VMC Among "America's Best Hospitals"

Silicon Valley is home to some of America’s best hospitals. So when the competition is this tough, there is no shame in taking the silver. In U.S. News and World Report just released “America’s Best Hospitals” annual report, VMC was ranked second only to Stanford for best hospitals in the San Jose Metro Area. VMC was specifically recognized for “high performing specialties” in Ear, Nose and Throat, Gynecology, kidney disorders and rehabilitation care. Rankings aren’t everything, of course. But the recognition is well deserved. VMC and Stanford, of course, share a long-established bond. Together, both hospitals operate Santa Clara County’s only top level trauma centers. VMC is an official teaching hospital of the Stanford University School of Medicine, and numerous VMC physicians also serve on the Stanford faculty. To see the report, check here.

"New VMC" is really taking shape!

Just a quick look at the framing of the New Valley Medical Center. The team from URS, Turner and all have been working very fast, with the benefit of great weather this month, to build our new, state-of-the-art hospital. We should see the last piece of steel in place by next week, giving us the complete "skeleton" of what will surely be the finest public hospital in the nation.

Okay, I'm a little biased, but it's going to be amazing. I'll write more about it soon, including the important part: What will go on inside when it's done, two years from now?

Welcome to the new Valley Health Center Milpitas!

Halloween came a day early this year for the City of Milpitas, with the Grand Opening celebration of our new Valley Health Center...and what a day it was!

Hundreds of families packed the new three-story, 60,000 square foot facility to enjoy arts and crafts, health screenings, hula hoop contests, safety classes and healthy food...none of which would have been possible without the sponsorship of Kaiser, Valley Health Plan, the Public Health Department and Allied Waste (and your very own VMC Foundation, of course).

VHC Milpitas is truly something to be proud of. The clinic offers care in pediatrics, OBGYN, family medicine, allergy clinic, the VMC Foundation-supported Pediatric Healthy Lifestyle Center, and so much more.

Perhaps the biggest hero of the day was County Supervisor Dave Cortese, whose idea it was to have a huge community party rather than a plain ol' "ribbon cutting". I got to emcee the program which included remarks by Supervisor Cortese, County CEO Dr. Jeff Smith, Milpitas Mayor Bob Livengood and Doctors Marcie Levine and Dan Delgado. Ashley Roybal from Congressman Honda's office was there to present a commendation.

Halloween should be full of surprises. At around 1pm, we were, uh, treated to one.

FIRE ALARM! Everyone exit the building!

Thing is, you pack that many kids into a new health center, and one of them is bound to double-dog-dare another to pull the red lever. Either that, or it could have been a San Jose State University Recreation/Leisure Studies major. I was one of those once, and was taught that the best time to suspend a recreational activity is at the peak of its participants' enjoyment.

Special thanks to Michael Elliott and Andy Groggel of the VMC Foundation for deftly dealing with this unexpected "challenge"...and of course to the Health Center staff. The good news is they will NEVER have to evacuate that many people from the clinic again. Ever.

I guess the moral of the story is that, when the question is "trick or treat?", sometimes the answer is "both!" Anyway, congratulations VHC Milpitas and to the community it serves!

How is the "New VMC" coming along?

I just learned about a job that might be as fun and exciting as mine: Aerial photography! Enjoy the series of photos taken by the 111th Aerial Photography Squadron of the construction zone at VMC - your 2008 Measure A dollars hard at work!

To view the series, click here...

Our report to the community...VMC 2.0!

Welcome to VMC 2.0 – the most comprehensive and best-looking publication the VMC Foundation has ever produced.

We’re not just proud of this report, of course…we’re proud of the men and women of Valley Medical Center who spend their lives saving ours every day. We’re proud of the innovations that make VMC a world-class medical center, and probably the finest public hospital in the state.

We’re proud of the fact that, after nine consecutive years of budget cuts, we’re still able to serve our community…and those same nine years have seen the patient population grow and grow.

…but you, alert “Wilderside” reader, already know that.

