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SJ Giants Team Trip to SCVMC 

On July 17th, patients in the Pediatric Department, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, the Rehabilitation Center for spinal cord injuries, and the Burn Center got a special visit from the San Jose Giants. The entire team, with the manager and Gigante (the mascot), came to visit our patients with pens in hand to sign pennants, baseballs and player cards.

The San Jose (SJ) Giants are making it part of their mission to become involved with the local community and make appearances at community events. This was their first visit to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

Each player took turns signing balls, pennants and cards for the ill children. Teresa Olson, RN and Pediatric Playroom Supervisor – the “Play Lady” - was very pleased with the tremendous turn out of the SJ Giants players. “The kids really appreciate it. It’s special and exciting to get an entire team of players visiting the hospital. It really brightens their day and breaks up the hospital routine,” she said. “It’s also great for us to partner with a local sports team to create such a memorable experience for our patients.”

Both patients and players alike enjoyed the experience. “It’s great when fans come out to support us, but some fans can’t come out to a game,” said Thomas Neal, #21, an outfielder on the team. “This is a great way for us to come to the fans. It’s a great feeling to put a smile on a kid’s face.”

The kids in the Pediatric Department were happy and grateful for the visit and autographs. Mark DeLos Santos, age 8, told his mom before the arrival of the players, “When the SJ Giants come get the pad and pencil ready so they can sign it for me!” Mark also got a few snapshots with the team mascot, Gigante and player Thomas Neal.

As the players started to wrap up their visit, Aaron Lowenstein, #23, catcher, talked about the importance of giving children in the hospital a positive experience.

“If we can make the day better for even just one of these kids, then we did our job,” said Lowenstein. “As baseball players, sometimes it’s easy to get upset when you lose a game or strike out. But when you come here and meet these kids, you see the bigger picture. You realize there are worse things that can happen. Our goal today was to bring some fun and see our fans.”

The players wrapped up by signing extra team pennants, baseballs, and player cards for patients that missed their visit because they were out of their rooms having procedures or medical tests. The day ended as a real a win-win for everyone involved – staff, families, patients, and players.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Activates 2,288 Solar Panels

In celebration of Earth Day 2009, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) activated a newly installed solar power system. Joined by hundreds of SCVMC employees, as well as hospital, corporate and community leaders, the 2,288 solar panels were “turned on” to the Beatles’ “Good Day Sunshine” as the crowd sang along.

SCVMC, with SunPower Corporation, a locally-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar panels and systems, installed these solar panels on top of two multi-level parking structures, covering a 77,525 square foot area. A 720-kilowatt SunPower® Tracker system is being used to track the sun during the day, increasing sunlight capture by up to 25 percent over fixed tilt systems. The tracker system is one of the most efficient solar panels systems available on the commercial market.

The SCVMC solar power system is expected to generate approximately 10% of the SCVMC campus energy needs, and is a good example of the County of Santa Clara’s expanding efforts to combine environmental stewardship with greater efficiency.

The new system is expected to save SCVMC $350,000 per year on its PG&E bill and replace more than 41 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over the next 30 years. This is equivalent to planting 4,300 trees or removing 3,600 cars from California’s highways. SCVMC continues to look at ways to further reduce its energy bill to meet the County’s goal of being energy neutral by 2050.

The solar power system is part of SCVMC's Green Building Project and is a significant element in its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification.

Green Building Project

SCVMC’s new hospital bed building is part of the medical center’s Green Building Project and is being designed and built to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification.

The LEED program is the most extensive and well-recognized standard that distinguishes green buildings from other buildings. While the LEED program doesn’t have a standard for inpatient hospital buildings, SCVMC is hoping to be the first in the nation to obtain LEED gold certification, which will set a national standard for public hospitals, and provide a model for other public and private sector hospitals.

The County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisor’s policy requires County Departments to follow green building concepts and the LEED program guidelines for design, construction, maintenance and demolition of buildings. The LEED program promotes high performance building practices through sustainable site design, water efficiency, energy efficiency, sustainable material selection and overall environmental quality; and use of environmentally preferred products and practices.

To meet specific LEED characteristics, SCVMC’s Green Building Project will include: enhanced exterior wall system to minimize heat loss and gain, and improve patient and staff comfort; low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) building materials to reduce indoor air pollution; water efficient plumbing fixtures; three green roof areas to reduce surface water runoff and improve views from patient rooms; recycling of a high percentage of construction waste; use of sustainably harvested wood; healthy, energy-efficient ventilation system; landscape design to minimize irrigation; and exterior lighting to reduce night-time light pollution.

New Valley Specialty Center Opened

Valley Specialty Center — the new home of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s adult outpatient specialty services — was opened on February, 2009. The completion of the 244,000 square foot facility, the newest building on Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s Bascom Avenue campus, is a critical step in meeting the current and future healthcare needs of Santa Clara County

After years of careful study and planning, Valley Specialty Center (VSC) was built to gather together a number of outpatient services into one efficient facility. Before VSC, patients needing specialty care could be sent to three, four or five different locations. Now it is easier for patients to access specialty services because doctor visits, laboratory tests, outpatient surgeries, treatments for illnesses, education on how to get well and manage illness, as well as how to prevent disease, are all located together.

VSC houses four specialty centers: Diabetes, Cancer, Neurosciences and Cardiology, as well as selected medical and surgical outpatient services including urology, podiatry, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, radiology and genetics, to name a few. The $151 million VSC replaces a building that was built more than 40 years ago. The architectural design of the building is energy efficient and allows for reconfiguration of space to accommodate new equipment or protocols. At full capacity, and when future budgets permit, total annual patient visits should exceed 265,000.