Stanford Medicine donated more than $950 million to the community last year

A 49-year-old man arrived at Ravenswood Family Dentistry in East Palo Alto with a swollen cheek and eye, suffering from unrelenting pain. He had an abscessed tooth — a condition that’s relatively easy to fix but could have landed him in the emergency room. The patient was given antibiotics and pain medication and found relief shortly after.

Many patients who show up at emergency departments could have avoided the pain — and the trip — if they had been able to receive regular dental care. With funding from Stanford Health Care, Ravenswood Family Health Center was able to update seven exam rooms, allowing the clinic to provide complex and urgent dental treatment to 73% of the people on their waiting list, people who lack dental insurance or the means to pay for a private dentist.

“Taking care of the human being is taking the whole person into consideration, including their often-overlooked teeth. Dental problems can exacerbate other health problems,” said Luisa Buada, chief executive officer of Ravenswood Family Health Network.

Stanford Health Care has provided Ravenswood with funds and training so it can offer medical and dental care, counseling, and social services to San Mateo and Santa Clara County residents in need. Stanford Medicine Children’s Health has also supported Ravenswood, providing more access to health care for children and increasing behavioral health services for families. In 2022, Ravenswood added a social work department to connect families with community resources that provide assistance with housing, food, financial counseling and domestic violence prevention.

The collaboration with Ravenswood represents only part of the support Stanford Medicine has provided to improve the health of its communities.

“At Stanford Medicine, our mission to improve health and advance equity extends beyond our hospital walls,” said David Entwistle, president and CEO of Stanford Health Care. “We are proud to partner with extraordinary local organizations to address the unmet needs of our region’s most vulnerable and underserved populations, and to provide supports that lift the health and well-being of individuals and families throughout our surrounding communities.”

Together, Stanford Health Care, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley gave more than $950 million from Sept. 1, 2021, to Aug. 31, 2022, to community organizations, benefiting their neighborhoods through financial assistance, health improvement programs, COVID-19 relief and training of health providers in community-focused care.

“Transformational partnerships with area nonprofits and larger national organizations enable us to extend our mission to the community and support people in their everyday lives,” said Paul King, president and CEO of Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. “Each year, we become more effective in tackling the tough issues around health equity, racial justice and social determinants of health. These efforts are a step toward reducing barriers to health care and basic needs for families in the Bay Area.”

Stanford Medicine supported many programs that improve access to health care, nutrition and housing. They include the following:

Nutrition

• More than 330,000 home-delivered meals via Meals on Wheels
• More than 6,000 bags of food and 3,000 meal vouchers for families with children in the hospital
• Meals for 150 preschoolers via Head Start’s CAPE program
• Advocacy to reduce childhood obesity (more than 8,500 people served) including education, low-cost healthy food and exercise programs
   

Social services

• Social and financial-service support to more than 5,500 households through Destination: Home and Goodness Village to prevent homelessness
• No-cost legal representation for disability support and other needs for 3,461 people
• Support for more than 1,000 patients who have recently left the hospital and need help paying for services and goods such as transportation, medication, clothing and meals
  
  

Health services

• A full-time licensed marriage and family therapist to serve uninsured residents in partnership with Axis Community Health
• Free family planning, prenatal care and sexually transmitted infection testing for 3,175 at-risk teens
• Subsidized Stanford Life Flight, a helicopter ambulance for patients in need of emergency care
• Free, preventive health screenings and exams to low-income seniors, including blood pressure and diabetes checks, foot care, education about medication management, and alcohol and drug education
   

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Stanford Medicine has

• Operated 12 community-based COVID-19 vaccination and testing sites, improving access and equity
• Provided more than 500,000 vaccine doses
• Processed more than 1.3 million COVID-19 tests
• Donated 425,000 antigen tests to local public health departments and nonprofits serving underserved communities
  
  

Education

• 785 people served by maternal and child education classes
• 72 nutrition education classes for families
• 3,300 people watched hosted presentations on fostering ethical online behavior
• 1,647 people served by courses on preventing injury and quitting smoking
   

View the annual reports:

• Stanford Health Care
• Stanford Medicine Children’s Health
• Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley