Time for a positive stocktaking and a confident outlook for the future of medicine - at the annual reception of Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) on April 18, 2024, the Management Board welcomed around 180 guests from politics, healthcare, university, research institutions, business and employees to the cafeteria of the Medical Clinic.

“Times are extremely challenging,” said Professor Ingo Autenrieth, Chairman of the Board and Chief Medical Director, as he began his speech. “Expenditure is rising due to high inflation rates and collective wage agreements and personnel costs, while at the same time university medicine is structurally underfunded, which is particularly noticeable in insufficient investment in construction and renovation, medical technology and digitalization. And all this with rising patient numbers and a lack of specialist staff, which is due to demographic trends.” Autenrieth also lamented the heavy burden of excessive bureaucracy, with staff spending up to 30 percent of their working time on tedious documentation. “We need the courage to change!” he demanded of politicians.

At the same time, the CEO was delighted that the hospital has recovered so quickly from the pandemic: “After just one year, patient numbers have already returned to pre-corona levels!” The fact that Heidelberg University Hospital has once again been ranked among the top 20 best hospitals in the world, and second in Germany, shows the high level of recognition that the hospital also receives internationally.

Autenrieth sees major reform processes in the near future, such as the planned merger with Mannheim University Hospital. “There is enormous potential in this alliance and the opportunity to create an international cluster of excellence in university medicine.”

At the end of his presentation, the CEO addressed the personnel situation on the Management Board. Last week, the Supervisory Board and Professor Autenrieth jointly decided not to extend Autenrieth's contract beyond March 2025. “On the one hand, this is a pity, but it doesn't throw either the university hospital or me off course,” said Autenrieth. “The hospital is in a very good position, but you can't always please everyone with major transformation processes like the one we are now facing.” With a twinkle in his eye, the Chief Medical Director referred to Bayer Leverkusen, which recently won the German Bundesliga: “A change of manager like this can certainly have positive effects, perhaps the UKHD will succeed in moving up to the top position in Germany. I would be very happy about that.”

Clemens Benz, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of UKHD, thanked the hospital's Executive Board for its good work and reaffirmed the politicians' commitment to the planned alliance with Mannheim. “We will continue to push ahead with the alliance with all our strength.” The application is currently with the Federal Cartel Office, whose decision is expected in July of this year.

In further speeches, the Chief Financial Officer, Katrin Erk, the new Director of Nursing, Yvonne Dintelmann, and Professor Michael Boutros, Dean of Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine (MFHD), highlighted current developments. Around 14,000 employees from 130 nations enrich the hospital and faculty with their expertise and diversity. Together with partners in the region, nationally and internationally, UKHD and MFHD are breaking new ground in patient care, putting scientific findings into practice and strengthening young medical talent in teaching. The hospital is investing in the academization of nursing care, the expansion of childcare facilities and housing for employees to ensure that the UKHD remains an attractive employer. The hospital and faculty are driving digitalization forward in order to be able to offer patients optimal therapies, e.g. in the treatment of cancer, and to use the enormous amounts of data in research. The establishment of the Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim creates immense potential for the Rhine-Neckar region as a research and business location.

For all these positive developments, special thanks are due to all employees, partners and sponsors, explained the Executive Board.

During a subsequent panel discussion, experts presented selected projects at the Medical Campus Heidelberg. Professor Christian Gille, Director of the Neonatology Clinic, explained how delicate premature babies who are born “ahead of time” can be optimally cared for. In addition to the necessary high-tech medicine, close contact between the newborn and the mother or father is an essential part of the gentle care and nursing concept “EFIB®” (development-promoting family-centered individual care concept). Every year, the neonatology team in Heidelberg cares for up to 130 very small premature babies weighing less than 1,500 grams at birth.

Professor Luise Poustka explained what can contribute to the resilience of the younger generation in the face of climate change, wars and other crises. She has been Director of the Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry since October 2023 and advises the German government as a member of the Expert Council for Health and Resilience. “It doesn't help to remove all difficulties from the path of young people or to talk them down,” the child psychiatrist advised parents. “It is important to look for constructive solutions together with the child to help them overcome a crisis and thereby strengthen their sense of self-efficacy.” 

Dr. Noemi Bender, Head of the Sustainability and Climate Protection Unit, explained that the UKHD has recognized the signs of the times with regard to climate change. “The changing climate is a threat to health. At the same time, the healthcare sector, with its large CO2 footprint, contributes more to global warming than all air traffic,” emphasized Bender. “We have to change that.” Over the next few years, part of the energy requirements will be covered sustainably with photovoltaic systems on the roofs of the UKHD and the infrastructure for bicycles and e-cars will be expanded.

In conclusion, Professor Jürgen Debus, Deputy Chief Medical Director at UKHD and Director of the Clinic for Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, explained that the times at the hospital are already quite modern. “We use AI for image evaluation, for example in MRI, or for radiation planning. It can process the empirical values of thousands of individual images in a matter of seconds and is therefore now on a par with humans in terms of quality. This saves us valuable time that we can devote to patients and their families. And that's our real job!”