Idea of children's hospital is beginning to catch fire

By Nathan R. Huff

The drive for a children's hospital is gaining momentum, and town officials, property owners and local philanthropists are taking note.

Hospital supporters, mostly local doctors and concerned parents, have accrued close to $100,000 in donations, and Los Gatos Mayor Steve Blanton has pledged to create a mayoral task force to study the possibility of a dedicated children's hospital in Los Gatos.

The hospital project, a brainchild of Dr. Richard Fox of Los Gatos, entered the public realm Dec. 3, when supporters appeared at the Los Gatos Town Council meeting to ask it to reconsider the zoning for the North Forty (the last large undeveloped chunk of land in town), reviving the possibility of medical uses for the area.

Since that meeting, at which the council rejected the North Forty Specific Plan on the table at the time, hospital supporters have continued moving forward with fundraising, exploring possible locations and raising public awareness and support.

"The possibility of having a world-class center for healing sick children in our community is very exciting to me," Mayor Blanton said. "As a father, I care deeply about these issues."

Blanton said he hoped a task force could be formed within the next month to explore all aspects of the possible hospital, including fundraising, finding a site and developing community support for the project.

Among the possible sites being discussed is the North Forty, the majority of which is owned by the Yuki family--a family which has, in the past, shown very little interest in development proposals for its orchard lands.

Fox recently sat down for a 90-minute meeting with Tom Yuki about the need for a children's hospital in Santa Clara Valley. Supporters say no facilities exist in the area. According to parents, the location and teaching-orientation of Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University make it less than ideal for children suffering from serious, chronic conditions.

Fox said the meeting with Yuki--which he credited Councilman Joe Pirzynski for making possible--was "very preliminary and very cordial."

"I explained the needs, and he explained his thoughts on the North Forty and the type of development he would like to see," Fox said. "I think there's some compatibility there." He added that it might even be possible to find a site on the North Forty using mostly non-Yuki land.

Blanton said he would like to see the discussions continue. "It would be a great legacy for everyone involved in the project."

In the meantime, Fox said the hospital group would continue its organizational and fundraising efforts. The Los Gatos Community Foundation is acting as an umbrella organization for hospital fundraising and has already taken in close to $100,000 in cash and stock donations. Owing to the mammoth scale of the project, supporters will most likely attempt to bring a professional fundraiser on board.

"We clearly have a lot of people who support this idea," Fox said. "I'm very pleased with the progress so far."

The group, which has yet to give itself an official name, has planned another meeting for Jan. 19 from 7 to 9 p.m at Fox's home. Anyone interested in attending or contributing can contact Fox at 408.379.0960.

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