El Camino Hospital Rededicates Heart & Vascular Institute In Memory of Norma Melchor

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- El Camino Hospital today formally announced that its Heart and Vascular Institute will be renamed the Norma Melchor Heart &Vascular Institute of El Camino Hospital in memory of Norma Melchor, a long-time philanthropist and hospital volunteer.  The new name of the institute was unveiled during a special ceremony at El Camino Hospital, which included Norma's husband Jack, her children and grandchildren, and friends from the El Camino Hospital community.  The Melchor family recently committed several million dollars to support clinical programs and research of the Heart and Vascular Institute.  Together with the family's past gifts, this represents the largest cumulative gift to El Camino Hospital Foundation from any philanthropic source. 

"For more than a half a century, Norma, her husband Jack, and their entire family have been committed to ensuring the success of El Camino Hospital," said Tomi Ryba. "We are incredibly grateful for their generosity in time and for the financial contributions they have made to the Heart & Vascular Institute, which will help us ensure that our patients continue to have access to innovative programs, the latest diagnostic tools and a clinical trial program that is helping to identify emerging treatment modalities."

Norma and Jack Melchor have been passionate supporters of El Camino Hospital from the very beginning.  Among the first to recognize the need for a local community hospital and to put considerable energy and talent behind it, Norma and Jack devoted themselves to growing the hospital and remained deeply involved for more than half a century.

"My grandparents were always strong advocates for philanthropy and helping others, and I know how much the hospital and the work of the Heart & Vascular Institute meant to my grandmother," said Lane Melchor, Norma's grandson and El Camino Hospital Foundation board member.   "She would be honored to see that her legacy is being carried on through this important program."

As a former surgical nurse, Norma joined the El Camino Hospital Auxiliary in 1957 and organized tours of the new hospital when its doors first opened in 1961. She quickly became a leader of the organization, serving as chair of training in 1961, vice president and chair of services in 1962 and president in 1963. Norma also co-chaired the Citizens Committee for the El Camino Hospital District, promoting the second bond issue to build the sixth-floor tower. In 1974 she was elected to the El Camino Hospital District Board of Directors for the first of four terms, serving as president for one. 

Over the years, she and husband Jack repeatedly demonstrated exceptional generosity to the hospital.  In addition to making a leadership gift to establish the Foundation in 1982, they made significant contributions to every major fundraising campaign.  The couple also donated the land upon which Melchor Pavilion now stands and, when their beloved daughter Karen died in 2009, they made another generous gift to name the fountain outside the Mountain View hospital entrance in her memory.

About El Camino Hospital

El Camino Hospital is an acute-care, 443-bed, nonprofit and locally governed organization with campuses in Mountain View and Los Gatos, Calif.  In addition to state-of-the-art emergency departments, key medical specialties include heart and vascular, cancer care, urology, orthopedic and spine, genomic medicine, and the only Women's Hospital in Northern California.  The hospital is recognized as a national leader in the use of health information technology and wireless communications, and has been awarded the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center as well as back-to-back ANCC Magnet Recognitions for Nursing Care.

To learn more, visit our website, find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or view our videos on YouTube. For a physician referral, visit our website or call the El Camino Health Line at 800-216-5556

SOURCE El Camino Hospital