Advocacy of the Year Award - Thursday, March 11, 2010

2009 Healthy Kids Coalition celebration with Ezra Klein

In January, 2009, at Cabrillo College's Sesnon House, Healthy Kids hosted a celebration of local efforts to cover all Santa Cruz County children. Ezra Klein, Washington Post columnist, provided an irreverent presentation on the political prospects for national health care reform, noting that all eyes will be on the Senate in the coming year.

Alan McKay, co-chair of the Healthy Kids Steering Committee and HIP's Board president, also presented the 2009 Champion for Children award to Dr. Larry deGhetaldi and Ric Nichols of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Santa Cruz Region and Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center, for their leadership donations to the Healthy Kids program, giving over $1 million to Healthy Kids and Healthy Families programs to date.

Our audience also viewed the premiere of the Voices of Healthy Kids video, featuring the personal stories of children and families whose lives have been touched by Healthy Kids. Ezra Klein continues to be an excellent source of health care policy information, visit his on-line blog.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation / Sutter Santa Cruz Physicians Raised over $5,000 for Healthy Kids

September 18, 2009 - Watsonville, CA - Under blue skies and plenty of sunshine, about 60 Santa Cruz Medical Foundation physicians and their staff teed off for a good cause, raising $5,683 at their annual Healthy Kids benefit golf tournament.

The Santa Cruz Medical Foundation physicians have hosted the tournament for the last four years, collectively raising nearly $17,000 for Healthy Kids, a nonprofit health insurance program for local children.

This year's donation will provide five local children with medical and dental coverage for one year.
"Healthy Kids effectively links children to a primary care doctor by providing them with health insurance," said George Mendoza, a Sutter anesthesiology technician, who organizes the event each year. "My physician colleagues and I understand how critical it is for all children to have access to comprehensive health care services."

Studies show that insured children are more likely to receive essential preventive care, immunizations and routine check-ups, improving health and well-being and supporting success in school.

In addition to the golfing donations made by their physicians and staff, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center have donated over $1 million to support both the Healthy Kids and Healthy Families programs since 2006.

Healthy Kids was launched in 2004 by a coalition of local leaders including the United Way, Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust, and Dominican Hospital, First 5 Santa Cruz County and the County Health Department. The program has enrolled over 15,000 local children into Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, and the locally funded Healthy Kids Health Plan.
The tournament was held at the Spring Hills Country Club in Watsonville.