Emergency care to be slashed in S.F.

By John Upton
San Francisco Examiner
May 23, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO — If you need to be rushed to the hospital in future years, it may be harder to secure a bed.

One of many health care providers in The City has finalized its plans for the future of its hospitals in San Francisco, and those plans include slashing the number of [acute-care] beds provided.

The proposal by Sutter Health affiliate California Pacific Medical Center includes deep cuts at St. Luke’s Hospital in the Mission, closure of the California Campus in Presidio Heights and construction of a massive new facility near City Hall.

Under the plan, the number of emergency beds provided by CPMC will fall by more than one-third from 1,169 in 2004 to 756 in 2015, according to a preliminary analysis by independent consultants.

Other services would also be slashed, according to the analysis, which is required under city law.

The 10-year, $2.3 billion demolition and construction plan, which requires the approval of city officials, is scheduled to begin in the middle of next year.

The plan will result in fewer in-patient services but better earthquake protection. Service cuts have already begun at St. Luke’s Hospital.

The plan was unpopular with health commissioners, residents and CPMC employees who spoke previously during a commission hearing.

Southeastern residents said they were worried about the loss of many services at St. Luke’s Hospital, which serves low-income and ethnically diverse neighborhoods.

The hospital accounts for 9 percent of Sutter Health’s revenue in San Francisco and 45 percent of its charitable care, according to the preliminary analysis.

The number of beds at St. Luke’s Hospital will fall from 229 to 86, the plans show.

Inner-city residents, on the other hand, said they were concerned about noise and traffic impacts, including siren-blaring ambulances, at the 555-bed Cathedral Hill Campus planned between Geary and Post streets and between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street.