by Contessa Abono
Efforts to save St. Luke’s Hospital (photo by Stephen Morrison)
St. Luke’s is San Francisco’s only independent, private, non-profit, hospital and has served the lower Mission and South of Market neighborhoods of San Francisco since 1912 — but recently they have not been able to stay afloat.
According to a statement on St. Luke’s website their losses from 2001-2005 have ranged from $28 million to $33 million annually. The projected loss for this year is $33 million.
Because of their financial struggles St. Luke’s has turned to the California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC), an affiliate of Sutter Health, and other stakeholders to help.
At a November 10 meeting CPMC discussed plans to close the inpatient care at the end of 2009.
The Medical Executive Committee and physician leaders at St. Luke’s both agreed that St. Luke’s Hospital needs to remain open as an acute care hospital and that major decisions should be made with the input from physicians, nurses, other personnel, and especially the community.
Dr. Bonita Palmer, a family physician and one of the medical leaders trying to persevere the hospital, says that since the Nov. 10 meeting no other statements from CPMC have been issued.
“What has been a change is that the CPMC knows they can’t tells us what to do. They know that they have to listen to us,” says Palmer.
Palmer plans to work with the recently developed Coalition to Save St. Luke’s, which is made up by community groups, community activists, patients, advocates, St. Luke’s staff, and their labor unions.
At the Coalition to Save St. Luke’s second meeting held on Jan. 7 and attended by over 20 leaders from various community organizations, the members launched a plan to protest and draw public attention to the South of Market community hospital.
Jane Martin, a community organizer at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, is involved with low-income seniors who live in the area of the city served by St. Luke’s hospital.
Martin has joined the coalition and says the situation at the hospital now is very problematic “The 10th fl oor has been closed for the past months, leading to over crowing and problems with patent care on the 9th floor,” says Martin.
Martin says the community surrounding St. Luke’s should get involved with the preservation “everyone needs to get involved now in the fi ght to save our community hospital! Access to healthcare for the whole southeastern part of the city is at stake.”
Patients and community members are invited to attend the coalition’s next action on January 24–a rally and press conference at San Francisco’s City Hall.
“What’s good is that we are seeing more public awareness this meeting will be an opportunity for the larger community to save St. Luke’s,” says Palmer,
For more information on Save St. Luke’s Campaign contact bonita.ann.palmer@ecunet.org or visit: www.savestlukes.blogspot.com, www.stlukes-sf.org.
