UCSF debuts new home for ophthalmology programs

The University of California San Francisco is putting its vision care and research facilities under one roof with the debut of the UCSF Wayne and Gladys Valley Center for Vision.

UCSF on Monday opened the facility, which is located in San Francisco, across from the UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay to the west and the Chase Center to the north. The new Valley Center for Vision is home to eye doctors and surgeons, scientists and laboratory facilities.

In a statement, UCSF said the facility will serve the community through an estimated 160,000 patient visits each year.

“The new center is designed to support all of the pillars of our mission: research, teaching, clinical care and service with state-of-the-art facilities,” said Stephen McLeod, MD, Theresa M. and Wayne M. Caygill, MD, Distinguished Professor and chair of ophthalmology at UCSF, in a statement. “It will bring together scientists across multiple disciplines whose work converges on vision and eye health, along with clinician-scientists who are committed to leading-edge patient care.”

According to the statement, the new facility features more than 40,000 square feet of clinic space, 70 patient visit rooms and the up-to-date diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

In addition to routine vision care, the ophthalmology and optometry clinic will provide comprehensive vision exams for adults, as well as specialty care for complex eye conditions, including cataracts, ocular cancer, glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, ocular inflammation, macular degeneration and eye injuries. It will offer both cataract and lens surgeries, as well as laser eye surgery in its LASIK and cosmetic surgery procedure center, according to the release.

The Valley Center for Vision also includes the Francis I. Proctor Foundation, which is dedicated to research and training in infectious and inflammatory ocular diseases, and works to eradicate blindness worldwide, especially in low-income countries.

The adjacent 12-story tower will include administrative and conference space for UCSF faculty and staff from multiple sites, including Parnassus, Mission Center, Mission Bay, Laurel Heights and other leased spaces.

According to the release, center houses a majority of UCSF’s vision-related work under one roof on the same campus as its basic scientists.

The hope is that this will foster the cross-fertilization necessary to advance research and care, and will connect the department’s researchers to Mission Bay’s larger biotechnology and neuroscience hubs, McLeod said in the statement. The center also will enhance the university’s ability to recruit and train the next generation of leaders in the field.

“What most excites us is the opportunity to bring so much talent within the UCSF community and so many resources together to address the most challenging issues of eye health and visual disability,” McLeod said. “We believe that this really will allow UCSF to lead the way in the discovery of exciting new therapies.”

The new facility was made possible by fundraising by the nonprofit foundation That Man May See, which was established almost 50 years ago to support the goal of UCSF ophthalmology, to save and restore sight for present and future generations. UCSF expresses its deepest gratitude to lead funder, the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation, and to Theresa M. Caygill, and the Koret Foundation, for the generous support that launched the effort to build a new home for UCSF ophthalmology.

“We are tremendously thankful for the major outpouring of generosity from our donors, grateful patients and the University, who are all helping us reach this milestone to fund our beautiful new home,” said That Man May See chair John F. de Benedetti, who has been blind since the age of 11 and has received care at UCSF for many years. “The new building is a tangible example of That Man May See’s passion and commitment to our cause.”