A New Direction in Homelessness...

I met recently with Jennifer Loving, the CEO of Destination: Home. They are a great Silicon Valley agency working to end chronic homelessness, and I’m inspired by their effort.

I’ll admit something to you: There are times when I’ve turned away at seeing a homeless person or family, as it’s just too painful. But let’s take the emotion out of the issue for a minute: Our community spends tens of millions annually (yes, right here in Silicon Valley) without addressing the core issue that people need a home.

Because if they had one, we ALL would benefit. Several studies show that a person that is chronically homeless costs $60,000 a year…in shelters, food assistance, law enforcement – but mostly, medical care. In our community, that means Valley Medical Center.

You may know that Jennifer Loving’s team surveyed some of our county’s homeless a couple of months ago. Here’s some of what they learned from the 943 people they met:

- 100 were 60 years old or more
- More than half visited the emergency department in the last 3 months, resulting in
- 644 hospitalizations in a year.
- Half reported a serious medical condition like heart disease, hepatitis or liver disease.
- 144 were veterans (this, IMHO, is a national disgrace).
- Almost all reported a behavioral health issue or mental illness.

There is a ton more data at http://www.housing1000sv.org/ but you get my point: Even if I didn’t care about the homeless (I do), I’d sure care about the money they cost us all. And I won’t live in a society that just lets them die. I’ll leave. Goodbye.

While Destination Home works on longer-term solutions, Valley Medical Center meets short-term needs with an award-winning program called New Directions. VMC staff see frequent users of our county’s Emergency Department and provide housing, transportation and specialized assistance…the goal being to keep them healthier and out of the hospital.

The VMC Foundation raises money to support New Directions, but funds have run dry. If you would like to help, please click here and give as generously as you can.

There are more than 7,000 homeless people in Santa Clara County on any given night. Help us help them, with my thanks.

Read all about it: VMC's Rehab Center Rebuilding Lives...

VMC’s Spinal Cord and Traumatic Brian Injury Rehabilitation Unit changed my life.

And I was never even a patient - just on my first tour of VMC, considering an offer to become Executive Director of the VMC Foundation. Seeing VMC Rehab up close made that decision very easy.

You probably know that our rehab center is one of the best in the country. This week, we’ve got news for you – it’s even better than you think.

Check out “Rebuilding Lives,” the special 12-page section in the March 11, 2011 weekly edition of the San Jose/Silicon Valley Business Journal, for an up-close profile of VMC Rehab. Read remarkable stories from patients, and meet the amazing staff. Learn about our efforts to use technology; from stem cell research to bionic exoskeletons, to find the next great breakthrough in rehabilitation care.

Buy your copy of the Business Journal on newsstands now, or download the special section here.

Join me for a good laugh for a good cause...

Nobody enjoys a good laugh more than I do...but sometimes when I attempt humor, friends tell me I should leave the comedy to the professionals.

Okay, fine.

We've hired comedy star Dat Phan, who won NBC's "Last Comic Standing" competition, has appeared on Leno and "Family Guy", and who also cares about our community. That's why he's agreed to headline our fund-raising evening on Tuesday, February 1, at the San Jose Improv.

The night will benefit the Ira Greene PACE Clinic, which is Valley Medical Center's HIV/AIDS treatment and education clinic. They provide state of the art and compassionate care, and deserve our support...and what better way to help than enjoying a fun evening out in downtown San Jose!

Tickets are only $45, and can be found here. I'll be there, and I hope you will be too.

Bionic legs help patients walk again!

At the VMC Foundation, 2011 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years ever. One reason is eLegs: A new technology that literally could replace the wheelchair for millions living with paraplegia.

Yes - think of it.

As profiled in TIME Magazine a week ago, this new invention by Berkeley Bionics promises a new reality for people with spinal cord injuries, stroke, MS, or any condition that has them unable to use their legs. This amazing "exoskeleton" fits over the user's legs, they stand up, and they walk.

But here's what TIME didn't specify: There is only ONE rehabilitation center in the country that will be the first to test eLegs. You guessed it: Valley Medical Center.

This fact recently captured the attention of TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, one of the nation's most respected tech gurus. He then blogged about it, we set up a Facebook Cause, and with his encouragement, the donations are coming in to support this vital program.

Please join us, and if you're looking to be a part of history, please consider donating today...years from now, we all may look back and say "I helped change the future."

From coma to community...

The avid reader of this blog knows that Valley Medical Center contains the most awesomest* brain injury rehabilitation center on this planet and many others. You now have a chance to learn why...and learn so much more.

