Contents of this Letter

• GREETINGS FROM DR. DAVID DRUKER, PAMF PRESIDENT AND CEO
• Holiday Giving
• Upcoming Events
• How You Can Help

GREETINGS FROM DR. DAVID DRUKER, PAMF PRESIDENT AND CEO

December 2004

The holiday season provides an opportunity to share time with family and friends, reflect back on accomplishments during the past year and look forward to the New Year. For the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), this has been an exciting year as our plans for construction of our state-of-the-art medical center in San Carlos progress.

We began the year by committing to the City of San Carlos and its residents a plan to build a medical center that will provide the highest-quality, most innovative health care to all residents of the community. We chose to build in San Carlos in order to meet the diverse health care needs of our patients closer to where they live and work while continuing to provide the quality care for which PAMF is known.

However, the overwhelming community support we received for the project from San Carlos residents was the most important factor in our decision. We appreciate the enthusiasm that greeted our announcement and your continued support shows the community shares our vision for the future of health care in this area.

In working toward making the PAMF San Carlos Center a reality, we filed a use-permit application for the proposed site with the City of San Carlos. The Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board approved an environmental remedial action plan, which details the current condition and proposed cleanup plan for the site at 301 Industrial Road. The environmental cleanup will benefit the entire community by making this an ideal location to serve the health care needs of San Carlos and other southern San Mateo County residents. The medical center will significantly improve the area, and have a positive impact on property values and quality of life.

Throughout the year, we have also had the opportunity to further our relationship with the community, its residents and businesses through our participation in and sponsorship of a number of events, including the:

• San Carlos Art and Wine Faire
  
• Summer Concerts at Burton Park
  
• Hometown Days Parade
  
• Merchant at the Market (Farmers' Market)

We also made donations to the San Carlos Youth Center, Children's Fund of San Mateo County and the Healthy Cities Project, which provides volunteer tutoring services to public schools. In addition, we just completed a computer-donation program to local schools, including White Oaks Elementary School, Heather Elementary School and Central Middle School. (For more on the computer-donation program, see below.)

Throughout the year, many PAMF employees and members of our medical staff volunteered their time by serving on community boards and participating in activities such as food drives or free health care screening clinics. I am proud of the commitment our employees and organization have made to the health of the communities we serve.

The New Year is shaping up to be equally as exciting and important as we seek approvals from San Carlos for the project. In early 2005, the city will hold hearings on its Environmental Impact Report. Following these hearings, there will be public meetings scheduled with the Traffic Commission, Planning Commission and City Council.

Your support will continue to play an important role in the success of this project. We look forward to talking with you in 2005 and seeing you at these important meetings. In the meantime, enjoy a happy and healthy holiday season and thank you again for your continued support of our San Carlos Center.
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Holiday Giving

This holiday season, PAMF gave 10 computers and a cash donation to the Children's Fund of San Mateo County. The Fund, which is administered by the San Mateo County's Human Services Agency, benefits children living in poverty, and children and teens being served by the Probation Department and San Mateo County Mental Health Department.

PAMF employees at its clinic locations in Los Altos, Palo Alto, Portola Valley and Redwood Shores are also involved in toy and food drives this holiday season for the Kiwanis Club of San Carlos, Second Harvest Food Bank in San Carlos and the Salvation Army. At PAMF's Fremont location, employees are sponsoring 40 children from the "Gifts from the Heart" holiday program for Kidango, a non-profit agency providing a variety of services to children and families in Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties.

Computer Donation to Local Schools

PAMF recently completed a computer-donation program for area schools that provided additional computers and computer hardware upgrades to schools in the San Carlos, Belmont/Redwood Shores and Fremont school districts.

In San Carlos, 40 complete computers and 20 hard drives were donated to White Oaks Elementary School, Heather Elementary School and Central Middle School for use in computer labs and classrooms. Earlier this year, PAMF also donated five computers to the Spring Fling event to be auctioned off to benefit San Carlos schools.

The Belmont/Redwood Shores Unified School District received 60 hard-drive upgrades, keyboards and mice for its schools, and the Fremont Unified School District received 90 of the same in addition to 10 complete computers.

In Their Own Words

"We were thrilled to receive these computers and will put them to good use with our children in San Carlos. These computers are newer and better than many computers still in use at our schools, and since many are identical models it is easier to set them up in our computer labs. We appreciate this very generous donation from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation." - Patricia Wool, Ph.D., San Carlos School District superintendent

"We are very grateful for such a generous donation. We were able to put the computers directly into our classrooms for students' immediate use. The donation allowed some classrooms to upgrade their present computers while others now have an additional computer in the classroom." - Jerrie Welch, San Carlos Central Middle School principal

"The Palo Alto Medical Foundation's generous contributions are most appreciated. Many of the needy children (served by the Children's Fund of San Mateo County) are victims of child abuse and neglect. It is donations such as this that fill the very real needs of the children, especially at this time of the year." - Forbes King, San Carlos resident and Children's Fund of San Mateo County volunteer
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Upcoming Events

January - March 2005
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program (Palo Alto)
An eight-week program that reduces stress, anxiety and promotes a better quality of life. Class begins on January 10 and will meet on Mondays 6:30 to 9 p.m. There is also an all-day retreat on Sunday, March 6.
Cost: $275 (includes eight 2.5-hour classes, a full-day retreat, books and audiotapes)

Saturday, January 22, 2005
10 a.m. to noon
Breastfeeding: Secrets for Success (Palo Alto)
One-session class on breastfeeding that provides expectant parents with the knowledge and tools they need to get breastfeeding off to the right start.
Cost: $35

Tuesday, January 25, 2005
3 to 5 p.m.
Managing Your High Blood Pressure (Palo Alto)
In this two-hour class, patients will receive clear instruction on the many critical aspects of managing this disease.
Cost: $25

View our complete class and event calendar.
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How You Can Help

Community support is key to making this project a reality in San Carlos. You can help by letting your community leaders know you support this project and the benefits it will bring _ high-quality health care, 1,200 new jobs, community health programs, easier access to doctors and more. We hope you will write letters to, call or e-mail your local City Council and Planning Commission and tell them why you believe PAMF is right for this community.

To contact your City Council members, please visit the City of San Carlos Web site at www.cityofsancarlos.org

We also encourage you to share this newsletter with your friends, family and neighbors who might be interested in PAMF's plans.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, please send an e-mail with "SUBSCRIBE" or "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line to publicaffairs@pamf.org or call (650) 853-2965.
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