UCI Health risk and regulatory affairs receives Spotlight Innovation Award from the University of California
Recognition highlights Fire Safety Risk Assessment Project, which has prevented fires since implementation
Orange, Calif. — The UCI Health risk and regulatory team recently received a Spotlight Innovation Award from the University of California (UC) Office of the President for its Fire Safety Risk Assessment Project, which has prevented procedural fires in ambulatory care settings.
The project was created as more procedures shifted from traditional operating rooms to clinics, creating new fire hazards in non-OR environments where teams and infrastructure differ significantly.
“This was a significant, labor-intensive project, but one that has led to meaningful improvements in patient and co-worker safety,” said Julie Ann Schneider, MSHSA, CPHRM, FASHRM, UCI Health director of risk management and regulatory affairs.
“We are proud of the systems we have built in collaboration with our ambulatory care teams and confident this success will be sustained.”
The risk and regulatory affairs team completed rounds in every ambulatory care setting, conducting more than 100 direct observations and interviews to ensure staff understood and complied with fire safety protocols and proper storage of supplies and equipment. Since implementing these measures, no fire incidents have occurred.
Schneider noted that The Joint Commission, unaware of the Fire Safety Risk Assessment Project, recently praised the UCI Health ambulatory care teams for their understanding of fire risk.
The Spotlight Awards are presented by UC Office of the President’s Chief Risk Officer every two years to recognize risk and safety professionals systemwide for projects that advance the university’s core mission. The awards also highlight:
- Innovation – for risk and safety professionals who develop effective, lasting strategies to minimize risk
- Collaboration – for achievements that exemplify strong campus or system-wide collaboration
The UCI Health risk and regulatory team also received the 2025 Innovation Award from the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) for work that creates a lasting impact on patient safety through new or replicable methods. UCI Health is the first UC health system organization to receive this award.
About UCI Health
UCI Health, one of California’s largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The 1,317-bed system comprises its main campus UCI Medical Center, its flagship hospital in Orange, Calif., the UCI Health — Irvine medical campus, four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and a network of ambulatory care centers across the region. UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to the only Orange County-based National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).