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Get to know all about Dr. John Christian Fox’s journey to Emergency Medicine and his initiative in creating a UCI Emergency Department and Urgent Care Center at the new UCI Hospital in Irvine!

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Dr. John Christian Fox is an emergency physician at UC Irvine Medical Center while also serving as the Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine (EM), Director of Ultrasound in Medical Education, and Fellowship Director for Advanced Emergency Ultrasonography. Dr. Fox’s interest in EM began during his undergraduate years at UCI when he was involved in research with Dr. Mark Langdorf, another distinguished EM faculty physician here at UCI. After graduating from Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Fox returned to UCI Medical Center for EM residency. During his training, Dr. Fox discovered a passion for academic emergency medicine and ultrasound, which led him to pursue an ultrasound fellowship in Chicago and became the 3rd person in the United States to do so at the time!

Dr. Fox joined UCI’s Department of EM faculty in 2001 and has continuously expanded the academic department through innovation and leadership ever since. After pioneering an Advanced Emergency Ultrasonography Fellowship at UCI in 2003 and implementing a 4-year longitudinal ultrasound curriculum for medical students at UCI School of Medicine (UCISOM) in 2009, Dr. Fox continues to grow as a leader in his role as Chairman for the department.

To continue to spread UCI Health’s mission to Discover, Teach, and Heal, Dr. Fox took part in the new initiative to create a second emergency department (ED) and urgent care facility. This new medical center will be near the UCISOM main campus where medical students can learn clinical skills and assist with research during their pre-clerkship years. In addition, EM residents and ultrasound fellows will gain different experiences while training at this non-trauma center as well as UCI’s Level 1 trauma center in Orange. Ultimately, this new ED and Urgent Care will help expand UCI’s acute care services to patient populations in southern Orange County.

As it is crucial to determine what level of care a patient will need, EM physicians play a pivotal role in deciding if a patient should be seen through a telehealth visit, with dispatch health for an at-home visit, in an urgent care or in an ED. Thus, this new ED will be able to see patients for acute, unscheduled care digitally with telehealth or in-person if deemed necessary by medical providers. Ultimately, Dr. Fox believes this system will help reduce ED crowding to make patient care more efficient so patients can be given the right care, at the right place, and at the right time.

This new ED and Urgent Care will be staffed by EM physicians and pediatricians and be equipped with the latest technology and point-of-care imaging. The ED is expected to open in 2025 and will maintain the best practices for patient care, comfort, and privacy.

Dr. Fox is looking forward to leading UCI’s second Emergency Department with excellent acute care services, top-tier training, and use of point-of-care ultrasound. We believe Dr. Fox will continue to magnify UCI Department of Emergency Medicine’s commitment to advancing patient care, research, and education in our community.

Written by Christine Louis, 2022