The battle to keep a privately-run full-service hospital in the south part of the City has waged for years between Sutter Health (which operates CPMC) and local activists and officials. Early plans called for the closing of St. Luke's, as CPMC wanted to focus their energy (read: profits) in other neighborhoods. The most recent proposal from CPMC was to build a 555 bed hospital on Van Ness Avenue and to rebuild St. Luke's as a 60 bed hospital. Suffice it to say no one was happy.
In March, the SF Board of Supervisors unanimously supported a compromise that shrinks the Van Ness hospital to 274 beds and grows St. Luke's to 120 beds. Planning is set to take up the project in May.
Meanwhile, Upper Noe Neighbors is hosting a meeting next week to get feedback and update locals:
As many of you may be aware, the City recently came to an agreement on the future of St. Luke's Hospital on Cesar Chavez near Valencia...how it will be rebuilt/redesigned and the services it will offer. This was part of a larger plan for California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) and their other campuses and new building on Van Ness. Since St. Luke's is very close to our neighborhood and a critical resource for our neighbors in Noe Valley and nearby neighborhoods, its future is important.What: Upper Noe Neighbors Meeting
Supervisor Campus (District 9) will attend the meeting and explain what he pushed for in a hospital in his district and what he thinks about what's been decided. A representative from the Mayor's office and CPMC (Sutter Health) will also be on hand to explain what will happen and when.
Where: Upper Noe Rec Center, Day at Sanchez
When: April 10, 7:30PM
[Mission Local: Mayor Unveils Pact to Save St. Luke’s Hospital]
[SF Biz Times: S.F. supes OK CPMC's Cathedral Hill deal]
1 comments:
Actually, the only people who really want a full-service hospital in St. Luke's are the nurses union.
For residents, it would really be much better to have doctors offices, facilities for out-patient procedures and an ER. Those are the services that people really need most of the time.
If you have a condition that is serious enough for you to be admitted to the hospital, you are likely to be better off in larger facility with a full set of specialists. And it is not like Cathedral Hill is that far away.
However, the nurses union that represents the nurses at St. Lukes has insisted that it remain full service because it benefits that particular union (which is different from the union at other Sutter facilities).
Having a small full service hospital at St. Lukes is inefficient and doesn't meet patients' needs, but the decision is being driven by politics and union power, not by healthcare considerations.
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