Tech Companies Help Fund Stanford Hospital Project

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Apple, eBay, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Intuit and Oracle are donating $150 million to Stanford University’s planned $2 billion new hospital. In return, they will have an active role in creating the facility.

 

The companies say they are supporting Stanford’s six-year project because high-quality healthcare is among the top factors that helps them recruit and keep top employees healthy and happy.

 

Stanford Hospital expects to raise at least $400 million in private donations to fund construction of the new facility.

 

The project, which is awaiting approval by the city of Palo Alto, will have new and expanded intensive care and emergency services and radiology and surgical services next to the emergency department. All rooms will be private. There will be conference and educational facilities, a “garden floor” offering views and dining, and social and spiritual support spaces.

 

In announcing the Stanford Hospital Corporate Partners Program on Tuesday, hospital president and CEO Amir Dan Rubin called it “an opportunity to collaborate together, for the future of healthcare.”

 

“We want to leverage technology,” he said. “These are the companies that are shaping our future.”

 

Work on the facility, which will increase the hospital’s capacity to 600 beds, could begin in 2011 once the project is approved.

 

The partnership does not guarantee Stanford access to the younger, healthier patient populations at the tech companies; employees will continue to be free to select their own healthcare providers. The companies also have no formal agreement to do work for Stanford.

 

This is not the first time that corporations and hospitals have worked together. Palo Alto-based HP and El Camino Hospital had a close relationship for several years.