Get in touch
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2400 Moorpark Ave
Suite 207
San Jose, CA 95128 - (408) 885-5299
- http://www.vmcfoundation.org/
A Growing need for YOUR help!
The day started like any other in the Emergency Department of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (VMC) – fast-paced and action-packed. But as morning turned to afternoon, the staff knew something was different. New patients just kept coming; via ambulance, helicopter and walking themselves through the door. It was a rush like no other.
By day’s end, over 500 patients had come through the door for treatment, more than double the daily average from six years ago. It was a new record. And this was just a regular day, seemingly like any other. There were no major storms or disasters to speak of – just a lot of sick and injured people who needed to see a doctor. The day was emblematic of the challenges facing the Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System (SCVHHS). As the economy has worsened, more and more residents of Santa Clara County have nowhere else to turn when they need medical attention.
In fact, fully one-quarter of all Santa Clara County residents get their care at Valley Medical Center and VMC community clinics. From primary care for children, to emergency care for adults, VMC forms the backbone of this community’s health system. As a teaching hospital, VMC trains an overwhelming number of local physicians and nurses, including all Stanford University School of Medicine students. VMC operates the busiest emergency department in the region, and one of two burn trauma units in northern California.
But as costs rise and public dollars decline, the staff of VMC has to do more with less.
In fact, over the past 10 years, the patient demand for SCVHHS services has doubled, all the while undergoing nearly a decade of year-after-year budget cuts. In that time, SCVHHS staff has gone to enormous lengths to realize efficiencies, reduce waste, innovate, and find ways to serve more people with less money. But if current trends continue, VMC will face dire financial and operational challenges.
For these reasons and more, all of us, regardless of where we get our healthcare, have a stake in the future of VMC. No other public institution – save the folks who bring us clean drinking water – do more to protect the health and well-being of this community than VMC. Without it, emergency departments at private hospitals would be overwhelmed, contagious diseases would go unchecked, and hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, co-workers and friends would be without care.
If you are among those who have helped, thank you. In 2008, you may have voted for a bond measure to re-build Valley Medical Center, and construction is going strong. You may have recently donated to support the Sobrato Cancer Center, or our Traumatic Brain Injury Rehab program, or VMC’s Burn Center – all state-of-the-art services, made stronger by our generous supporters. You may have even received care at VMC, Silicon Valley’s biggest and busiest hospital, and told others that the quality of care is top-tier.
The doors of Valley Medical Center are open to all. It’s up to all of us to keep it that way. Your help is needed now, more than ever. To learn more about how you can support VMC, contact the VMC Foundation at 408-885-5299, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or visit www.vmcfoundation.org.
The day started like any other in the Emergency Department of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (VMC) – fast-paced and action-packed. But as morning turned to afternoon, the staff knew something was different. New patients just kept coming; via ambulance, helicopter and walking themselves through the door. It was a rush like no other.
By day’s end, over 500 patients had come through the door for treatment, more than double the daily average from six years ago. It was a new record. And this was just a regular day, seemingly like any other. There were no major storms or disasters to speak of – just a lot of sick and injured people who needed to see a doctor. The day was emblematic of the challenges facing the Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System (SCVHHS). As the economy has worsened, more and more residents of Santa Clara County have nowhere else to turn when they need medical attention.
In fact, fully one-quarter of all Santa Clara County residents get their care at Valley Medical Center and VMC community clinics. From primary care for children, to emergency care for adults, VMC forms the backbone of this community’s health system. As a teaching hospital, VMC trains an overwhelming number of local physicians and nurses, including all Stanford University School of Medicine students. VMC operates the busiest emergency department in the region, and one of two burn trauma units in northern California.
But as costs rise and public dollars decline, the staff of VMC has to do more with less.
In fact, over the past 10 years, the patient demand for SCVHHS services has doubled, all the while undergoing nearly a decade of year-after-year budget cuts. In that time, SCVHHS staff has gone to enormous lengths to realize efficiencies, reduce waste, innovate, and find ways to serve more people with less money. But if current trends continue, VMC will face dire financial and operational challenges.
For these reasons and more, all of us, regardless of where we get our healthcare, have a stake in the future of VMC. No other public institution – save the folks who bring us clean drinking water – do more to protect the health and well-being of this community than VMC. Without it, emergency departments at private hospitals would be overwhelmed, contagious diseases would go unchecked, and hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, co-workers and friends would be without care.
If you are among those who have helped, thank you. In 2008, you may have voted for a bond measure to re-build Valley Medical Center, and construction is going strong. You may have recently donated to support the Sobrato Cancer Center, or our Traumatic Brain Injury Rehab program, or VMC’s Burn Center – all state-of-the-art services, made stronger by our generous supporters. You may have even received care at VMC, Silicon Valley’s biggest and busiest hospital, and told others that the quality of care is top-tier.
The doors of Valley Medical Center are open to all. It’s up to all of us to keep it that way. Your help is needed now, more than ever. To learn more about how you can support VMC, contact the VMC Foundation at 408-885-5299, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or visit www.vmcfoundation.org.