What you may not know is the value proposition that VMC provides the taxpayers of Santa Clara County – but you will when you see page 33. You may not have seen the breath-taking renderings of our “new VMC” that’s being built as we speak – but you will if you look at 44.

And you may not know what VMC is doing to prepare for health care reform…so please, take a few moments to peruse VMC 2.0. I think you’ll find it a beautiful and educational publication. Let’s face it: Not all the media attention VMC has received this year has been positive…and to be frank, not all has been accurate. This report, in part, helps tell the full story.

A huge thanks to The Health Trust and the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal for assistance in getting VMC 2.0 released, and to PRx Inc. for making it look so beautiful.

As always, if you have questions about what you’re reading, call me any time at 408-885-5299. If what you learn has you considering a donation to support our work, well then we’ve done our job! Thanks so much.

The man they call “Sweden’s Christopher Reeve” visited Valley Medical Center today. Claes Hulting, M.D.(find him on Facebook) is consulting with the Palo Alto VA, about his dream of 20+ years ago to build the world’s greatest spinal cord injury rehabilitation center.

Many say he’s done it, and predictably, it took a combination of private donations and new thinking. Dr. Hutling was injured in 1984, and his doctors immediately told him he should not follow through with his marriage (planned for two weeks later) because he’d just be a vegetable. Shocking and outrageous, yes, but it set him on a path to create Spinalis.

Spinalis is his amazing rehab center in Sweden which looks more like a Silicon Valley tech company. Bright colors, elliptical corridors, a huge central kitchen, tables that bolt to the ceiling (great for users of wheelchairs), and a vibrant atmosphere that makes you think you’re in Google’s café rather than a hospital. “I wanted a Studio 54 feel”, he told VMC’s assembled physicians this morning.

That “feel” begat media coverage, more grant funding, and allowed him to spread his methodology of healing – summed up best by Iggy Pop’s immortal “Lust for Life”. “As time goes by,” Dr. Hulting told us, “I’m less interested in the body and more interested in the mind” as it relates to life beyond a spinal cord injury.

So here’s the good news: We’ve been operating with the same philosophy for decades at Valley Medical Center, which is partly why we’re a nationally-recognized rehabilitation destination. Better news: VMC’s rehab center is moving in a couple years to the new wing we’re building as a result of 2008’s “Measure A” passing.

The best news: We have an opportunity to incorporate many of the great ideas that Dr. Hulting shared with us today…but like his Spinalis center, the “New VMC Rehab Center” will need private philanthropy and partnership to reach its full potential. The alert reader of this blog will remember that we’re already out in front on patient technology access, and in fact Dr. Steve McKenna simul-cast today’s lecture to the VA Hospital, but there’s so much potential.

So, if you are able and interested in helping create our own “Spinalis” concept right here in Silicon Valley, contact me and let’s talk!

A Call to Service - "because that's what we do."

History was made yesterday at Valley Medical Center.

In a moving ceremony, our new flagpoles were commissioned and the colors flown, thanks to our own VMC Color Guard, Veteran Marines all, from VMC's Protective Services Department. No ceremony like it had ever taken place before. The need was a result of Measure A's passing in 2008, requiring the installation of new flagpoles (the old ones are where the new hospital will go).

Also, for the very first time, the POW/MIA flag now joins the California Flag and the Stars and Stripes. Colonel Dean Winslow, M.D., who actively serves in the Air Force while also as Medical Director of VMC's PACE Clinic, thanked the administrators of YOUR public medical center for the opportunity to do both. His tours of duty to Iraq and Afghanistan are only part of his riviting personal story.

(Photos are here, courtesy of Flickr and VMC's Luis Gonzalez)

Perhaps the most moving speech of the day was delivered by retired Colonel William Peacock. I'm proud to call Bill a friend, and his service to our nation goes back to his time in the White House under Carter and Reagan, and before that, Viet Nam. Bill is also a member of the Soverign Order of St. John, which has built hospitals around the world for over a thousand years.

