September 25, 2008

CPMC Board Votes to Approve Blue Ribbon Panel Recommendations

Decision is a critical step in securing long-term future for CPMC’s St. Luke’s campus

(San Francisco, September 25, 2008) California Pacific Medical Center’s Board of Directors has voted to approve and authorize hospital management to proceed with planning for implementation of the main recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel.

The Blue Ribbon Panel was established as an independent body to create a viable plan for acute care hospital and outpatient services at St. Luke’s campus, a plan which complements and is supported by CPMC’s institutional plan for all its San Francisco campuses.

“We think the Community Outreach Task Force and the Blue Ribbon Panel did an incredible job in producing these recommendations,” says Scott Minick, Chair of California Pacific’s Board of Directors. “The Board was unanimous in its approval that these will form the basis for a bright future for the St. Luke’s campus, one that does not leave the hospital standing alone, but links it to CPMC’s City-wide health care delivery system. This means that patients at St. Luke’s campus will also have access to all the world-class specialists and services at CPMC’s other campuses, everything from interventional endoscopy to liver transplants.”

Among the recommendations the CPMC Board voted to approve are:

• Building a new acute care community hospital on the site of the St. Luke’s campus
• Integrating the medical staffs at St. Luke’s and CPMC
• Maintaining critical services at St. Luke’s including an Emergency Department, OB/GYN, medical/surgical, Intensive Care Unit, Urgent Care, and a new Center of Excellence on Senior Health

“We welcome the CPMC Board’s approval of our recommendations,” says the Rt. Reverend Marc Andrus, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, and vice-chair of the Blue Ribbon Panel. “We know that the future of the St. Luke’s campus is intimately connected to that of CPMC, both clinically and economically, so this vote is a critical step in preserving the continuity of care in that community.”

The Resolution from the CPMC Board recognizes the important link between the future of the St. Luke’s campus and the building of a new hospital at Cathedral Hill, since the new hospital is the economic engine that will help provide funding to rebuild the St. Luke’s campus and maintain services there. The other campuses, including the new one located at Cathedral Hill, are essential to move the highly complex, advanced specialized care that patients at the St. Luke’s campus require.

The Board recognizes the work that CPMC must undertake to garner the necessary support, approvals and permits to make the hospital at Cathedral Hill a reality, and hopes that San Francisco, including the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor’s Office, the Department of Public Health, the Health Commission and community representatives will continue to collaborate and support CPMC’s City-wide Plan as was accomplished with the Blue Ribbon Panel.

“The strength of the Blue Ribbon Panel was its ability to bring together an incredibly diverse group of experts and get them to put aside personal agendas and work for the good of the community,” says Stephen M. Shortell, Ph.D., MPH, Dean and Professor of Health Policy and Management at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, and chair of the Blue Ribbon Panel. “But that work is not yet complete. We need that spirit of cooperation to continue, to make sure the recommendations of the Panel are realized.”

“The Blue Ribbon Panel was the first step, the Board’s approval is the second, but the next steps are equally important for the future of the St. Luke’s campus and California Pacific,” says Martin Brotman, M.D., CEO and President of CPMC. “We need to continually work closely with the city to get the permits we need for our new hospital. And we have to work just as closely with the neighbors at Cathedral Hill as we did with the community at St. Luke’s, to hear their ideas and suggestions about our proposed new hospital, and to allay any fears or concerns they may have.”

Dr. Brotman also acknowledged concerns that the changes at St. Luke’s may involve some job losses but says CPMC supports the principle of workforce retention and will do all it can to ensure those affected are offered other positions within CPMC.

The Blue Ribbon Panel, brought together under the leadership of Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier and Director of Public Health Mitch Katz, M.D., was comprised of leaders from the academic, health, business, labor and political communities.

"We have achieved something that many said could not be done, building consensus on a viable plan for an acute care hospital at St. Luke's", said Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier. "I believe we have proven that civil dialogue trumps ideology and I thank all the participants for their time and dedication".

"This vote of approval is important not just for the future of St. Luke's but also for its recognition of the importance of a city-wide approach, one that brings together a public-private partnership in tackling some of the biggest health care issues we face,” says Mitch Katz, M.D. "Many of the issues we face in San Francisco are greater than one hospital or one group can solve. The Blue Ribbon Panel showed that by working together we can find viable solutions for complex problems."

The Blue Ribbon Panel met from March 20 to July 1 and consisted of:

• Chair: Steve Shortell, PhD, MPH, Dean of the School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley

• Vice-chair: Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, Bishop, California Episcopal Diocese

• Facilitator: Rev. John Golenski, EdD, Executive Director, George Mark Children’s House

• Co-facilitator: Nancy Shemick, MPA, Shemick and Associates Health Care Consultants

