Save St. Luke's Hospital
Save St. Luke's Hospital
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In 1999, a group of physicians at St. Luke’s Hospital presented me with a worthy challenge, to create a similar environment for Cardiology at their hospital. My partners and I heard the call of “THE MISSION IN THE MISSION” and so today IF YOU ARE HAVING A HEART ATTACK SOUTH OF MARKET AND YOU ARE BROUGHT TO ST. LUKE’S, YOU HAVE THE SAME CHANCE OF SURVIVAL AND THE SAME ACCESS TO ADVANCED THERAPY AS IF YOU WERE BROUGHT DIRECTLY TO CPMC. I urge you take a moment to appreciate the tremendous achievement this statement reflects. How did we do it? The first step was to institute 24/7 coverage for acute inpatient care. This was accomplished through my partner’s support and the incorporation of the CPMC cardiology fellowship training program. This proved so successful that students from Bay Area Medical Schools soon came to learn on our service. Next, we created the channels necessary to allow FULL ACCESS TO ADVANCED CARDIAC SURGICAL and INTERVENTIONAL PROCEDURES AT CPMC FOR ST. LUKE’S PATIENTS. Cardiology, as it exists at St. Luke’s, right now, is saving lives, and the quality of care has been recognized in our core measure results by the Center for Medicare Studies. With acute inpatient care as the base of the pyramid, and in partnership with Sutter we created the St. Luke’s Heart Center – a state-of-the-art outpatient cardiac unit attached to the hospital. Let me add that Sutter’s financial investment to help make this happen has been paid back. Finally, an outpatient community education and prevention program known as the Cardiac Risk Reduction Program was placed at the top of the pyramid. Unfortunately, CPMC recently withdrew financial support for this program. Acute inpatient quality care is at the base of this entire success story. Unfortunately, our impressive accomplishments will become meaningless in the face of CPMC turning this pyramid of medical care upside down. From my perspective, CPMC’s plan for closing St Luke’s is analogous to the invasion of Iraq. They have no real plan to deal with the consequences of the action. So, as someone who is and will be on the front lines I can tell you what will happen: During the FIVE YEAR GAP BETWEEN THE CLOSING OF ST. LUKE’S AND THE OPENING OF THE CATHEDRAL HILL CAMPUS ON VAN NESS, our physicians will relocate and re-affiliate out of the county. The students and young physicians who work with us - the providers of the next generation of health care to San Francisco -will be gone. The Heart Center will cease to earn its keep. There will no longer be inpatients seeking continuing care, and there won’t be any outpatients coming to us for consultation because the community physicians who refer those patients will also be gone. My 10 remarkable and dedicated employees will lose their jobs, and the families that are supported by the good work that we do, will be in jeopardy. In closing, let me contrast the statement I made at the beginning of my presentation with the following: THE DAY AFTER ST. LUKE’S CLOSES, SOMEONE HAVING A HEART ATTACK SOUTH OF MARKET WILL HAVE NO PLACE TO GO for acute or continuing care, IF HE OR SHE IS LUCKY ENOUGH TO SURVIVE. I can’t imagine any circumstances that will justify you allowing this to happen. Thank you. |
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