Below is a transcript of his speech, which perfectly brought home the idea of service - both in the military and the medical field. PLEASE READ AND SHARE with others...this one deserves to be spread around:

To all veterans and Colonel Winslow, MD: I honor you for your noble service in our nation’s latest wars, and in many ways I wish I could join you. It is probably best, however, that I do not join in this expedition because we all know that we old veterans are pretty cranky and doggone impatient, and in this new and different kind of battle, as it is coming to be well known, patience is more a virtue in this new kind of war than it may have been in our earlier and seemingly simpler military conflicts.

In this connection, just the other day, an email came over the net that showed a photograph of an Army medic, the same caliber youngster as a Navy corpsman. Please note my pronunciation of “corpsman,” for those who follow the news. [laughter, especially from the vets in the crowd].

The medic was carrying on his back a badly wounded Iraqi soldier through the middle of a vicious firefight. A member of the European press yelled out in a jeering and derisive manner to the U.S. Army medic as he ran with this heavy and bleeding body in the “fireman’s carry” to the nearest combat medical facility. The foreign cameraman yelled out, “Why are you risking your life for him? He’s only an Iraqi.”

The American soldier replied through gritted teeth, “Because that’s what we do.”

A great phrase, “That’s what we do!” Think about it: it applies with near-perfect congruence to what every man and woman here at Valley Medical Center does every hour of every day, 24/7, 365. That is what you do—you take care of them all—the sick, the wounded, the needy, the disenfranchised, the poor. Just like our nation’s Army medics and the Navy corpsman. You take them all: That’s what you do.

So it is all too fitting that proud members of your military, past and present, are here, standing tall to honor you, the women and men of Valley Medical Center, as you dedicate and commission your new flagpole: a flagpole that flies at its apogee the stars and stripes, a symbol of freedom known everywhere on this troubled planet.

So too it is fitting that Captain Schork, his Honor Guard of Marines, Colonel Dean Winslow, MD of the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps, and I, a Vietnam era Marine, salute you: because you, the people of VMC, here safe in Silicon Valley, are a very close analogy to our front-line combat troops. Why? Because like the troops, you could exercise your freedom of choice and do something else all day or all night, but you choose to care for them all. Therefore, you may have other slogans, but I suggest that underlying it all is the crystal clear ringing phrase: “That is what we do.”

For your service to others, may God bless and thank you.

Col. Bill Peacock, retired Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)

A big boost for our public hospitals

Even Assemblyman Jim Beall would agree that great news doesn't come out of Sacramento every day...but thanks to him, and the Governor, today is one of those days!

That's Jim there, on the right, next to Assemblyman Ira Ruskin. They helped us break ground on the new VMC Bed Building a couple of Fridays ago...and now, with the passage of Jim Beall's AB303, other public hospitals have a chance to do the same.

As for VMC, Jim's legislation gives us options on speeding up our construction plans and leveraging the generosity of the voters who last year passed Measure A. Check out the news release from Assemblyman Beall's office below, and help me thank a great leader who has been championing VMC for a very long time. HOORAY JIM!

For Immediate Release: 10/12/2009 Contact: Rodney Foo 408.282.8920

HOSPITAL SEISMIC SAFETY FINANCING BILL BECOMES LAW
Legislation authored by Assemblymember Jim Beall, Jr. to help hospitals obtain federal funds to finance and complete state-mandated seismic safety improvements was signed by the Governor.

“Assembly Bill 303 ensures our emergency rooms can remain open during a catastrophe,’’ Beall said. “It also creates thousands of construction jobs statewide. It’s a stimulus package that works on two fronts.’’

Assembly Bill 303 allows specified public hospitals and some private hospitals that are contracted to serve Medi-Cal patients to use local funding in place of state funding to qualify for reimbursement from the federal Construction Renovation Reimbursement Program for new capital projects to meet state seismic safety deadlines. Currently, there is no state funding available to draw those federal funding.

