Medical Foundation responds to editorial Medical Foundation responds to editorial (May 12, 2004)

By David Druker, M.D.

I want to clarify a couple of points in the Almanac's May 5 editorial on Sequoia Hospital, which characterized the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) as a "members-only competitor" that "could eventually run Sequoia's open-to-everyone model out of business."

The medical foundation is not a "members-only" organization and our new campus will be open to the entire community, including non-PAMF physicians and their patients. The foundation's commitment is to build a health care center that will provide the highest quality and most innovative health care to be found anywhere - health care that will be available to all residents of the community.

The editorial also mentions that putting Sequoia "out of business," if PAMF and Kaiser expand, was the catalyst for Supervisor Jerry Hill's Southern San Mateo County Task Force on New Hospital Construction. At the task force's final meeting, Supervisor Hill indicated that he is no longer concerned that there could be too many beds if PAMF, Sequoia and Kaiser all build new hospitals.

Reducing the future of health care in San Mateo County to a contest between providers detracts from the real issues that affect our entire community: access to care for all residents, and the rising numbers of medically uninsured patients. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation has been a trusted provider of quality health care on the Peninsula for 75 years, and the facility we are planning will play an important role in meeting the community's long-term health care needs.

Dr. David Druker is president and CEO of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

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