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Historic Foundation Winds Down with Gala
Funds Given to 4 Nonprofits, including PlaneTree
San Jose Medical Center Foundation board members and guests celebrated the final distribution of its funds and awarded the last Legacy Medal to health advocate Janice Bremis last month.
The Foundation hosted an elegant dinner on May 19 at the St. Claire Hotel for over 230 guests who enjoyed the occasion as a reunion for San Jose Hospital donors, stakeholders, and past Legacy Medal recipients.  Foundation chair Brad Baron and Mary Myers, board member and event chair, showcased the four beneficiary organizations as part of the evening's theme, "Honor the Past, Inspire the Future." Nonprofit organizations receiving the legacy grants are PlaneTree, School Health Clinics, Eating Disorders Resource Center (EDRC), and The Health Trust's Community and School Gardens. A video shown during the evening provided guests with a glimpse of the services provided by each agency. PlaneTree is grateful to long-time supporter Martha Miller, who related how our library has made a difference for her and her family. You'll enjoy hearing Martha in the PlaneTree vignette, which plays after the video's brief introduction. You'll also see PlaneTree librarian Ann Lindsay. The evening's significance was highlighted in Sal Pizarro's San Jose Mercury News column. For a brief, fascinating history of San Jose Hospital (1923 - 2004) and its innovative Foundation, review the evening's program. It also lists former Legacy Medal recipients, several of whom were in attendance to honor their newest member. Bremis has worked in health care fundraising for over 30 years and in 2006 founded EDRC. The $120,000 grant to PlaneTree brings full circle the Foundation's early interest in providing start-up funds in 1987 for our pioneering community service. San Jose Medical Center was the second PlaneTree site in the U.S.; the international organization now includes over 250 hospitals and consumer health libraries across the country. |
Shop and Support Planetree
PlaneTree is now an "Amazon associate." This means you can support PlaneTree every time you make a purchase on  Amazon.com. It won't cost you any additional money, time or effort! How can you participate? When you want to shop on Amazon, don't go directly there. Instead, begin your search for merchandise from our home page. As you continue to shop, Amazon will remember that you're a PlaneTree supporter. When you're through shopping, check out as you normally would. Your purchase price will not be affected.  Depending on what you've bought, PlaneTree will later receive 4 to 15 percent of your purchase total. The funds we receive will be put to good use! Please bookmark our home page with the label "Amazon & PlaneTree." Then use that bookmark each time you want to shop on Amazon. Thanks! |
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PlaneTree is co-sponsoring the following lectures, which will be held at Santa Clara County Library locations. Note that three speakers will present in two different library locations.
Lecture titles link to flyers with details on ea  ch presentation. Please help us promote this stellar series by posting the flyers.
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Whole Grains Are Really Good for Diabetics In a 26-year study of nearly 8,000 women with Type 2 diabetes, the women who ate the most whole grains had a 28%  lower risk of death from any cause than those who ate the least. Researchers believe this effect will also hold true for men. A smaller study suggests that patients who take metformin for extended periods may need to be checked for Vitamin B12 deficiency and learn how to raise their dietary B12 intake. Read about the research in this news article, or in the original article on the BMJ website.
It's Elementary
Some educators and parents are finding a simple shift in a grade school's daily schedule can get kids to eat more, and  more nutritious, foods. Some teachers also report their students are calmer and more responsive in the classroom and the time available for instruction is effectively a quarter-hour longer.
Get Ready to Roll
With the arrival of warm weather and higher gas prices, bicycles and motorcycles are rolling out of garages and onto streets. Do you know how to gauge whether the helmets used by you and your loved ones are (still) good ones? Do you  and the bikers you care about always wear helmets, even adults going for short rides?
Amazingly, if you fell from the seat of a motionless bike and hit your unprotected head on a hard surface, the impact could cause major brain trauma. Properly fitted and properly worn, a helmet would slow your head's deceleration as foam inside the helmet crushed. Your brain would hit your skull less violently and as a consequence, bruising and swelling within your brain would be lessened or eliminated. Because even the most experienced and cautious bicyclists can be capsized by the unpredictable actions of an animal, another cyclist, pedestrian, or driver, helmets are essential for adults as well as kids. Bicycle helmet safety is covered on this page, which also links to other resources  regarding bicycle helmets and safe biking. The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute (BHSI) has a particularly rich site. Most motorcyclists are unaware that many professionals who study motorcycle accidents and head injuries have been dissatisfied with the helmet safety certification standard used by Snell, the best-known testing organization. Snell recently adopted a more protective standard that satisfies those professionals. However, while phasing it in (through March 2012), Snell will continue to certify helmets meeting the old requirements. Learn why the new standard is better and how to tell whether a helmet meets it in the New York Times. You can read an extended article on the issues involved in Motorcyclist. |
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Holistic Support for Patients & Families
The Cancer Support Community, also known as The Wellness Community, opened their Silicon Valley doors in May at a beautiful new home in a central location for automobilists and accessible from a VTA light rail stop for bicyclists and walkers. This new local chapter of a respected national organization will offer numerous free services every month, including educational programs and professionally facilitated support groups for patients and loved ones. You are invited to their grand opening celebration on Saturday, June 5 at 12 noon. Following ribbon-cutting festivities, a 3-hour program, " Frankly Speaking about Cancer: Coping with the Cost of Care," will begin at 2 p.m. Opening the Cancer Support Community-Silicon Valley is the result of three years of fundraising and organizing activities. Please join PlaneTree in commending the strategic work and dedication that have brought new cancer care services to our community.
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New Cancer Directory
Have you checked our website recently? Its new design reflects our continual effort to improve how we provide up-to-date, reliable information to you. A major change: our recommended "Health Links" collection is now featured on the home page, making trustworthy sources more accessible. For cancer patients, their families and caregivers, we recently launched the " Cancer Directory" - a collection of cancer-related resources. You can also access it from our home page via the "Cancer Resources" link. The directory consists of sites, pages, and articles from authoritative sources, including the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and OncoLink. The directory includes links to cancer-related topics such as specific cancer conditions and treatments, practical concerns, and coping support. We hope you'll find the collection helpful, easy to navigate, and an intuitive way to access online cancer information. |
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Say Wha...?
According to a transplant surgeon worried about a drop in transplantation procedures if a proposed helmet law was passed, "Motorcycle fatalities are not only our No. 1 source of organs, they are also the highest-quality source of organs, because donors are usually young, healthy people with no other traumatic injuries to the body, except to the head. Studies have shown that when helmet laws are enacted, motorcycle deaths drop significantly." Quoted in the New York Times " Wheels" blog. |
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