After 11 hospitals were completely or partially closed in the aftermath of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the Legislature passed a 2013 deadline for hospitals to begin safety retrofitting or replacement of their most vulnerable buildings. The law also requires that hospital buildings with retrofitting must be replaced by 2030. Fifteen years ago, the initial total cost was projected at $14 billion to make the buildings safe. But more detailed and accurate studies have now placed that figure at $110 billion or more.

The bill’s passage was hailed by hospital officials on Monday.

“This bill really means a lot to us as a Public Safety Net institution,’’ said Kim Roberts, chief executive officer of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Santa Clara County’s biggest hospital. “Public Safety Net hospitals have the greatest challenge of how to meet the seismic mandates because we don’t have the funding. This bill is a great example of creativity.’’

Said Ron Smith, senior vice president of the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California: “In the current financial situation our country faces, this bill allows about 60 hospitals to raise enough capital to rebuild. It’s likely many of these hospitals would have otherwise closed. Without Assemblymember Jim Beall’s bill many of these hospitals might have closed.’’

Going...Going...GONE.

With touch of sadness, but an eye on the future, today saw the tear-down of VMC's old outpatient building...making way of course for the NEW VMC coming soon!

Progress on the "New VMC" - your dollars at work!

I promised several weeks ago that I’d keep you in the loop about the “New VMC” being built with the money you approved when you voted YES on Measure A last fall. Read on, and consider yourself “in the loop!”

First, the County’s first 2009 Series A General Obligation Bonds successfully sold this week, attracting 9 strong bids from the underwriting community. Merrill Lynch won a very close bid, coming in at a much lower interest rate than we expected. The result is that the county now has its first $350,000,000 toward the whole “New VMC” project – and saved a few million bucks in the process.

Meanwhile, construction goes on – or more specifically, destruction. The old outpatient building is being slowly dismantled, and we’ll let you know about the ground-breaking ceremony that will happen later this year when the site is ready for the new hospital. Our new parking garage opened this week, and the wonderful staff of the Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System has begun helping with our capital campaign by

In case you missed our Earth Day celebration...

Valley Medical Center did Earth Day 2009 up right with a historic launch of our solar panels...and nearly 1,000 people were on hand for the fiesta.

If you weren't able to attend, below is the next best thing. If your employer blocks videos, send this to your private account and watch from home. A huge thanks to Michael Elliott, VMC Foundation's Director of Program Development and Videography.

The New VSC...making room, and fast.

Hey Friends, just a quick look at today's news on Valley Medical Center's main campus: The construction zone is in effect!

I took this shot this morning, as the fencing goes up around VMC's old one-story, outdated outpatient building (that's the dark, windowless portion just behind the truck). This facility was emptied earlier this month as all the departments moved to the new Valley Specialty Center. Next step? Bulldozers!

Once this building is gone (soon), we begin building the "NEW" VMC. Want to learn more? email me at echristopher.wilder@hhs.sccgov.org or watch this space.

Ear plugs and earmarks...a big week for VMC.

A couple quick cool items for you today: Last week was the grand opening of Valley Specialty Center, VMC’s new fantastic outpatient clinic…and the Idol Hands Band was there to rock the party, louder than we've ever been, with a huge sound system (not pictured is our amazing singer, Veronica Giles, R.N.). Big thanks to the hundreds that came out for the celebration, including elected officials and even former SCVHHS CEO Bob Sillen!

Now – on to national affairs: Say what you like about federal earmarks, but I’m with George Stephanopoulos who said today “You have to decide – is it a bad earmark, or a good earmark?”

If you’re seeking an example of a good earmark, I offer two, as championed by Congressman Mike Honda and signed into law by President Obama yesterday: Valley Medical Center has been granted $404,000 for digital mammography equipment, and $233,000 for emergency room ultrasound technology.

Both will save lives, at a time when VMC is facing yet another hard year of budget cuts. Neither represents even a fraction of the federal budget. And sadly, though badly needed, these vital technology purchases are only two of the long list of items we need at YOUR public hospital…and cannot afford right now.

That’s why the VMC Foundation is working so hard to raise funds for more equipment and programs. We cannot stop just because the economy is down; in fact, since demand for VMC is up, we need to work doubly hard!

