Obstetrician's View
We Help San Franciscans Out!
Ladies and Gentleman,
My name is Laura Norrell. I have been an
obstetrician at St. Luke’s Hospital for the past 13 years and sat as chair of
the Obstetrics and Gynecology department for 7 of those years. I am part of this
community. I trained at UCSF and SFGH. I teach medical and midwifery students in
this community. I delivered both of my daughters at St. Luke’s Hospital, and
when one needed surgery, she got it at St. Luke’s Hospital.
Our Labor and Delivery service is the
3rd largest in San Francisco County, delivering 1300 new San Franciscans each
year. In the past 3 years we were twice awarded top honors for our Obstetric
services by SutterHealth. Our community has come to depend on the excellent care
they can receive just steps from their homes.
There are 2 urgent issues confronting my department.
The first is the planned closure of St.
Luke’s Hospital in 2 years. The closure of St Luke’s Hospital will be felt
citywide. It will likely increase the delivery numbers at SFGH by 50%, partly
because of transportation issues. Many patients may move on to Seton, thereby
leaving our county.
The 2nd is the closure of our neonatal
intensive care unit in the very near future and its replacement by a well-baby
nursery. This is a downgrade of services at our hospital.
Some may argue that there are too many
hospitals in San Francisco and we can shut some down. However, disease is not
equally distributed throughout the city. I am part of the San Francisco Public
Health task force examining the rise in fetal and infant mortality in San
Francisco and throughout the state. It is striking and appalling that our
African American San Franciscans, many living in the Bayview district experience
fetal and infant mortality at a rate 2-3x greater that other SF women. We must
work to improve the access to healthcare for all San Franciscans.
The city must have a more active role in
what private institutions are doing. Collaboration of all major health care
institutions is vital to success for a comprehensive plan for San Franciscans.
The “City Health Planner” legislation is one component. Physicians at SLH, UCSF,
SFGH and CPMC have already been in close discussions about the changes happening
at SLH. Most importantly, the CPMC administration must continue to work with St
Luke’s physicians to welcome the St Luke’s patients and births to CPMC if SLH
does ultimately close, as is planned. CPMC also must commit to ensuring
outpatient services for underserved women at St. Luke’s.
The city must take action to ensure that
all planning results in adequate health care for all San Franciscans.
Thank you.
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