Orthopedic surgeons at California Pacific Medical Center began performing an innovative procedure for osteoporosis. Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that repairs bones in vertebrae that have compressed from the weight-bearing pressure of the spine. California Pacific Medical Center's Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Team initiated a first of its kind telemedicine program, which significantly reduced travel time for patients who live far away from California Pacific Medical Center. California Pacific Medical Center opened a Memory Loss Clinic, which offers a multidisciplinary approach and a wide range of services to assist those with mild to extensive memory loss. The Palliative Care Program was opened on California Pacific's east campus to provide care for patients near the end of life.
Care is focused on pain relief, privacy and comfort for the patient and family members.
Two donor-funded operating rooms, dedicated to minimally invasive surgery procedures, were opened, providing a place for surgeons to perform sophisticated procedures previously done only as open surgery. Image Guided Surgery was implemented for use in Neurosurgery. Recognition California Pacific Medical Center's liver transplant program was ranked number one for graft survival rates by the United Network of Organ Sharing. California Pacific Medical Center received the 1997 Quality Leader Award for San Francisco. The award was sponsored by the National Research Corp., which conducted a national consumer survey of 89 major metropolitan areas.