• The Honorable Michela Alioto-Pier, Supervisor, District Two, San Francisco Board of Supervisors
  • Damian Augustyn, MD, Chief of Staff, Medical Executive Committee, CPMC
  • Kenneth Barnes, MD, Savestlukes.org
  • Kevin Barnett, DrPH, MCP, Senior Investigator, Public Health Institute
  • Dan Bernal, District Director for the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives
  • Edward Chow, MD, Chinese Community Health Plan and San Francisco Health Commissioner
  • Catherine Dodd, PhD, RN, Deputy Chief of Staff for Health and Human Services, the Office of the Mayor, City of San Francisco
  • Anna Eng, Senior Organizer, Bay Area Organizing Committee
  • Steve Falk, President & CEO of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
  • Cheryl Fama, Executive Director, Peninsula Health Care District, former CEO of St. Francis Hospital
  • Jean Fraser, Former CEO of San Francisco Health Plan
  • Louis J. Giraudo, Esq, Co-founder and Principal of GESD Capital Partners
  • John Gressman, President & CEO of the San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium
  • Roma Guy, MSW, Former President of the Health Commission, designee to the Blue Ribbon Panel by Supervisor Tom Ammiano
  • Sandra Hernandez, MD, President of the San Francisco Foundation
  • Mitchell Katz, MD, Director of Public Health for the City and County of San Francisco
  • Edward Kersh, MD, Vice Chief of Staff, St. Luke’s Medical Executive Committee
  • Paul Kumar, Administrative Vice President, United Health Workers (SEIU)
  • David Lawrence, MD, former CEO of Kaiser Permanente
  • Michael Lighty, Director of Public Policy, California Nurses Association
  • Gabriel Metcalf, Executive Director, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association
  • Anthony Miles, Member of CPMC Board of Directors
  • Jacob Moody, M.Div, MSW, Executive Director, Bayview Hunter’s Point Foundation
  • Robert Morales, Sanitary Truck Drivers and Helpers, Local 350, Secretary Treasurer
  • Laura Norrell, MD, St. Luke’s Women’s Center, designee to the Blue Ribbon Panel by Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier
  • Tim Paulson, Executive Director, San Francisco Labor Council
  • Bob Prentice, PhD, Director, Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative
  • Anthony Wagner, former Vice President of Labor Relations, Kaiser Permanente and former Executive Administrator, San Francisco Department of Health
  • Jim Wunderman, CEO, Bay Area Council

Besides hearing from its own members, the Blue Ribbon Panel also got input from a Community Outreach Task Force. The Task Force carried out interviews and held a series of town hall meetings to bring gather opinions from groups and individuals representing a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences. The ideas and suggestions from those meetings were then presented in a consensus report to the Panel.

Community Outreach Task Force
The Task Force members included:

Facilitator:
Rev. John Golenski, EdD Executive Director, George Mark Children’s House
Liaison to the Blue Ribbon Panel:
Steve Lockhart, MD, PhD CPMC Board Member and physician
Administrator:
Jordana Stein Ground Floor Public Affairs

Task Force Members:
Rosario Anaya, Executive Director, Mission Language Vocational School
Rev. Dr. Joseph Bryant, Jr., Reverend, Calvary Hill Community Church
Anni Chung, MSW President & CEO, Self Help for the Elderly
Charlene Clemens, MPA Director, Children, Youth, and Families Division, Family Service Agency of San Francisco
Pat Coleman, Executive Director, Arthur H. Coleman Med Center
Olivia Fe, Executive Director, Latina Breast Cancer Agency
Donald Frazier, JD Deputy Executive Director, Westside Community Services
Suzanne Fowler Palmer, Development Director, Episcopal Community Services
Estela Garcia, DMH Executive Director, Instituto Familiar de la Raza
Karen Garrison, Director of Senior Services, Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center
Gillian Gillett, Co-Chair of the San Jose/Guerrero Coalition to Save Our Streets
Fr. John Hardin, Executive Director, St Anthony’s Foundation
Mai-Mai Q. Ho, LCSW Executive Director, APA Family Support Services
Judy Li, DrPh, MBA Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, St.Luke's
Marilyn Metz, MD Founder, Arthur H. Coleman Community Foundation
Ana Perez, Executive Director, CARECEN
Dr. Raye Richardson, Founder, Marcus Books
Rev. Shad Riddick Reverend, Metropolitan Baptist Church
Ahsha Safai, Mission Language and Vocational School
Jim Salinas, President, Carpenter's Union Local 22
Gladys Sandlin, Former CEO, Mission Neighborhood Health Center
Maria Vicente-Puletti, LCSW St. Luke’s Women’s Center and CPMC Board of Trustees

The Blue Ribbon Panel to San Francisco’s California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) is an independent body created under the guidance of San Francisco Supervisor Alioto-Pier and the San Francisco Director of Health, Mitch Katz, M.D. The goal of the Blue Ribbon Panel is to articulate a viable plan for acute care hospital and outpatient services at CPMC’s St. Luke’s campus which complements and is supported by CPMC’s current institutional plan for its other campuses and to meet the health needs of the communities it serves. For more information please visit http://www.cpmcbeyondmedicine.com.

California Pacific Medical Center. Beyond Medicine.
At San Francisco’s California Pacific Medical Center, we believe in the power of medicine. We research the most up-to-date treatments, hire the most qualified individuals, and practice the most modern, innovative medicine available. We deliver the highest quality expert care, with kindness and compassion, in acute, post-acute and outpatient services, as well as preventive and complementary medicine. But we also believe that medicine alone is only part of the solution. That’s why we look intently at each individual case and treat the whole person, not just the illness. It’s why we go beyond medical care and provide our patients with things like disease counseling, family support and wellness treatments. As one of California’s largest private, community-based, not-for-profit, teaching medical centers, and a Sutter Health affiliate, we are able to reach deep into our community to provide education, screening and financial support in some of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods. Because medicine can transform a body. But going beyond medicine can transform a life. www.cpmc.org

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