The VMC Foundation is proud to help present the 2011 Santa Clara Valley Brain Injury Conference on Feb. 24-26. Led by VMC's fabulous Rehab Research Center Team...and you might think this is just for clinical people with long titles after their names. Well, yes and no.

Lots of cutting edge medicine will be discussed, but we'll also hear from Tricia Meili, known nationally as "The Central Park Jogger" who was beaten and left for dead in 1989. Her story of survival is about more than recovery, and will inspire any and all conference attendees.

Plus, we're holding this event at the Dolce Hayes Mansion, a beautiful conference center - read more about this amazing three-day event that will educate and amaze. Please share this information with anyone you think would be interested - and that's likely a long list.

*I read this word last night in TIME Magazine. If they can use it, so can I.

Thanking our donors: A selfish thing to do...

Friday marked the unveiling of the VMC Foundation's new Donor Wall outside the Sobrato Cancer Center in the newest building on VMC's campus. VIP's and wealthy philanthropists mingled with doctors, nurses and administrators as we celebrated the generosity of our community.

...and I've gotta say, A little gratitude goes a long way.

For one thing, our staff and that of VMC felt so good to hear from our donors, including the famous Peggy Fleming-Jenkins and her talented wine-making husband, Dr. Greg Jenkins. They pulled back the curtain to reveal the new beautiful donor wall, and we all felt a surge of pride.

But hearing John A. Sobrato tell the group why he is so committed to VMC, well that is a gift so heartfelt and powerful, I feel like we all came away enriched. Yes, I know that sounds overly-emotional, but if you were there, then you know.

...and if you weren't there, please read this wonderful blog post from Erica Cosgrove, regular contributor to the Silicon Valley Moms Blog. She describes the day better than I ever could. If you're moved by what you read, please share it with others. Our donors deserve the notoriety, and frankly, so does the beautiful Sobrato Cancer Center at VMC.

If you're REALLY moved, please visit

A hospital is no place for sick people.

As I'm sure you know - or can easily understand - hospitals work really hard to prevent infections in patients...but the truth is, infections of all kinds happen, and in hospitals it's a major concern.

That's why Valley Medical Center is very proud of its record in preventing them, as described in today's release by Consumer Reports. CR is all no-nonsense, so you know their putting us in the top tier really means something.

Ironically, as VMC works to increase our use of technology, it's a low-tech solution that works to prevent some infections. Just goes to show you - or remind you - it's really all about the dedication of the team, isn't it?

Below is a portion of their report, with additional info available here. See the fourth paragraph, where they refer to VMC as an "urban giant". Is that like the green guy on the broccoli package?

Consumer Reports Health: Many Hospitals Fail To Lower Infection Risk Despite Lifesaving ChecklistNew online ratings provide patients with easy access to hospital infection rates, a first for consumers

YONKERS, N.Y., Feb. 2 -- Far too many hospitals expose patients to deadly central-line bloodstream infections despite the availability of a simple life-saving checklist proven to prevent hospital acquired infections, says a new investigative article in the March issue of Consumer Reports.

The report coincides with the addition of infection rates to Consumer Reports' in-depth hospital ratings available online at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org.



A First for Consumers; For Too Long "in the dark"

"For far too long, consumers have been in the dark, with no easy way to find out how well their hospitals perform when it comes to these often deadly infections," said John Santa, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center. Consumer Reports collected and compared data for ICUs in 926 hospitals, finding tremendous variations within the same cities and even within the same health-care systems. Bloodstream infections cause at least 30 percent of the estimated 99,000 annual hospital-infection-related deaths in the U.S. and add on average $42,000 to the hospital bills of each ICU patient who gets a central-line infection.



Poorly performing hospitals include several major teaching institutions in major metropolitan areas. Some examples include New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City, the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, Strong Memorial in Rochester, New York, Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton, New Jersey, and the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center in California.



Meanwhile, determined reformers across the country have shown that hospitals can cut their infection rate to zero or close to it by following a low-tech program that includes a simple checklist. Those hospitals range from modest rural hospitals to urban giants such as the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian, St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Harris Methodist in Houston, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, and seven Kaiser hospitals in California. The full list of 105 U.S. hospitals that have tallied zero central-line infections in their most recent reports can be found at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org.

"The doctor will see you now. Like, RIGHT now."

We're having crazy-bad weather in Silicon Valley, which always makes me grateful for Valley Medical Center's Emergency Department - at the ready 24/7/365.