SO, yes, we're thrilled about Valley Specialty Center, which will help more patients receive care more efficiently. But we need more technology, equipment, and support to keep it all going.

Would you like to see some great photos of Valley Specialty Center? Click here. Would you like to make your mark on this vital Silicon Valley resource? Click here. Thanks so much!

Big News about our Big New Medical Center!

Talk about "shovel-ready" projects...the new Valley Medical Center, approved by voters who passed Measure A in November, is ROLLING!

Yesterday, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors made some great decisions. First, I'm pleased to report that Turner Construction has been awarded the "design-build" contract for this massive undertaking. Turner is a big supporter of the VMC Foundation, but more importantly, has the experience and skill to build what will likely be the finest public hospital in the United States.

Exaggeration? No way.

The new VMC will be a world-class patient tower which will include our nationally-recognized spinal cord and brain injury rehab center. And the Board of Sup's certified something else yesterday: The new VMC will be one of the "greenest" hospitals in the country.

Yes - we are moving forward to ensure the new hospital meets LEED "Gold" status. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a federal program that certifies the most efficient buildings from many perspectives...and only a handful of hospitals nationally meet this standard today. VMC will be one of them, exceeding even the county's rigid green building standards.

And it all starts NOW. Watch this space, as you will soon be invited to groundbreaking ceremonies. Bring your shovel; we're ready.

The State of Silicon Valley (hint: not ALL bad!)

Silicon Valley is mostly Santa Clara County, and the “State of the County” address was presented yesterday by the President of the Board of Supervisors, the Honorable Liz Kniss.

Economically speaking, things are not super. Oh. You already knew that.

What impressed me though was President Kniss’s ability to muster a positive outlook and instill some hope among the hundreds who had gathered to hear her address. Since almost half the county’s budget involves Valley Medical Center and the Health & Hospital System, I was excited to hear her positive messages about what we’ve been up to.

Of course, she reminded everyone about Measure A, and what that means for the future of VMC. But VMC has also been working with Deloitte to increase efficiencies. After eight straight years of budget cuts—and rising patient population—it’s likely that we are the most efficient health care system in the nation. I’m not exaggerating.

But part of why VMC is so good is that we work hard to stay modern and state-of-the-art. That’s why I’m inviting you to a Grand Opening Ceremony to see the brand new crown jewel of VMC’s campus, Valley Specialty Center. This gigantic new beautiful outpatient building is not just the most prominent feature of our campus (right on the corner of Bascom and Moorpark in San Jose), it also allows us to serve more patients, much more efficiently, with more dignity to all who come to us for care.

So come on out on Friday, March 6, at 9:30am. You can meet Supervisor Kniss and ask her what this building means for the residents of Silicon Valley…I promise you that her answer will leave you feeling optimistic about the future – that would be a nice change wouldn’t it?

Oh – and there will be live music too! Yes, the Idol Hands Band with Yours Truly on bass guitar will be rocking the party. Let us know you want to come: 408-885-5299.

Rebuilding VMC...time to get started!

If you pay taxes in Santa Clara County, then Valley Medical Center quite literally belongs to you.

That’s one of three reasons why we’re going to keep you informed every step of the way as we rebuild Silicon Valley’s largest hospital. It’s all starting pretty much NOW…we’re getting set to knock down the old outpatient building (as soon as everyone is moved out, of course) and make room for the new patient tower. Yes, we’re ready to go this winter, now that Measure A passed with more votes than any other issue on the ballot (including Barack Obama. I know…totally amazing.)

The second reason we’ll keep you up to speed is that it’s required. The Citizen Oversight Committee, mandated as part of Measure A, is coming together to ensure the funds are used wisely and per the will of the voters. Watch this space, as I’ll use it as just one way to share information about this massive and crucial project…I’ll get more specific as decisions are made and timelines set.

The third reason? It’s going to be just SO COOL. The new VMC will be beautiful, state of the art, world-class and way more efficient than the buildings it will replace. I know I speak for the executive team of the Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System when I say we cannot wait to get going!

