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Welcome to
the web site of a community working together to save St. Luke's from being
closed as an acute care hospital by California Pacific Medical Center and Sutter
Health. You can help us keep the momentum going by
signing the online petition.
About our site: This site is
maintained by a graduate student on a pro bono
basis. The site is designed with the hope that
people come to savestlukes.org
to learn about the issues, sign the online
petition and learn how they can help. Please
visit the:
Each of these blogs is edited by one or more
members of the St. Luke's community.
Updates on the future of St. Luke's:
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Update on Blue Ribbon Task Force
We apologize for so little publication
regarding the Blue Ribbon Panel on SaveStLukes.org. It was our
expectation that all minutes would be published on the
http://www.cpmcbeyondmedicine.com/ site, however, that has not yet
happened, I believe, for administrative reasons. The Panel is restrained
from speaking to the press, deferring to the Chair and Vice Chair as
spokespeople. Only one press release has been published as yet which I
have posted on our blog. Both Marc Snyder, and myself, however, have
attended both meetings. Dr. Goel attended the first meeting as
observers.
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The next
Blue Ribbon Panel meeting is
May 8th, 2008 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. in the
Mission Bay Conference Center's Fisher
Banquet Room, on Owen, off of 16th Street.
All BRP meetings are open to the public.
A report is to be
issue by the end of June. To follow the progress of the meetings go to
www.cpmcbeyondmedicine.com and
follow the link to the Blue Ribbon Panel.
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Mission
Statement for the Community Outreach Task Force
CPMC has created a “Blue Ribbon” process to develop a viable plan for an
acute
care hospital and outpatient services at CPMC’s St. Luke’s campus, which
complements and is supported by CPMC’s current institutional plan for
its other
campuses.
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April
10th Community Task Force Meeting in the Excelsior on the Future of St.
Luke's
Public Discussion April 10th from
6:30–8:00 p.m. Corpus Christi Church 62 Santa Rosa Ave, San Francisco,
CA
Please call 415-291-9506 for more information or go to
www.cpmcbeyondmedicine.com/blue_ribbonThe availability of
affordable, accessible high quality health care is an issue for everyone
in San Francisco. That is why, beginning this month, Supervisor Michela
Alioto-Pier and Mitch Katz, M.D., Director of San Francisco’s Department
of Public Health, are convening a ‘blue ribbon’ panelof experts to look
at the health care needs of San Francisco, and in particular the role
that St.Luke’s plays in that. A special Community Task Force has been
created to help the panel in its work. The Task Force will be
responsible for gathering and presenting community input to the ‘blue
ribbon’ panel. We would like you to be a part of this discussion as
well.
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April
1st Mission District Community Task Force Meeting
Concerned about health care in San
Francisco? Tell us what you think.
Join the discussion about health
care needs in San Francisco, including the future of St. Luke’s......
Public Discussion on April 1st from
6:30–8:00 p.m.
St Anthony-Immaculate Conception School
299 Precita Street, San Francisco, CA
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Note from blog editor: more information and schedules of
meetings available at
http://www.cpmcbeyondmedicine.com/
This post was an e-mail sent to St. Lukes's doctors from William Miller, M.D., Chief Medical Executive, St. Luke's
Hospital The Blue Ribbon Committee had its first meeting last week which went
very well. Dr. Steve Shortell, the Chair of the Committee and Dean
of the School of Public Health at Berkeley, established that the plan is to keep St. Luke's open as an acute care hospital
and that the charge to the committee is to make recommendations on
how to achieve that goal. Mr. Scott Minick, the CPMC President of
the Board, echoed Dr. Shortell's statement, reiterating that the
Board is committed to St. Luke's and is asking the committee to help
it find a viable way to keep the hospital open in the context of the
plans for the medical center's other campuses.
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Blue
Ribbon Panel Kicks Off Planning Process
Second Meeting Scheduled for April 16 (press
release issued by BRP)
(San Francisco, March 20, 2008) The Blue Ribbon Panel,
which was formed to help shape the future of healthcare delivery
South of Market, including the future of St. Luke’s Hospital, kicked
off its discernment and recommendation process today with the first
meeting of its 31 members -- leaders from San Francisco community,
labor, local government, health care and business.
The Blue Ribbon Panel has been established as an independent body to
create a viable plan for acute care hospital and outpatient services
at St. Luke’s, which complements and is supported by CPMC’s current
institutional plan for all its San Francisco campuses and meets the
healthcare needs of the communities served.