But it's gotten harder to meet the need, what with fewer hospitals around, and a skyrocketing number of unemployed coming to the "ED" (we don't call it an "ER" like the TV show) because they just don't have anywhere else to go.

So, to meet the need, the team opened an "Express Care" clinic across the hallway. It's there for folks who are sick, but not sick enough to need a bed in the ED. "When you get there," explains Dr. Jeff Arnold, Chief of the ED, the first person you see, right when you check in at the registration desk, isn't a clerk or an administrator. It's a doctor."

Dr. Arnold has seen this speed up care dramatically. "If the first person you meet is an M.D., they can say things like 'Okay, I want you to see the attending physician, but while you're waiting I'll refill your blood pressure medication'". Then the doctor does it with a few key strokes, just moments later. The medication can be ready before the patient is ready to leave!

He's really bothred by the number of newly-uninsured who have to choose between their vital medications and, say, groceries or paying the rent on time. "The advantage of having a doctor see patients right there at the desk extend beyond the obvious," Dr. Arnold says. "Our patients know that right away, their care has begun. It gives them a feeling of comfort at a time when they are feeling pretty vulnerable and lousy."

Sometimes, that's as important as the clinical care VMC provides. If you want to help fund this unique program, visit the VMC Foundation website, or as always, give us a ring any time. To learn more about VMC's emergency services, click here!

Please help VMC help patients with brain injuries!

You may have seen the recent story in the Mercury News of a case involving a football player from a local high school being treated at Valley Medical Center. Our thoughts go out to his family, and we at the VMC Foundation wish him a full recovery. We treat cases like this young man’s all too often at VMC, and we have a need directly related to patients with head injuries on our Holiday Wish List.

Watch the video below to learn about this project, and to see how you can help.

Holiday Cheer...it officially starts now!

Our 2009 Holiday Wish List is only a few weeks old and we already have one project fully funded! Last Friday we got a call from the Hammond Family Fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation saying that they wanted to cover the remaining costs for the Patient Lift described in this video.


Now, it wasn’t magic that the Hammond Family Fund called us out of the blue. They saw a need and were generous enough to make our wish come true, and for that we thank them. What IS magic is what that gift will do for the staff and patients at Valley Medical Center .

We need to make that sort of magic happen for the three remaining projects. Check them out and see what you can do!

Celebrate National Nurses Week!

As Valley Medical Center continues to see a larger number of patients every year, it sure is great to know we have a fantastic team of nurses - HAPPY NATIONAL NURSES WEEK!

Here at YOUR public hospital, we're celebrating today with a nursing education fair, 11am to 4:30pm in our new Valley Specialty Center building, Sobrato Cancer Center Conference Room...come by!

Tomorrow, Thursday May 7, VMC's Nursing Exellence Awards will be given out in an inspiring ceremony at 1pm - again, Sobrato Concference Room at VSC.

Join me in thanking those who have dedicated their lives to the field of nursing. If you happen to be a nurse reading this, THANK YOU! I've been on the receiving end of wonderful nursing care here at VMC, and I sleep better at night knowing you are there for us all.

Educating nurses...from around the world?

Today was super cool - it began with a visit to Valley Medical Center by a group of 12 nursing students from Japan! That's them, in the photo, along with VMC Foundation staff member Debbie Burdsall, touring through our Spinal Cord Rehabilitation outdoor plaza.

Okay, I'm not the finest photographer on earth. Maybe they all turned their heads at once or something. That's probably it.

Anyway, they said they learned a lot (through their translator), and if only knowing six words of Japanese didn't make me feel inferior enough, I was given a reality jolt when Debbie and I explained our wireless network.

In 2004, the VMC Foundation with help from Ophoenix launched Valley Medical Center's first wireless network for patients and their families. Debbie's job is Technology Champion, helping patients with a wide range of disabilities access the Internet, email, and information. All made possible by our wireless network, of course.

We explained all this to the Japanese nursing students. They were confused. They didn't seem to understand. Then it occured to me: Most of them were from Tokyo. Their whole CITY has been wireless since most of these students were putting puffy stickers on their Hello Kitty lunch boxes. They literally had NO IDEA why what were describing was worth describing.

So another reminder that America is now and then behind the times. Still, our wireless network has been helping patients in major ways for years now, and some hospitals in Silicon Valley don't yet have this technology available in patient rooms, public areas, and everywhere we can offer it. Even if they did, they don't have Debbie...funny how the best technology still depends on a skilled and helpful human being for the best experience.

Our wireless program really is cool, in fact. Want to learn more about how we do it, about Debbie, and how you can help us improve it? Click here, and thanks!

What's twenty tons and sticky?

