The University of Washington Academic Medical Center stands as an international leader in research and education. Its long tradition of excellence and its reputation for innovation attract distinguished and dedicated faculty members, who in turn provide the community with the finest in patient care. The core hospitals — UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center — provide the very best in primary and specialty care. Harborview, world-renowned for its trauma care program, is also the region’s only Level I trauma facility.

There are many reasons for the continuing success of the UW Academic Medical Center. Faculty members point to a culture of collaboration that encourages researchers and clinicians across a wide variety of disciplines to work together. The cross-pollination of ideas and expertise spurs creative problem-solving and opens new avenues of research. By working together, basic scientists and clinical researchers speed the translation of new scientific knowledge into advances in treatment and patient care. The interdisciplinary research environment is a strong attraction for other talented faculty and is a selling point in recruitment. The result is a dynamic, thriving enterprise that expands frontiers in biomedicine, genomics, translational research, and other new disciplines.

Much of what is accomplished at the UW Academic Medical Center is made possible by private support from individuals, foundations, and corporations. In fact, less than 4 percent of the annual budget for the UW Academic Medical Center comes from state funds. Private support provides the research "venture capital" to explore new ideas with great potential for innovation and discovery. Some of the programs highlighted in this report are examples of the powerful role that private support can play in sustaining and enhancing the mission of the UW Academic Medical Center.

This year, many individual and organizational donors chose to support research through endowed funds and current-use gifts. Approximately $4.2 million or 62 percent of all funds raised were earmarked for research. These funds include gifts to support the work of Dr. Mary-Claire King on breast cancer genes and the hearing studies that take place in the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center. One of the founders of McCaw Cellular Communications, Bruce McCaw, and his wife Jolene, gave $750,000 through the Muscular Dystrophy Association to support the groundbreaking work of Dr. Jeff Chamberlain, professor of neurology, who is exploring potential gene therapies for this disabling disease. Other individuals gave significant gifts to support research efforts in a wide variety of areas, including prostate cancer, macular degeneration, blood disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, burn treatments, and stroke. Hundreds of individual donors made gifts in memory of a friend or loved one — often to support research into diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer. Endowed funds and current-use gifts directed to research support are vital to furthering the work of the UW Academic Medical Center.

The UW School of Medicine remains the nation’s top school for training in primary care and rural medicine and is among the top schools in teaching particular specialties, including rehabilitation medicine, orthopaedics, women’s health, geriatrics, internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, and AIDS. Private support helps to sustain the UW School of Medicine’s long tradition of excellence in medical education through endowed funds for lectureships, professorships, chairs, and student scholarships.

This year, donors supported the establishment of the Clement A. Finch Endowed Professorship in Hematology, as well as the Endowed Chair in Cancer Care, held by Dr. Stephen Petersdorf. Once established, the endowments produce income that supports a variety of activities critical to the school’s educational mission. For example, proceeds from the Finch professorship will support the independent research of promising fellows in the field of hematology. Research support makes it possible for new trainees to establish themselves as scientists and to develop findings that can later leverage federal research funds. Support from the Endowed Chair in Cancer, which was established with the help of an anonymous donor, will provide resources to help clinical trainees learn how to provide sensitive and appropriate care for cancer patients and their family members. During the past fiscal year, the UW Academic Medical Center received $2.5 million in gives and grants for faculty support.

Scholarship support remains an area of high priority for the UW School of Medicine. As the cost of medical education continues to rise, all medical students face an increasing debt burden — the average UW School of Medicine student graduates with more than $75,000 of educational debt. Although tuition for the UW medical school is comparatively low, many private schools with higher tuition are able to offer better financial packages to prospective students.

Currently, the school has more than 45 named scholarship funds with assets totaling more than $17 million. This year, $2 million in gifts and grants were earmarked for scholarships and other financial aid through both endowed and current use funds. The UW School of Medicine is committed to substantially increasing our scholarship endowment, which will help provide attractive incentives for the brightest students and financial relief for those with the greatest need. Increasing the scholarship endowment will benefit not only students, but it will also strengthen the medical school and make it more competitive with peer institutions.

The UW Academic Medical Center has a tremendous impact on the lives of people in Washington state and throughout the Northwest. The WWAMI program provides medical training in communities across Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Harborview Medical Center’s integrated model of trauma care sets the standards for trauma centers around the world. Many privately funded programs at both UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center help patients overcome physical, financial, language, and other barriers to medical care. The UW Academic Medical Center is dedicated to community service and the many programs that individual and organizational donors support set the institution apart.

Often it is the special passion or commitment of donors, born of their own professional or personal experience, that inspires their involvement and ultimately helps make these programs possible. The 2001 Dean’s Report details several programs that have been established or enhanced by private support. These programs include two endowments created by gifts from physician and retired professor Harold Bergen. The endowment will be used to help educate both physicians and community members about osteoporosis and bone-loss prevention. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded the Tribal Connections project that not only helps bridge the digital divide, but also increases access to health information and resources for Native Americans.

This year donors supported other regional and community outreach programs, including rural clinical training opportunities for medical students and programs that bring first-rate medical care to communities throughout the Northwest. Other contributions helped enhance programs like Medic One, the state-of-the-art emergency response program; and Harborview Medical Center’s hospital-based literacy program where parents and children learn the benefits of a daily family reading time, or provided ancillary services to UW Medical Center patients awaiting transplants or undergoing cancer treatment.

This year, donors gave $1.9 million to support programs that extend outreach and access. These activities, and others like them, help make the region’s communities healthier and safer for all. With the help of supporters, the UW Academic Medical Center makes vital contributions to the Northwest region and the world through research, teaching, and patient care activities. The legacy of this exciting partnership between the institution and its supporters is one of new treatments, lives saved, and an improved quality of life.