July 23, 2012, Mountain View, CA. The El Camino Hospital District today announced results from a survey of District residents showing that an overwhelming majority (86 percent) believe that the District contributes directly to the quality of health care delivered to the community. Most residents felt strongly that El Camino Hospital should remain independent and under local ownership and control with three-quarters of the population saying that it was 'somewhat' to 'extremely' important to them.
"These survey results affirm that District residents believe we continue to deliver on our original mission - as envisioned by the voters more than 50 years ago - to provide quality health care services to the community,” said John Zoglin, chairman of the District Board of Directors. “The success of the District is rooted in its ability to sustain a locally controlled and independent organization that can respond to the community’s expanding health needs."
In addition to expressing satisfaction with the work the District is doing to provide health care services, residents were also asked to share their perceptions about the quality of care provided at El Camino Hospital.
Of those who have been a recent patient of the hospital (two years ago or less), roughly 78% report the quality of care as excellent or very good. Further, 76% of the population believes that having access to care at El Camino Hospital has some importance to them, and that the community’s underserved populations should continue to receive free programs and services from the hospital.
"Beyond our achievements in establishing El Camino Hospital as a pre-eminent community health care institution, each year, the hospital invests approximately $100 million in both uncompensated care, such as MediCal, and RotaCare, and heavily subsidized programs for dialysis, mental health and clinical trial patients -- because we believe that as a locally governed hospital, we need to take care of these important community needs," said Tomi Ryba, chief executive officer of El Camino Hospital. "For 50 years, El Camino Hospital has been a critical community asset. The support of the District’s residents, as highlighted in this survey, will inspire and propel us to meet the changing needs of community we serve for years to come, all in an increasingly challenging health care environment."
The resident survey consisted of 325 phone interviews of District residents aged 21 and older, consistent with current US Census data; the results are statistically projectable to the District population. It was conducted by JumpStart, a market research firm and fielded by Quality Data Management. The survey was funded by El Camino Hospital.
The El Camino Hospital District was established by voter approval in 1956 in accordance with California Local Hospital District Law. The purpose of the District is to establish, maintain and operate or provide assistance in the operation of health facilities and other health care services provider, groups and organizations that are necessary for the maintenance of good physical and mental health in the communities served by the District. The District, now known as El Camino Healthcare District, encompasses most of Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills; a large portion of Sunnyvale, and small sections of Cupertino, Santa Clara, and Palo Alto. The publicly elected El Camino Healthcare District Board of Directors approves tax dollar expenditures, including expenditures for the award winning Community Benefit program. Community Benefit funds are granted each year to local nonprofits, schools and government programs that provide critical health services to the underserved. All District Board meetings are publicly noticed, open to the public, and available for viewing on the District website.