Management Board of the Heidelberg University Hospital
What topics shaped Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) in 2021? The members of the Management Board report on an exciting and successful year for the UKHD.
In one of the biggest health crises of recent decades, we had to constantly adapt processes in patient care, research and teaching to the demands of the pandemic. In the second year of the Corona crisis, our employees again performed impressively. A big thank therefore goes first and foremost to all employees for their flexibility, willingness to learn and performance. I would also like to thank the generous supporters of the region, who have always stood by us in all our central projects.
Our employees, supporters and partners are our foundation. A foundation that will support the sustainable development strategies for our campus in the coming years ─ for the benefit of all patients. These concepts include, among other things, construction measures within the ring structure of our clinics for a medicine of short distances and, in addition, changes that will drive digitization in all areas of our group. In the tradition of the hospital and the faculty lies the close connection between care, teaching and research. In the next few years, we will make a leap forward in development here and, in particular, strengthen the translational research and innovative power of our site.
2021 also placed human and economic challenges on our group. Our employees combined all their efforts to ensure the continuity of care for patients with and without COVID-19. Despite this intense test, we succeeded in closing the past year with a solid financial position. We are grateful that the state of Baden-Württemberg provided the necessary support for this with the Corona umbrella. After all, sufficient funding for university medicine is essential in order to retain, promote and recruit specialists and to implement urgently needed investments.
However, the success of a university hospital cannot be measured in figures alone. The working conditions, from the corporate climate to the equipment of a clinic, are also decisive. Therefore, a large part of our efforts is to further improve these conditions. In 2021, we began, among other things, to modernize and fundamentally revise the management structures and processes at the UKHD.
The faculty was able to achieve great successes last year. I am pleased that we were able to conclude numerous professorships, recruit excellent physicians and researchers, and advertise new university chairs. However, we also pay special attention to the students. We have a great deal of respect for the way they have made good use of their time and mastered it despite the restrictions caused by the Corona pandemic.
Heidelberg is one of the top medical centers in Germany, and this is thanks to excellent teaching, patient care and research. The Heidelberg Mannheim Health Life Science Alliance offers a special opportunity along this path. Through joint science projects, platforms, programs, and recruitment, we will bring innovative approaches into clinical application even faster together with our partners. I am delighted about this important step to make the region even stronger.
Edgar Reisch
Director of Nursing,
Managing Director of the Akademie für Gesundheitsberufe (AfG)
Nursing was a central supporter in the Corona pandemic. It accompanied the recovery of the Corona patients at close hand and also took on emotional roles far beyond its actual profession. It made me very proud to see how the employees pulled together even under the greatest pressure - across departments and detached from hierarchies. After all, this time of crisis has taught us that we can only overcome major challenges as a community. However, the pandemic has also shown us where there is still room for improvement at the UKHD - the supply of staff, or staffing levels, needs to be intensified in some areas. This is driving us to invest a great deal of energy in measures to recruit staff and optimize work organization, which will relieve the burden on nursing staff and improve working conditions. Important factors include the TripleWin program, through which we are recruiting new nursing staff from abroad, and promoting the academization of the nursing profession. The strength of our nursing staff at the UKHD is demonstrated by five innovative and clever projects that we were honored with the Heidelberg Nursing Award in 2021. All I can say is - keep it up!
Prof. Dr. Matthias Karck
Deputy Chief Medical Director
(until October 2022; since November 2022 Prof. Dr. Dr. Jürgen Debus)
In our everyday work at the hospital, it is essential to establish and expand intelligent and usable digital solutions. This involves answering very practical questions such as work processes, mobile working, or the availability of patient-related data regardless of location. Such data in turn form the basis for prevention, diagnostics, therapy and aftercare, as well as for research issues. The same applies to medical technology: Consistent further development plays a key role in optimal patient care at the UKHD. This ranges from the state-of-the-art equipment of a hybrid operating room to robotics techniques and conventional areas such as the widespread use of high-resolution ultrasound equipment. Our goal: to take the campus to the next level in terms of technology.