Major Endowment and Expansion Secures Future of Bay Area Women and Newborn Care

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (September 17, 2026) – Today, El Camino Health leaders and members of the Melchor family gathered at the Orchard Pavilion on the Mountain View campus to dedicate the Melchor Family Center for Women & Newborns and announce the creation of the Melchor Family Women's & Newborn Services Endowment Fund.

"Every mother, newborn, and family who comes through our doors will receive world-class, compassionate care for generations to come," said Sarah Collins, president of the El Camino Health Foundation. "The Melchor Family Endowment empowers us to continuously innovate, blending cutting-edge clinical technology with a patient-centered approach so our community's newest lives get the strongest, healthiest start."

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The landmark endowment provides perpetual, long-term funding dedicated to advancing maternal-child healthcare for families in Silicon Valley and the South Bay. The endowment will support continuous enhancements to outpatient prenatal care, labor and delivery services, obstetric emergency services,and neonatal intensive care.

What is the Melchor Family Connection to El Camino Health?

The Melchor family's deep legacy of leadership and philanthropy with El Camino Health began in its earliest days. Norma Melchor, a former surgical nurse, joined the fledgling Auxiliary in 1957 and soon became its leader. She co-chaired the Citizens Committee for the El Camino Hospital District, which promoted the second bond issue for the hospital expansion. Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jack Melchor co-founded the El Camino Hospital Foundation in 1982, understanding the hospital would need the philanthropic support of the community in order to take the best care of patients.

The new endowment extends this family tradition to guarantee that the new Women's Hospital remains at the forefront of clinical excellence, modern technology and patient-centered environments for generations to come.

Key Attributes of Modern Maternal Healthcare

Today's milestone builds upon the hospital system's opening of its expanded family-centered care Women's Hospital earlier this year. The new facility was designed to eliminate "waiting room anxiety," with a dedicated OB emergency room for faster, seamless admissions. Clinical research and family input contributed to design, which includes sensory-controlled antepartum rooms to support maternal mental health and infant neurodevelopment and private NICU suites for 24/7 parental presence. The most modern facility in the area introduced a pioneering approach to labor, delivery, and specialized neonatal care.

"The big changes we have seen over the past two decades are really focusing on the families: the mothers, the partners, and the extended family," said Dr. Dharshi Sivakumar, MD, neonatologist and medical director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at El Camino Health. "When the family participates in the care and does hands-on care for the babies, they actually heal. It's very therapeutic, and this has been well studied and published."

Redefining Modern Maternity Care in Silicon Valley

The newly dedicated facility incorporates research-based, family-partnered environments designed to optimize infant neurodevelopment and support parents navigating high-risk or fragile deliveries. Key capabilities of the modernized Women's Hospital include:

●Dedicated OB Emergency Room: Allows laboring mothers immediate assessment and seamless transfer to appropriate delivery suites without traversing a general emergency department.

●Research-Based Antepartum Suites: Designed with specialized noise and light control to protect the mental health of mothers in early labor and promote healthy neurofetal development.

●Private NICU Family Suites: Enables parents to stay alongside their infants 24/7, a model clinically proven to reduce parental post-traumatic stress, enhance infant brain growth, and prepare parents to transition home with confidence.

●Collaborative Design: Developed over three years in partnership with nurses, therapists, and a "family partnership council" of veteran parents to ensure clinical precision alongside emotional well-being.

With perpetual backing from the Melchor Family Endowment Fund, El Camino Health will continue to evolve its specialized maternal and neonatal services to set new standards for care across northern California.

About El Camino Health

El Camino Health is an independent, not-for-profit, community-based health system with two acute care hospitals and 28 physician offices serving Silicon Valley and the South Bay with a mission to heal, relieve suffering and advance wellness. For more than 60 years, we have pursued medical invention, from pioneering early digital health records to performing robotic-assisted surgeries. By putting the most advanced tools in the hands of skilled healthcare professionals, we work with patients to solve health challenges and deliver care with a human touch. At El Camino Health, Togethering™ is the path to healing.

Key Services Include:

●Cancer care

●Cardiovascular care

●Maternity care

●Mental health and addiction services

●Orthopedics

●Pulmonology

●Urology

●Women's health

Awards & Achievements:

●Named one of the World's Best Hospitals 2026 by Newsweek

●Best Hospitals for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report

●San Francisco Bay Area's first Magnet hospital for nursing excellence

●Among fewer than 2% of hospitals nationwide to receive Five Magnet designations

To learn more, visit elcaminohealth.org.

About El Camino Health Foundation

Founded in 1982 by community members who believed that caring for our neighbors is a shared responsibility, El Camino Health Foundations secures philanthropic gifts that advance the priorities of El Camino Health–funding what operating budgets cannot. From advanced medical technology and pioneering programs to deeply compassionate and clinically excellent care, every gift reflects our belief that people heal people. This is the spirit of togethering: world-class medicine delivered with the warmth and closeness of caring for one of our own. Learn more at elcaminohealth.org/foundation.

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