Stephen M. Shortell, Ph.D., MPH, Dean and professor at the UC
Berkeley, Chair of the Panel and the Rt. Reverend Marc Andrus,
Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, Vice-Chair of the
Panel presided over the open meeting with Convener San Francisco
Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier. More than 35 attendees from the
public were present.
"For ongoing information and the schedule of Community
Meetings where you can give input into the Blue Ribbon Panel process
for the future of St. Luke's Hospital go to
www.cpmcbeyondmedicine.com"
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St.
Luke’s Hast Thou Forgotten thy Mission?
By Jonathan Farrell, Mar 18, 2008
The Mission Dispatch
Sit-ins and candlelight vigils this past February got the attention of
the SF Chronicle as it brought into focus the critical fact that St.
Luke’s one of the city’s oldest and most vital hospitals faces a
possible shut-down as a Blue Ribbon Committee gathers to determine its
fate on March 20.
Kevin McCormack Media Rep for California Pacific Medical Center one of
the two corporate entities in control of St. Luke’s, sees the forming of
a committee as a positive step.
McCormack was enthusiastic when he talked to the Mission Dispatch about
the forming of a Blue Ribbon Committee as he admitted he was biased
about the idea.
"I think having a committee is a great idea. It brings together all the
experts that have lots of credibility. Their experience and knowledge
will have a much deeper and wider scope of understanding."
And with that, I am hoping they working all together as a committee will
help turn St. Luke's around giving it the direction and help it needs,"
said McCormack
Currently, there are over 20 people who have agreed to participate. It
reads like a “who’s who” of the medical and business community;
including some non-profits like The SF Foundation. Described as leaders
in their given fields of expertise/experience. The list continues to
grow until the series of meetings officially convene.
Yet, activists and community leaders like Jane Martin of the Bernal
Heights Community Center have reservations. “CPMC & Sutter Health has
not been fully disclosing exactly what their plans are,” she said. This
is why we have reservations about the Blue Ribbon Committee,” said
Martin.
Some fear that the committee will have more participants aligning with
CPMC/Sutter than it will on the side of St. Luke’s. With many broad and
sweeping points of view on the committee, would the needs of patients be
swept way?
The 138-year-old St. Luke’s serves a significant portion of the city’s
population. Yet it is situated in the Mission, Bernal Heights and
surrounding areas. These parts of the city consist of working class
families, immigrants and low-income people.
Activists and community leaders believe that CPMC/Sutter wants to close
it down because it is not economically stable. Basically said, it costs
money and does not have the financial return CPMC/Sutter expects.
“Most of the patients are MediCal, MediCare or simply uninsured,” said
Dr. Benita Ann Palmer, MD who feels very connected to St. Luke’s. “The
doctors and staff here are committed, they know that if they work here,
they are not out to make money but to serve the community, especially
the under-served,” she said.
Which brings to light the question, what is St. Luke’s losing money on?
Exactly, what costs are causing a concern for CPMC/Sutter? St. Luke’s is
a non-profit hospital originally founded by the Episcopalian Diocese of
SF in 1871. Its mission is to serve the poor.
MORE
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Meeting Dates Announced for
Blue Ribbon panel
Blue Ribbon Panel will
convene Thursday, March 20 ,
12-2pm in the
Grace
Cathedral Wilsey Conference Center, located on Taylor Street
between Sacramento and
California,
.
The panel will hold meetings on the following dates
- Meeting #1 –
March 20
- Meeting #2 –
April 16
- Meeting #3 – May
8
- Meeting #4 – May
19
- Meeting #5 - June
3
- Meeting #6 – June
18
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The Blue Ribbon Committee examining the
future of St Luke's will receive input from the community through a
series of forum meetings involving various stake holder groups. March
19th will be the opportunity for St. Luke's Medical Staff to give its
input und opinions on the health care needs in the south of Market
areas. Steve Lockhart, John Golenski, and Nancy Shemick will
lead the forum and record comments made for presentation to the Blue
Ribbon Committee which has its first meeting on March 20th at Grace
Cathedral, California and Taylor Woolsey Conference Center.
This is our first chance to affect the outcome or this process
determining the future of our hospital. We are asking for a second date
as well for doctors who can’t get to this mee6ng, however, due to the
large number of interested parties that need input, a second meeting
cannot he guaranteed at this time.
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The emergency medical services system in the city has seen an increase
of wait times by ambulance patients over the past few years.
