Foundation highlights

Health Care

PAMFOnline was used by a "test group" of approximately 1,000 patients in 2001 and was offered to all patients in 2002. PAMFOnline is an innovative set of Internet-based services that enables patients to communicate with their primary care physician, access key components of their medical record, and conduct certain health care transactions over the Web.

In 2001, PAMF purchased a new MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine for its Camino Division site in Sunnyvale, allowing patients from both the Camino and Palo Alto divisions to use the new state-of-the-art machine.

In 2002, PAMF hired a full-time physician recruiter to assist in its efforts to accommodate an unprecedented growth in patient demand. PAMF successfully appointed several new physicians to its Palo Alto campus and satellite clinics, despite a local physician shortage and the difficulty of recruiting new physicians to the high-cost Bay Area. PAMF is exploring ways to acquire new space and use existing space more efficiently, which will allow more physicians to be added to keep up with patient demand.

Two murals at the Palo Alto campus were completed in 2001 and 2002. A Greco/Roman-style mural, seen through the windows of the Department of Medical Oncology, emphasizes nature, architectural passages and dualisms to create a form of "subtle spirituality," and the other mural, with a "By the Sea" theme, fills the walls of the Department of Pediatrics waiting area. John Pugh designed both murals and funding came from philanthropic gifts.

In a 2001 patient-satisfaction survey conducted by the Pacific Business Group on Health, a coalition of California employers, health care providers and health plans, PAMF received among the highest ratings of any Northern California medical group in several areas, including satisfaction with overall care, physician-patient communication and helpfulness of office staff.

A special PAMF Hepatitis A response team was able to notify more than 17,000 patients who were part of a national recall of the vaccine by Merck and Co. PAMF used its electronic medical record database to quickly identify and notify affected patients and scheduled revaccination clinics in 2002.

Camino Medical Group held a health forum for women of all ages in 2001 presented by Camino Medical Group physicians and health educators. Topics included memory loss, handling migraines, weight management, breast health and disease prevention.

Camino Medical Group received excellent reviews in its 2001 internally conducted patient-satisfaction surveys. Some 94 percent of patients were satisfied with the personal manner of their physician, 92 percent were satisfied with the technical skills of their physician, and 92 percent felt their physician listened to their concerns and answered their questions. Patients rated their satisfaction with the overall quality of their medical care at Camino Medical Group as 91 percent.

San Jose Magazine recognized about 10 percent of Camino Medical Group physicians as "Top Docs in the Valley" for 2001. The list was compiled using responses from physician peers in Silicon Valley. In a similar survey of physicians, San Francisco Magazine in 2001 recognized about 20 percent of Camino Medical Group's physicians as being among the Top 500 Docs in the Bay Area.

In 2001, the Camino Medical Group Treatment Center implemented a new oncology ordering software system for clarity and safety of chemotherapy ordering. Networked within the entire department, the software allows for ready access to treatment and all ancillary orders. The system, developed by programmers at PAMF, has significantly increased the efficiency and accuracy of physicians and nursing staff.

Education

In 2001, PAMF began a bilingual diabetes education program to help Latino patients at the MayView Community Health Center learn how to control or prevent their diabetes. A philanthropic gift continues to fund the program.

The Education Division, in partnership with area schools, parent groups and health care organizations, began the Student Health Awareness Resources and Education (SHARE) project in 2001, whose mission is to foster a collaboration of home, school and community to ensure a sense of wholeness and well-being and a clear understanding of the many avenues toward happiness and success for the community's youth.

PAMF began hosting AARP's "55 Alive Driver Safety Program," a refresher course on safe driving for older members of the community, in 2001. The course, taught nationwide, covers safe driving practices, new driving laws, challenges such as aggressive drivers, and age-related factors that can influence driving safety.

The Education Division and local school groups and health care organizations sponsored a talk by Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D., co-author of "The Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap," in 2001, for parents and professionals in the community.

PAMF held a community lecture in 2002 on "The Adoption Triad," focusing on adoption from three different perspectives: the adoptee, adoptive parents and birth parents. The lecture emphasized the lifelong impact of adoption and ways to ensure that the impact is positive.

Kids were the focus of the day when PAMF hosted the YMCA's "Healthy Kids Day" in 2002 to help kids have fun while learning about health. An array of activities, games, crafts and healthy snacks were part of the event held on the Palo Alto campus.

Camino Medical Group was a sponsor and participant of the Sunnyvale Health and Safety Fair in April 2001. The primary focus of the fair was to educate Sunnyvale residents about available health and social services in the community.

Research

Two new scientists joined the Department of Cardiovascular Biology in 2001. Andreas Stahl, Ph.D., came from the Scripps Research Institute (by way of the Whitehead Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Andrew Connolly, M.D., Ph.D., came from Harvard University after training both at Harvard and the University of California, San Francisco.

Sandra Wilson, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Health Services Research, was awarded two grants from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute/National Institutes of Health. The first grant provides funding to conduct a controlled trial of a process of shared decision-making between health professionals and asthma patients regarding the patient's medication regimen. This study will determine whether the shared decision-making process leads to improved adherence to medications and improved asthma outcomes. The second grant provides funding for a controlled trial of the effectiveness of an educational intervention in reducing the exposure of children with asthma to environmental tobacco smoke.

Sungshin Choi, Ph.D., and Andreas Stahl, Ph.D., received American Heart Association grants for their work in the Department of Cardiovascular Biology. Dr. Choi's work focuses on understanding the function of hepatic lipase, or enzymes in the liver that break down fat. Dr. Stahl's work focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the uptake of key metabolites into cells, with a particular emphasis on fatty acids. Dr. Stahl also received a grant from the Digestive Disease Center (DDC) and was appointed director of the DDC's Physiology Core Facility. Jack Remington, M.D., renowned scientist in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, received two prestigious awards in 2002: the Albion Walter Hewlett Award from Stanford University and the Distinguished Career Award from the International Immuno-compromised Host Society.

The Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases began a study with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify patients who might be at risk for contracting toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. Toxoplasmosis is an infection that can result in spontaneous abortion or severe disease in the fetus and newborn.

Other Highlights

In 2001, PAMF began gathering accurate data to launch its long-term Operations Improvement (OI) initiative throughout the organization. The initiative focuses on four key strategic objectives: highest quality care; employer of choice; strong fiscal stewardship; and operational efficiency.

A special Capital Campaign donor board to honor the hundreds of donors who gave philanthropic gifts to help finance the Palo Alto campus was installed in Palo Alto in 2001. The display recognizes more than 425 individuals, foundations and corporations who contributed more than $55 million to the Palo Alto campus project.

Sarah Brill and Lauren Nelson were the 2001 recipients of the Palo Alto Medical Clinic's pre-medical, $20,000 scholarships. The scholarships were started in 1993 to support worthy pre-med students from the communities served by PAMF.

The Fremont Center's Joann Falkenburg, M.D., was voted "best physician" in a 2001 reader survey by the Argus newspaper, which serves the areas of Fremont, Union City and Newark.

PAMF's Web site (www.pamf.org) was honored with a 2001 "Leadership Award" by eHealthcare Strategy and Trends magazine for best site design and best overall site among medical centers nationwide.

PAMF's alternative transportation program was honored in 2001 with a "Commuter Choice Leadership Initiative" certificate of recognition on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for being a model of community and environmental leadership with its innovative commuter benefits program.

PAMF received the top score for employee satisfaction out of all medical groups and hospitals within the Sutter Health network in Sutter's systemwide 2001 Experience of Work survey.

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