...a big magnet, that's what. A REALLY big magnet.

This holiday "gift" for VMC's patients arrived yesterday at the end of this crane, and was oh-so carefully lowered down into our diagnostic imaging center in the main hospital. Heavy work for a rainy Wednesday: The 3T (Tesla) magnet weighs forty-four thousand pounds, and so does the sheilded wall we had to remove from the side of the hospital to load it in.

What this means is that we have a new MRI about to come on line! This ultra-efficient, faster, more accurate machine will provide exceptional anatomic detail...and speaking of detail, don't ask me to describe the technical aspects of this gizmo. My little brain will overheat.

Instead, be comforted that Valley Medical Center has world-class experts ready to run the new MRI, and as our patient population increases, we need all the speed and efficiency we can get.

And now we do. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Special delivery...and it's a BIG ONE!

Wanna see something fantastic? That big machine there is called a linear accelerator...and no, it's not the mile-long kind at Stanford. Rather, that's the VERY high-tech cancer treatment device, made by Varian, and purchased by a team of dedicated donors to the VMC Foundation.

It weighs five tons.

This is where we trust in cranes...and the folks who operate them.

Our "linac" was delivered last weekend, and as this photo shows, lowered down into the new Sobrato Cancer Center. Very carefully. Besides being five tons, it's nuclear medicine. Yep, we're moving slowly with this one!

Just a reminder: Without the County of Santa Clara, the Sobrato Family Foundation, The Levy Family, Cypress Semiconductor, and a host of generous contributors, this delivery would not have been possible. Soon, this amazing medical equipment will begin saving lives - and that's what the VMC Foundation is about. We're so proud!

...and if you think the linac is heavy, you should see the concrete bunker it's housed in. Would you like to? Give us a call at 408-885-5299 and we'll arrange a tour!

Let's end the week on a POSITIVE note!

I have two bits of great news for you: First, we were visited by our friend and community champion Dick Levy yesterday. Dr. Levy is the Chairman of Varian Medical Systems, and he and his wife Susan have become two of Silicon Valley's true heroes in philanthropy.

Continuing his support for VMC, the Levys gave $250,000 yesterday to our effort to bring Digital Mammography to our hospital and clinics. This will be a HUGE benefit to our patients, decrease waiting times, increase speed of diagnosis, and further VMC's mission to provide the finest care with the best technology. THANK YOU, Susan and Dick...learn more about them and some of our other strong supporters here.

Next, Valley Medical Center has been named one of the top places for nurses to train...by the nurses themselves! The following article in the San Francisco Business Times hints at why the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation are working with us to achieve Magnet Status, the highest level of nursing designation in the country.

How many public hospitals have ever applied for Magnet designation? Just one. VMC!

Read on, forgiving the error (they call us Santa Clara County Medical Center) and click here for the full article:

Bay Area RNs and nursing students are watching the local market vigilantly, and are apt to aim for jobs at sought-after spots like Kaiser Permanente hospitals, UCSF Medical Center, Mills-Peninsula Health Services (part of Sutter Health) and Santa Clara County Medical Center, according to a survey done this spring.

Surveys of 220 Bay Area nursing students and 225 experienced RNs by San Francisco's Health Workforce Solutions LLC identified those organizations as favored job sites, with Kaiser, UCSF and Santa Clara County med center landing at the top of experienced nurses' lists. Surveyed students came from the College of San Mateo, Los Medanos College, Samuel Merritt, Santa Rosa Junior College and UCSF.

The Valley Foundation's BIG gift!

People often call The Valley Medical Center Foundation "The Valley Foundation" for short...and I am right there, every time, to correct them. "No no," I say, "It's VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER Foundation."

This is obnoxious, but important.

Important because there is actually "The Valley Foundation" in Los Gatos, and today they told us they are contributing $100,000 to our Sobrato Cancer Center campaign!

We're absolutely thrilled by this, and I want to thank their board: Phil Boyce, Joe Parisi, Richard Sieve M.D., Ed LaVeque M.D., Herbert Kain M.D., Arthur Basham M.D., Dan Doore and Ralph Ross.

Big thanks to the Valley Foundation for helping us provide the finest care to our oncology patients...the photo above depicts our new linear accelerator, one of the divices we purchased earlier this year. A "linac" delivers radiation to kill cancer cells - a life-saving technology. It's going to be delivered by crane next week, which should be so cool we ought to sell tickets.

There's still more we need, of course, so if you would like to get involved with the Sobrato Cancer Center campaign please call us day or night at 408-885-5299.