Mountain View, CA – December 21, 2020 – Los Altos Hills philanthropists Pamela and Edward Taft have made a gift to support nurse engagement in quality improvement science, research, and investigative work over the next five years. “These projects strongly support ongoing nursing strategic goals of empowering teams with trust and purpose, and providing education for nurses to learn new skills to support the best in evidence-based practice,” says Chief Nursing Officer Cheryl Reinking. “Projects are highlighted and shared, not only at El Camino Health, but at regional and national conferences, thereby contributing to practice changes that improve healthcare around the world. This work not only improves patient outcomes, it forms the basis for retaining our hospitals’ American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet status, one of the most visible and widely recognized indications of nursing and hospital excellence.” El Camino Health is one of only 502 Magnet-recognized hospitals in eight countries throughout the world and was the first in the Bay Area to receive the coveted designation.
For each of the next five years, the Tafts’ gift will underwrite an innovative patient care improvement project, selected from among ideas submitted by nurses leading healthcare teams; two research projects approved by the clinical research executive team, the Nursing Research Council, and the Internal Review Board; and professional support for evidence-based practice provided by a PhD consultant and statistician. It will fund the development of 25 posters that nurses share internally, regionally, nationally, and internationally to highlight the patient care improvements they have initiated in their service areas, and activities during nurse week, which celebrates and highlights our 1,500 nurses’ goals, achievements, and awards. The Taft gift will also enable nurses to attend regional and national conferences. This year, in lieu of travel, it is helping to defray costs of El Camino Health’s fourth Magnet re-designation evaluation, an intensive process.
“We are so proud that El Camino has received the Magnet designation – three consecutive times!” said Pamela Taft. “Innovation in nursing practice is key to attracting and retaining top-quality nursing talent and improving patient experiences.”
The Tafts have generously supported El Camino Health for more than a decade, investing in philanthropic opportunities that are often overlooked but have wide-ranging impact. Their philanthropy is most readily apparent at the Taft Center for Clinical Research and the Cancer Center’s Pamela and Edward Taft Healing Space. The couple has also championed robotic surgery, palliative care, mental health & addiction services, and the future patient-family residence, among other hospital projects.
Allocations of unrestricted donations to El Camino Health Foundation have helped to foster nursing excellence at our hospitals in myriad ways, including the sepsis and pain management programs, Elemeno point-of-care and advanced care planning education, backpacks and other support for homeless or indigent patients, and the nurse residency and transitions programs. Since 2016, 83 top-ranked newly credentialed nurses have graduated from the residency program with a retention rate of 92 percent, and 29 nurses have transitioned to specialty departments.
