedical research.
Last year, the institutions were jointly awarded a five-year, $3.8 million grant by the National Institutes of Health to equip dentistry students and residents with clinical research skills and the ability to translate research into practice. Known as the Pacific-Stanford PRIMED Program, the collaboration includes research training in oral cancer, sleep medicine and developing a Pacific-Stanford biobank.
"This exciting partnership will build upon our longstanding history of collaboration and draw on Stanford Medicine's and University of the Pacific's unique strengths to provide world-class comprehensive care for patients - from preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to functional rehabilitation and maintenance," said David K. Lam, MD, DDS, PhD, the Dr. T. Galt and Lee DeHaven Atwood Endowed Professor, associate dean for medical integration, and chair of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of the Pacific.
"We're excited to continue collaborations with the University of the Pacific to accelerate progress in all three of our mission areas: clinical care, research and education," Stankovic said. "The new affiliation will expand our capacity to tackle disabling disorders that impact the very identity of our patients - the way they speak, look, hear, smell and taste."
About University of the Pacific
Founded in 1851 as the first institution of higher education in California, University of the Pacific prepares students for professional and personal success through rigorous academics, small class sizes and a supportive and engaging culture across its three campuses in Sacramento, San Francisco and Stockton. For more information, visit Pacific.edu.
