District Programs

Sequoia Healthcare District staffs and funds the Heartsafe Program and colloborates with the San Mateo County Community College District, San Francisco State University and Sequoia Hospital in support of education and training of nurses.

As sponsor or co-sponsor, the district exercises oversight and control of these programs.

HeartSafe Program

Sudden cardiac arrest suffered outside the hospital setting is responsible for approximately 350,000 deaths annually in the United States. Of those victims approximately 5,000 -7,000 are children. Defibrillation is the only effective treatment for sudden cardiac arrest.
Early defibrillation can mean the difference between life and death, an active and healthy life or a vegetative state. An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a small, portable device that analyzes heart rhythms. It offers the user voice-prompted instructions and, if determined to be necessary, can deliver a potentially lifesaving shock to a victim in cardiac arrest. An AED will not deliver a shock to anyone who is not in sudden cardiac arrest. AEDs are easy to use, compact, battery-operated and lightweight.

Sequoia Healthcare District’s HeartSafe Program makes AEDs available at a reduced rate or will donate equipment to eligible nonprofit organizations.

Nursing Education

To prepare a ready supply of registered nurses for our community, the Sequoia Healthcare District has created a unique partnership with Cañada College, San Francisco State University (SFSU), and Sequoia Hospital, the goal being to produce 300-400 new nurses for this region over the next ten years. The Sequoia Hospital/SFSU BSN Satellite Program at Cañada College addresses the bottleneck in nursing education by facilitating the ability of the schools to increase their capacity to educate nurses, a notoriously expensive curriculum.

The Sequoia Healthcare District is underwriting the program in the amount of $1 million per year and has provided $650,000 for a state-of-the-art nursing skills lab on the Cañada College campus.

Sequoia Hospital, among other local healthcare facilities, has opened its doors for the students to do their clinical training there. Cañada College has opened its campus to provide the prerequisite and ancillary classes to the nursing students as well as room for the upper-division classes to be instructed by faculty from San Francisco State University. The accelerated program takes five semesters to complete, including summer courses. The first cohort began in September 2004. Graduates of the program will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree.

Interested in becoming a nurse?
Click here to learn more about this highly acclaimed program and how to apply.