The rendering above gives you an idea of what’s coming, and again, we’re not wasting any time. The result will be an absolutely breathtaking VMC - better for patients, and for our commuity.

And why shouldn’t it be? It’s yours.

Measure A WINS!!!!!!

To all who voted for Valley Medical Center: Thank you.

Measure A, as of 5:30am today, has passed with 78% of the vote - well above the 2/3 needed. Wow.

Even in a tough economy, the voters understood. In a huge, complicated ballot, the voters understood. I wish I could go door-to-door and thank everyone who voted YES on Measure A.

Since that's impractical, what we'll do instead is to start building the new parts of Valley Medical Center. We'll start soon - early next year - and we'll keep county residents informed every step of the way. We'll use the funds wisely, and make everyone proud of supporting VMC.

To all those who donated to the campaign, made phone calls, knocked on doors, or helped shape our messages...well, you must have done it right because Santa Clara County responded. This is a great day for health care in Silicon Valley, and a great day for the thousands of people who work for our county's largest hospital. The message has been received: We all need VMC, and Santa Clara County appreciates you.

Now, there's a great deal of work to be done. Let's get on it!

With deep appreciation,
Chris

The last great reason to support Measure A...

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins is the CEO of the South Bay Labor Council. Don Gage is the sole Republican on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. What are they doing teaming up for Measure A? Providing some solid reasoning why it deserves support.

Here, then, from today's Mercury News:

Measure A - Saving Lives and Saving Jobs
By Don Gage and Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins

Special to the Mercury News
Article Launched: 10/28/2008 06:58:29 PM PDT

As the economy slows down, voters tend to focus on one issue above all others — jobs.
So here's some good news in tough times.

Measure A — the Nov. 4 bond that will make Valley Medical Center earthquake proof — will also generate good jobs, a pot load of them.

You've probably noticed one of the effects of the national housing slowdown. Not many new homes are being built. With consumers tightening their belts, not many new stores or factories are breaking ground either. What's the result? Large numbers of construction workers aren't drawing paychecks.

A "yes" vote on Measure A immediately begins to address that problem. Iron workers, electrical workers, plumbers, carpenters, and countless others will be back on the payroll.

Everyone benefits

They'll be building structures that benefit every family in the valley — hospital rooms to protect victims of auto accidents, fires, or major disasters.

And hiring construction workers is just the beginning. When a carpenter isn't working, he also isn't buying. The decline in construction jobs translates into lower sales for cars, appliances, restaurants, home computers, cell phones "... into lower sales for just about everything that is produced in our region. Lower sales mean slower raises, fewer promotions, and eventually layoffs for people in all walks of life.

What voters should remember — and this is a critical point — is that the economic slow down described above can go on for years before it turns around. However, approving projects like Measure A can help shorten the period of decline. Recessions become deep and long because every individual family and business does what seems to make perfect sense for themselves, but the cumulative effect of the individual decisions makes things worse for all of us. A business that sees sales decline, lays off workers. Families experiencing or just worried about layoffs cut back on purchases. This second reduction in buying forces businesses to cut back further. Every individual action is reasonable; together, the result is a painful economic down cycle.

To break the cycle, some significant institution has to take the action that no individual family or business will take. It has to invest and buy right in the middle of bad times. Only the government has the capacity to play this role. As you may have heard, the federal government is planning a massive economic stimulus package to accomplish this task within the next few months. Measure A can be considered an economic stimulus package for Santa Clara County. It will help jump start a pattern of hiring that will spread. According to the multiplier published by the California Trade and Commerce Agency, every new construction job creates an additional 1.12 jobs elsewhere in the economy.

Double stimulus

In fact, Measure A provides a double stimulus to the regional economy. If the measure doesn't pass, state law will require in 2013 that the county close important parts of Valley Medical Center. Hundreds of health care personnel will lose their jobs. Their families will stop buying too. That's the last kind of economic impact the valley needs as we struggle through this difficult period.