Correspondingly the number of emergency departments available in the
system has also decreased. The situation may be especially exacerbated
by a possible closure of the Saint Luke’s Hospital emergency department.
If Saint Luke’s was to lose its emergency services availability, the
remaining emergency department immediately available to the southern
half of county will be at San Francisco General Hospital. A “diversion”
of an ambulance carrying an emergent patient from SFGH to another
facility may mean a delay of another 20 to 30 minutes for that patient.
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After months of negotiations we continue to remain far apart on contract
settlement because of the refusal of the management team to compromise on
their final offer that nurses have to reject. Nurses have helped CPMC rank
in the top percentiles for patient care and satisfaction because of the
outstanding care we provide to our patients, while often sacrificing our own
health and safety.
See a summary of our proposals, many of which are standard for CNA union
contracts.
The list of community, government, health, business and labor leaders who
have committed themselves to helping plan out the future for St. Luke’s is
continuing to grow.
-
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Blue Ribbon Panel Latest More names added to
list of experts planning for future of St. Luke’s
-
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Proposed changes may leave the area south of Market Street with only
one full-service hospital.
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San Francisco, CA (February 13, 2008)
- Under the guidance of Supervisor Michela Alioto-¬Pier and Dr. Mitch Katz,
Director of San Francisco's Department of Public Health a public-¬private
planning process is being developed to ensure California Pacific Medical
Center (CPMC) plays its appropriate part in promoting the health care needs
of all San Franciscans. A "Blue Ribbon" panel of leaders in health,
business, conmunity, and labor is being convened to develop a viable plan
for acute care hospital and outpatient services at CPMC's St. Luke's campus
which complements and is supported by CPMC's current institutional plan for
its other campuses.
We are pleased that
Stephen M. Shortell,
PhD, MPH, Dean and professor at the School of Public Health at UC
Berkeley has agreed to chair the panel. He will be joined by the
Rt. Rev. Marc
Andrus, Bishop of the Episcopal
Diocese of California is as vice-chair.
-
-
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Blue Ribbon Panel on St. Luke's Future -
From the February 2008
edition of the St. Luke’s Medical Staff Newsletter, Heartbeat
A Blue Ribbon Panel is being formed to develop a plan under
which St. Luke's could remain open as a viable in-patient facility.
This is coming about as a result of the shared leadership and vision of
City Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, Public Health Director Dr. Mitch
Katz, and our CEO, Dr. Martin Brotman. The Panel's charter states
clearly the common goal as follows, "… an inclusive public-private
planning process that will ensure that CPMC bears its appropriate share
of responsibility for the health care needs of all San Franciscans. To
that end, CPMC is convening a "Blue Ribbon" panel of leaders in health,
business, community, and labor to develop a plan for acute care hospital
and outpatient services at CPMC's St. Luke's campus which complements
and is supported by CPMC's current institutional plan for its other
campuses." (italics added)
The Charity Care Report for 2006 is available on the DPH Website at the
following link:
http://www.sfdph.org/dph/files/reports/PolPlanRpts.asp.
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Community outrage about plans to close St. Luke’s Hospital is making
Sutter CMPC nervous! They have announced a taskforce to review the
future of the hospital, but they have not taken their plan to close the
hospital off the table. CPMC is still reducing services while trying to
get their taskforce process underway. More community action and public
attention is needed. Join the Coalition to Save St. Luke’s for a
community candlelight vigil. The announcement is below and flyers are
attached. We will be having another big coalition meeting in the
upcoming month.
-
 Blue
ribbon panel to discuss hospital's future, Fog City Journal, A "blue ribbon panel" of hospital officials and community members will
likely convene in February to consider the future of St. Luke's Hospital, an
acute-care facility serving many low-income minority and elderly residents
of San Francisco's lower Mission and South of Market neighborhoods.Officials with the California Pacific Medical Center, which began
overseeing St. Luke's in 2007, told a committee of the San Francisco Board
of Supervisors on Thursday that the panel would include representatives of
the business, medical and labor communities, as well as the medical center.
California Pacific Medical Center officials are attempting to quell fears
by some residents that their hospital services will diminish, or even that
the hospital will be closed.
