Systemwide coordinator to oversee programs

In response to recommendations detailed in a report recently
issued to the University of California regarding reform of its
willed body programs, the UC Office of the President has created a
new systemwide program coordinator in its Health Affairs
hierarchy.

The post, officially titled the “Systemwide Manager of
Willed Body Programs” in the job listing on the UCOP
recruitment Web site, will report to the vice president for Health
Affairs.

The position encompasses responsibilities geared toward
fulfilling several objectives set forth by Navigant Consulting,
Inc., the publishers of the report, such as the standardization of
practices and the creation of a central donor database for the
UC’s willed body programs, which are at UCLA, UC Davis and UC
Irvine.

A search committee is currently in charge of reviewing
applicants. Though the position has been available since shortly
after the release of the report, it remains vacant.

In the meantime, UCOP is not waiting for the niche to be
permanently filled to begin restructuring the UC’s willed
body programs. David Taylor, director of medical services at UCOP,
has been appointed as the interim coordinator.

“(The systemwide coordinator) is a fairly unique
position,” Taylor said, adding that candidates need not be a
professor, but should have a background in forensics or medical
sciences, and also have experience in management.

The coordinator will be governor of the sweeping changes within
the willed body programs, which is no small task given the number
of revisions set to occur.

Overall, the coordinator’s presence should “provide
a level of review that has never existed before,” said
Taylor.

Part of the duties of the coordinator are to work with several
other new entities on each campus, also born out of the
report’s direction, such as the Anatomical Advisory Boards
““ groups comprised of faculty and community members
overseeing the ethical considerations of their respective programs
““ and bringing each program to a standard compliance of
policies and procedures.

In placing new security measures, the willed body programs will
see many innovations.

Video cameras will be placed outside storage areas to safeguard
against theft and storage racks and body bags will be used to
regulate the treatment of cadavers.

Furthermore, the coordinator will oversee development of a
centralized Internet-based donor registry for inventory and
tracking of body parts received by all of the willed body programs.
This will allow for each donation to be accounted for and prevent
unnoticed translocation.

On-site inspections by the coordinator will be an important part
of the auditing process, a preventative measure against abuse even
among highly placed individuals, adding a dimension of what Taylor
called “checks and balances.”

Other policy revisions range from large tasks such as access
management, to simpler ones including a written mission statement,
which previously has been absent from UCLA’s willed body
program.

Briefly noted in the Navigant report is the coordinator’s
role as “a liaison regarding legislative agenda.”

“(Willed body policy) has been an area where there has
been a dearth of regulation,” said Taylor. “It is
inevitable that this will need to be refined in the law.”

UC officials expect changes made to the UC willed body programs
can have a positive effect on other programs in the state. The
report expresses an intent to “develop legislative agenda to
define minimal (California willed body program) standards, which
will promote the UC model as the standard.”

Despite cuts in state funding that have plagued the UC over the
past year, UCOP intends to pursue the proposed reforms. With
limited funding for the project, UCOP has to rely more heavily on
the campuses for support in revising the programs.

The implementation of the plans is “something which is a
priority among the deans of the medical schools,” said
Taylor. “Money is tight, but it is clear to us that this is
important to do right.”