SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Health care providers and community leaders from southeastern San Francisco, including Supervisor Tom Ammiano, rallied in front of St. Luke’s hospital to protest the closure of the hospital’s 31 bed psychiatric unit on October 1. The San Francisco Department of Health recently ruled that the closure will have a detrimental impact on the community’s well being and further cripple the already overburdened psychiatric services at San Francisco General Hospital.
“Technically these patients can go to SF General, the only other hospital in San Francisco that offers psychiatric services to Medical patients,” said Eugene Lee, a psychiatrist at St. Luke’s. “But SF General is completely overwhelmed and putting people on long waiting lists. These patients are going to be pushed into homelessness or ultimately jail.”
St. Luke’s hospital, which has met the surrounding community’s health care needs for over 100 years, was purchased by Sacramento-based Sutter Health corporation in 2001. In order to get regulatory approval for the takeover, Sutter agreed to keep a full slate of acute care services open until 2006. In addition to closing the psychiatric unit, Sutter went back on its word by recently announcing its intention to close the Neonatal Intensive Care unit.
At a September 6th hearing at the San Francisco Department of Health, Commissioner David J. Sanchez, Ph.D., said that, “It seems as though St. Luke’s is not keeping with its unique historical mission of being an integral partner in serving the indigent. I am concerned that this flagship institution is going to be dismantled.”
On September 26, St. Luke’s announced a merger with California Pacific Medical Center, a lucrative Sutter Health affiliate that earned $117 million in profits in 2003.
SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West, with more than 140,000 members, is the largest and most powerful healthcare union in the Western U.S. We represent every type of healthcare worker, including nursing, professional, technical and service classifications. Our mission is to achieve high quality healthcare for all.
CONTACT: Thea Lavin c. 510-520-7732
SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West
CONTACT: Thea Lavin of SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West,+1-510-520-7732
Web site: http://www.seiu-uhw.org/