The center's spokesman, Kevin McCormack, said Thursday that there are no
plans to close the hospital, rather the panel will consider whether the
hospital's acute care services will remain - and if so, in what form - or be
transferred to other locations, he said. "The basic patient care that's
always been there, that stays," said McCormack. Photo by
Luke Thomas
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Sutter, medical center and SF city officials agree to study St. Luke's
Sacramento Business Journal - by Chris Rauber Staff
writer -
San Francisco city officials and hospital giant Sutter Health and its
California Pacific Medical Center -- which run St. Luke's Hospital --
have agreed to create a panel to help "determine the future" of the
troubled safety-net hospital by this June, according to CPMC and the
city.
- United
Healthcare Workers Skeptical of Planning Process for St. Luke's Healthcare workers skeptical of planning process for St. Luke's UHW
praises city officials' efforts, questions Sutter's intentions. Sal
Rosselli, President of SEIU United Healthcare Workers - West (UHW),
representing 1,200 caregivers employed by CPMC and St. Luke's Hospital,
said this.
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Blue Ribbon Panel Being Formed to Save St. Luke's: Press Conference 11 AM
January 23: Supervisor Alioto-Pier and Dr. Mitch Katz will host a press
conference tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. in front of St. Luke's Hospital. The
pressc onference will outline the creation of a Blue Ribbon Panel with the
goal to keep St. Luke's open as a viable acute care hospital.
Both the Supervisor and Dr. Katz have reached an agreement with CPMC on a
process to maintain St. Luke's. Key leaders in health care, such as
yourselves, as well as business, community and labor leaders (including CNA
and SEIU) will be invited to participate in the Blue Ribbon Panel to develop
a plan to basically save St. Luke's.
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Hearing on Closure of 10th Floor and its Impact on Patient and Staff
Conditions on the 9th Floor is set for held Thursday,
January 24 at 1:00 PM City Hall, Second Floor, Room
TBA [tentative date] in response to concern about the closure of our
Surgical/Oncology 10th Floor, and the resulting stress to staff and patients
on the 9th Floor. We particularly need Surgeons, Internists, Family Practitioners in
addition to nurses, to testify. Those of you planning to testify are encouraged to view
Video on the Hearing for the City Operations and Neighborhood
Service Committee on the closure of 10 and conditions on 9 to
see what testimony has already been heard.
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California Pacific acquires lease on Folsom Street office building,
San Francisco's largest
hospital has signed one of the city's biggest office deals in the last 12
months as it continues to shuffle real estate holdings to comply with state
seismic requirements.
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You can help us keep the momentum going by
signing the online petition and:
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See how you can help
us by inviting your friends to join and contacting people on the
Public Health Commission, Board of Supervisors, and executives of
Sutter Health.
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Rebuttals of CPMC's claims that St. Luke's should be closed presented by
our doctors. NEW!
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Your Stories:
send in your story telling how St. Luke's is important to you and we'll
share it here.
Check back to see new stories
from St. Luke's patients and families as they are posted.
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What are our hopes for St.
Luke's?
What does our community need?
What would a revitalized, and invigorated St. Luke's hospital look like?
What are Share your thoughts through comments posted on this blog or send your idea
to
hopes@savestlukes.org. NEW!
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Saving St. Luke's Blog: The latest news in the community based fight
to save San Francisco's Saint Luke's Hospital. Includes breaking news along
with point by point rebuttals of the claims by those who would close our
hospital.
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Online
petition: sign up to help save San Francisco's St. Luke's Hospital
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News: News releases
and reports about the fight to keep St. Luke's Hospital open. NOW
INCLUDES PHOTOS FROM SOME STORIES!
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Help us: how you can join in the effort to save
this community based hospital.
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History: how St. Luke's came to be one of San
Francisco's great community hospitals.
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Why we care: why doctors, nurses and people from
the community want to keep St. Luke's open.
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See the Oct. 25, 2007 Hearing before the
Neighborhood Services Committee of the Board of Supervisors (titled
BOS City Operations and Neighborhood Services) .
This video is provided by SFGTV, which provides an archive of selected meetings
that have occurred during the past year.
Video
on Demand lets you watch these programs at your convenience.
To view meetings you will need Windows Media Player. (See
System Requirements)
Pictured above: one of our happy Mothers & her child who tell their story in the
St. Luke's Story Blog.
Why save St. Luke's?
St. Luke's has kept its doors open for 136 years in service to our
community. We have a busy obstetrics service and emergency department that
fulfill the original mission of the hospital.
Founding Mission Statement (1871)
"St. Luke's doors are open wide for the reception of all colors,
nationalities and creeds. Its benefits, refused to none, will be limited only by
its means."
-Rev. Dr. Brotherton, Founder St. Luke's Hospital
Contact us
Email us.
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