This letter has been sent to many friends
and contacts by its author, Karen Makely. Please personalize and make it
you own. If it is helpful, use this as a kind of template if you wish,
but do make it your own to express your own concerns. Please add you own
name and send it on to your contacts. Thanks to Karen, and to all of you
for getting the word out.
Date, 2007
Dear friends,
I am writing to update you on a crisis facing St. Luke's Hospital in
San Francisco. St. Luke's services
predominantly the southeast segment of San
Francisco and has provided a "back up" role to an overburdened San
Francisco General Hospital. Our Obstetrics department delivers 1300 babies
annually and our Emergency department treats 28,000 patients annually, 5000
of which are children. The closure of St. Luke's will reach far beyond the
Mission neighborhood where it is located. San
Francisco currently lacks enough inpatient beds to respond to a city
wide emergency. Should we suffer a major earthquake, pandemic or terrorist
attack we do not have adequate medical resources to respond. The closure of
St. Luke's as an inpatient facility will double this deficit.
Women throughout the Bay Area have been choosing to deliver their babies at
St. Luke's for the collaborative care of midwives and obstetricians
providing safe, low intervention births supported by pediatricians and a
neonatal intensive care unit. Our uninsured population has been receiving
this same high quality care. This department serves as a model of integrated
care for all, regardless of socioeconomic or ethnic differences. A national
debate over healthcare access and a widening gap between the rich and the
poor of our country is underway. San Francisco
should lead the nation in finding solutions. Instead of closing St. Luke's
in 2009 as has been proposed, the hospital should be revitalized and held up
as an example of what a truly progressive city can achieve.
If you are interested in learning more about the efforts to "Save St.
Luke's" please visit the newly constructed website at
http://savestlukes.org.
The site gives dates and information about upcoming health commission and
city supervisor hearings, online petitions and the history of St. Luke's.
Please feel free to forward this email to any contacts you have or to
contact me for more information.
Thank You,
Your Name
Your Department
St. Luke's Hospital
San Francisco, CA
