Why do we give to charities, anyway?

Is healthcare philanthropy in big trouble?

I agree that #1 and #2 of the "triple threat" to healthcare giving are real, as reported by Health Leaders Media: Uncertanty of health care reform and local (county) budget crises nation-wide.

#3 I'd like your opinion about. Here's the situation:

President Obama's proposed 2012 budget caps charitable deductions at 28%, while a Bowles-Simpson Deficit Reduction Commission proposal would reduce the tax incentive for charitable giving to a 12% tax credit for donations that exceed 2% of a taxpayer's adjusted gross income.

Nine out of 10 AHP [Association of Healthcare Philanthropy] respondents surveyed in February said the Bowles-Simpson proposal would cause significant reductions in overall giving to their organization, with 64% saying the adverse impact on major gift-giving would be considerable. About 40% said giving would fall between 10% and 30% if significant changes are made to the current tax incentives for charitable donations—which conservatively could amount to more than a $1.07 billion drop in total annual giving to nonprofit hospitals, AHP said, based on its own FY2009 statistics.

AHP Chair Mary Anne Chern said any reductions in the tax incentives for charitable giving could be "devastating for healthcare in the U.S."

The implied assumption here, of course, is that people donate to get a tax deduction. While that may be true, I cannot believe it's the driver. Especially here in data-driven, outcomes-based Silicon Valley, my strong sense is that we donate because we want to see a positive, measurable change in our community as a result of our help. We want to make Santa Clara County a better place for everyone.

Let me know: If your donation was only partially tax-deductable, would you give as much to the charities you support? Frankly, the future of the VMC Foundation may depend on how we collectively answer this question. I welcome your thoughts: vmcfoundation@gmail.com

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.

Community Effort helpes Clothe Victims of Sexual Assault

Need proof that only takes the power of one person to make a positive change in the lives of others?



Look no further than Lisa Blanchard and the Grateful Garments Project she has just launched to benefit VMC’s Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). The idea for Grateful Garments began when Lisa was working on a school project. Tasked to develop a fundraising initiative, Lisa chose a cause that aligned with her volunteer work with SART. She knew that the clothes of the clients treated by SART were being collected for evidence, leaving the patients in need of comforting, warm clothing to wear home after their exam.



The Grateful Garment Project's mission, then, is to ensure that every client that crosses the threshold of the SART facility is provided with whatever clean, new clothing, toiletry and food items they may require to reduce any additional impact on their being. Additionally, VMC’s SART Program can benefit from upgrades to equipment and supplies…sadly, this need is real, no matter how we wish it wasn’t.

Lisa’s project has put her passion into action. Working with resources provided by the VMC Foundation and SART, Lisa has raised hundreds of dollars to support this act of compassion, and she is showing no signs of slowing down.





The Grateful Garments Project is now a Facebook Cause: http://www.causes.com/causes/588638-the-grateful-garment-project Join the cause and use your donation to say “thank you” to Lisa, for showing us that it only takes the power of one person to make a positive change in the lives of others.

Newsflash: This actually isn't funny...

I'm a little astounded by how far we need to go in educating people about signs of stroke. When I saw this video, I was very alarmed - but based on the comments and how it went viral, seems most folks thought this was funny.

I like funny. This isn't it.

As of this writing, I'm not sure anyone knows whether this reporter was suffering a stroke...but that's not really the point. The point is, she exhibited some tell-tale signs - and way too many otherwise intelligent people had a good laugh.

Am I out of line, here? Watch the video and tell me what you think.

Ow. Help?

Every few years I like to experience the emergency services at Valley Medical Center for myself, to make sure the excellent care I always tell people about is for real. Last weekend, Saturday 3am seemed like a super time…nothing much on TV, ya know.

I’ll leave it a mystery how it exactly happened, but I’ll say this: If you gave me a hundred bungee cords and had me try to replicate the accident—on purpose—I’d never manage it again. It was in so tightly and deeply, there was no way I was getting it out without expert help.

So off we went to VMC’s Emergency Department…my friend Lydia drove, thankfully. She was visiting from the Southland, and I think she was pretty surprised to see how efficient and, yes, cheerful everybody was in OUR “county hospital”. Many—okay, most—folks waiting were in worse shape than I was and had priority, but it couldn’t have been an hour before they were taking x-rays of my finger to see if I’d gone through the bone or something else important.

By this time I was pretty freaked out. If you know me, you know that playing guitar is more important to me than pretty much anything else I use that finger for, so you can imagine my relief when the news came back that I’d missed serious damage by, oh, the width of an eyelash or two.

I’m not used to being the least chipper person in the room, and it really helped that all the doctors and nurses and techies around me were so upbeat. Maybe they thought this case was pretty cool. I wasn’t looking (believe me!) when they finally got the bungee hook out, but in no time I was anesthetized, sterilized, trussed up and we were on our way.

Yes, this wasn’t a life and death situation like so many others that come through the doors (or land on the roof via helicopter) at VMC every day, but I cannot thank the team enough for saving my finger.

Maybe you have a VMC Emergency story more compelling than mine (most are, I recon). Feel free to share if you like at echristopher.wilder@hhs.sccgov.org , as we at the VMC Foundation pass on the kudos when we can. Until next time, make sure your bungee cords have those rubber safety tips on each end. It could save your weekend.

"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?

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.