Valley Health Foundation actively supports the patients, families, and dedicated healthcare professionals of Santa Clara Valley Healthcare. Our public healthcare system provides the highest quality healthcare to everyone in Silicon Valley. Our donors also make an impact beyond the clinical setting through many community-based programs and services as part of our mission to ensure better health for all.
Create and support community-based programs
Support patients and families who receive healthcare within Santa Clara County’s public healthcare system.
We partner with healthcare professionals to support the acquisition of services and equipment designed to improve the health outcomes of the individuals and families they serve. Examples include:
- Family Support Specialists: With funding from First 5 Santa Clara County, the Valley Health Foundation supported the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at SCVMC to establish a Family Centered Care team. This team comprises family support specialists who have been parents in the NICU. Family Support Specialists are crucial to helping parents and families navigate the emotional rollercoaster of pre-term deliveries.
- BRIDGE Program: The Babies Reaching Improved Development and Growth in their Environment (BRIDGE) Program optimizes each family's transition from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to a home with compassionate, family-centered, evidence-based, fiscally responsible, quality-preventative home care. This program supports NICU graduates by bridging the gap between the hospital and the family's home after discharge. BRIDGE comprises four pediatric nurse practitioners who serve at-risk babies in the well-baby nursery post-discharge and all NICU graduates.
- Patient and Family Experience: Valley Health Foundation actively supports the acquisition of equipment and technology that is designed to improve the patient and family experience at each of our healthcare facilities. For example, our hospitals are adorned with beautiful art that is designed to promote healing and joy among patients, families, and staff. The Valley Health Foundation has also purchased an information kiosk and “Touchsource” technology to assist patients and visitors with wayfinding on our main campus.
Support physicians and staff who serve within Santa Clara County’s public healthcare delivery system.
- Mental Health and Wellness: Leaders from Valley Health Foundation have partnered with the Clinician Wellness Task Force to support and advocate for systems transformation so that patients are cared for by a health workforce that is thriving in an environment that fosters clinicians’ humanity and purpose as they improve population health, enhance the care experience, improve value, and advance health equity.
- Education, Training, and Development: Valley Health Foundation provides financial support for healthcare professionals and teams seeking additional education and training to improve quality and patient outcomes for themselves and others.
- Residency Education: Santa Clara Valley Healthcare is home to 5 different medical residency programs including a pharmacy residency program. It is a key training location for numerous medical and surgical residency programs affiliated with Stanford University. SCVH training programs are essential to the community's health - an estimated one in four physicians who work in Santa Clara County trained at SCVH. SCVH also serves as a clinical training site for nurses, lab techs, physical therapists, nurse practitioners, social workers, dieticians, and numerous other "healthcare providers in training".
- Tools and Technology: Valley Health Foundation partners with clinicians and healthcare administrators to acquire tools and technology to support the highest quality of learning for all residents. For example, to augment their training experience at the OB/GYN Residency Program, Valley Health Foundation purchased a simulation model that allows physicians in training to learn how to deliver a baby using forceps. While this is an unusual occurrence in the delivery room, it is important for physicians to be able to deliver an infant safely and skillfully, regardless of the challenges at the time of childbirth. The simulation model has been instrumental in providing practice for OB/GYN physicians in training in a setting where they have the time to learn the technique properly, as opposed to learning the technique while an infant is in distress.
- Recognition and Celebration: We host numerous programs and services that are designed to recognize and celebrate the dedicated team of healthcare professionals who work in county hospitals and clinics and who share a commitment to achieving the highest quality of care for everyone.
Create and support community-based health programs and services that improve the health of vulnerable and underserved members of our community. Examples include:
- COVID-19 Relief Operation: In March 2020, the Foundation spearheaded the largest Covid-19 relief operation in the region to support local hospitals with personal protective equipment and other supplies to keep healthcare workers safe during the early months of the pandemic. In all, over 5 million items were donated through the Foundation to local hospitals, and $30 million was raised to support mass testing and vaccination efforts.
- Silicon Valley Down Syndrome Network (SVDSN) is a network of families with children born with Down Syndrome who come from all walks of life. Their goal is to provide a community of support for individuals with Down Syndrome and their families. All SVDSN's events and activities are organized by volunteers and funded by donations. Valley Health Foundation actively promotes this network and acts as its fiscal agent.
- Santa Clara County Community Grants Partnership is a joint effort with Valley Health Foundation and the County of Santa Clara to efficiently and rapidly deploy federal relief dollars for urgent, community needs. Through the COVID-19 Nonprofit Grant Program, the partnership has granted $9 million to local organizations that suffered financial hardship during the pandemic. An additional $25 million will be granted in 2024 to support the expansion of child development centers and school-based mental health programs throughout the region.