Our economy will be that much stronger if those nurses, operating room assistants, radiology technicians, and numerous support personnel stay on the job, continue to make purchases, help local businesses survive, and thereby keep the rest of us on the job too.

Measure A can provide this valuable economic stimulus at the same time that it preserves the health and safety of our community. Valley Medical Center is a special kind of business with a special kind of mission. It saves lives. Whose life? Anyone who needs a trauma center or a burn unit or a spinal cord injury center.

In a large metropolitan area, tragedy does strike. It's unexpected. It's unfair. It's cruel. But it does happen, and when it does there is no substitute for the skilled staff and unique equipment that Valley Medical keeps ready 24 hours a day.

Vote Yes on Measure A. You'll be voting to protect your job and to keep Valley Medical Center doing its job — to save lives.

"Access Denied?" ...a groundbreaking new report.

A new study was released today by The Health Trust that shines a light on some major problems in Silicon Valley...problems we can and must solve.

Among the crucial issues contained in their report, Access Denied?, are the alarming lack of hospital beds per capita in our community, and the worstening plight of the uninsured and "under-insured." The stories of VMC's patients in the study are astounding examples of the human spirit...worth your time to read.

This ground-breaking report also points to the seismic mandate facing hospitals in California, which of course Measure A will address if approved by voters on November 4. More on Measure A in today's Mercury News.

Please do find time to read Access Denied? and as always, let me know your thoughts.

A new baby at VMC!

First, because not everyone reads the Mercury News (but should) on weekends, a very compelling letter from a local hero supporting Measure A on Saturday:

Measure A is a matter of life and death

Measure A is the single most important issue on the ballot in Santa Clara County this November. Every day, police officers and firefighters dispatch ambulances to Valley Medical Center for patients to receive lifesaving trauma services at Valley Medical Center's Level 1 trauma and burn centers.

Regardless of where a person lives in Santa Clara County, chances are they will be taken to Valley Medical Center in the event of a serious accident or emergency, and they would definitely end up in Valley Medical Center's burn center in the event of serious fire and burn injuries.

Measure A is a matter of life and death, and that's why public safety personnel and organizations urge you to vote yes on Measure A.

Art Marshall
President Santa Clara County Firefighters

...and another on Sunday, from a young Saratogan...what this letter doesn't tell you is that Marie crashed her car on graduation day:

Pass Measure A so VMC is here for you

I crashed my Volvo on Highway 9 in Saratoga and the only thing I can remember is lying on the ground next to my open car door. I was rushed to Valley Medical Center's trauma unit. The paramedics were concerned that I might have serious internal injuries. Had Valley Medical Center not been around, there is a very good chance I would have not had the immediate care I needed. With Measure A appearing on the ballot in a couple of weeks, I know how lucky I was to have VMC to care for me after my accident.

Please vote yes on A so that Valley Medical Center will be here for you or your family members when you need it most.

Marie Stark
Saratoga

These letters and others like it are appearing in newspapers every day around Silicon Valley - read your local papers and see!

What I wanted to share with you is that my friend DeAnn had her first baby this week at VMC! After thirty hours of labor, she had a C-section, and 9-pound Zachary was brought into the world!

De shared with me that the whole time she was in pre-natal care, right on up through the birth, she was treated like a princess by the team at VMC. This of course is no surprise to me or you, the alert reader, but it is a surprise to many who still don't get that VMC is probably the safest place to have a baby in Silicon Valley. Congratulations, De and Jamie, on the new addition to your family!

Incidentally, the morning of Zachary's arrival, I was touring a group of young First 5 staff members through VMC, and we shared an elevator ride to up to Labor/Delivery with Dr. Steve Harris, our chair of pediatrics. One of the young staff members, she herself expecting a child, asked if we could see the "nursery" where all the babies could be viewed through the window.

Dr. Harris smiled. "We don't do it like that anymore," he explained. "As soon as we can, we want the babies right there with their moms."

And so it was when I visited De...just hours after a C-section, Zachary was right there in the room with her, gurgling away happily. The way it should be.