San Jose, Calif., May 22, 2012 -- With an official Resolution, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors today recognized the successful partnership between the El Camino Hospital District (ECHD) and Santa Clara County Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) in providing medical and dental services for uninsured families at Valley Health Center (VHC) Sunnyvale. The resolution was presented by Supervisor Liz Kniss, whose District is served by VHC Sunnyvale.
Over the past three years, ECHD has donated a total of $3.8 million to underwrite otherwise un-funded services at VHC Sunnyvale to help nearly 14,000 patients receive cost-effective primary care and dental services, avoiding inevitable emergent medical and dental crises that would require significantly more money to treat. El Camino Hospital and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center have been developing programs and support systems as part of readying the County for health care reform. An important element of the partnership is fully developing the "patient-centered medical home" model in which all care is provided in one place, by a team of health care providers.
"This support has empowered VHC Sunnyvale to build a medical home and that’s key because patients are getting all the care they need in one stop," said Chris Wilder, Valley Medical Center Foundation’s Executive Director. "When we and El Camino Hospital District team up to provide care for patients, we are improving health outcomes, and reducing trips to the emergency room and return trips to doctors."
Recent cuts in California’s state budget have resulted in reductions in coverage for critically important preventive services for Santa Clara County residents using Medi-Cal, leaving many more people without health care coverage.
"This wonderful partnership allows us to improve the health of our communities with patient-centered healthcare to bring prevention, wellness and easy access to health for our community members," said Barbara Avery, El Camino Hospital’s Director of Community Benefit. "We are honored that Supervisor Kniss recognized the importance of this partnership and how it is truly a model collaboration between a public health system and a non-profit hospital district."
Watch a video about the partnership:
|
|
|
| L to R: Liz Kniss, Chris Ernst, Barbara Avery, Wes Alles, Chris Wilder |
County of Santa Clara |
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.