Gratitude in Action

At the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, we have had the great fortune to witness the profound ways in which gratitude can inspire philanthropy. Gifts come to us from patients expressing thanks for the attention of an extraordinary physician; from physicians who give above and beyond the daily care they provide to their patients; from family members wishing to honor the legacy of a loved one they have lost.

In the stories that follow, we offer insights into how people in our ever-widening philanthropic community have been inspired to give, and have in turn inspired others to do the same. By joining forces, we each have enormous power to sustain the quality of health care in the community we call home.

• Nurturing Life -- When Alison Richards learned she was pregnant in January 2007, she and her husband, John Malkin, were elated. The fact that Alison would give birth at age 43 meant she could face some challenges.
  
  

• Embracing Differences -- Even with a limited understanding of autism back in the 1980s, Dr. N. Kay Morrison, now director of the international travel clinic and occupational medicine at PAMF, knew there was something amiss in the early development of her son, Kyle, born in 1987.
  
  

• Honoring Friendship -- The United States is in the throes of a nursing shortage that will only worsen as our population ages and health care demands increase. Today, PAMF is taking steps to alleviate this crisis, thanks to the generosity of donor Blair Stratford and the foresight of her longtime friend, Dr. Richard Babb.
  
  

• Recovering Strength -- Mike and Mary Ellen Fox were raised in families that emphasized the importance of giving back, and both have embraced those values in their own long history of volunteerism and community philanthropy.
  
  

• Surviving Cancer -- In April 2005, Kingsley was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive ductal breast cancer and subsequently underwent six months of treatments. Kingsley appreciated the care and attention provided by her medical team at PAMF.
  
  

• Sharing Wisdom -- Lori Larson, R.N., CDE, has been a nurse for 34 years – 32 of those on staff with the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Santa Cruz, affiliated with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF).
  
  

• Supporting Innovation -- In January 2008, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of one grateful donor, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) became the first health care organization in the world to acquire breakthrough technology for treating cancerous tumors.
  
  

• Soothing the Spirit -- Elaine Yen gives a gift to create a garden that could provide some solace to patients who were undergoing treatment at the infusion center at PAMF's Mountain View Center.
  
  

• Advancing Knowledge -- In July 2008, Harold S. "Hal" Luft, Ph.D., an internationally renowned health economist, became the new Director of the Research Institute. A portion of Dr. Luft’s salary is funded by the endowment established by longtime PAMF donor Leonard Ely, Jr. to honor his late father, orthopedic surgeon Leonard Ely, Sr.