California Pacific Medical Center offers a Community Benefit Plan worth $1.1 billion to provide health care services to the poor and uninsured, in addition to building two new, earthquake-safe hospitals and creating a Citywide network of care in San Francisco:
CPMC Commits To $1.1 Billion Community Benefit Plan To Help Poor And Uninsured San Franciscans As Part Of Seismic Rebuild Plan
San Francisco Sentinel
July 5, 2011
In an unprecedented commitment, California Pacific Medical Center – part of the Sutter Health network – today offered a Community Benefit Plan worth $1.1 billion to provide health care services to the poor and uninsured, in addition to building two new, earthquake-safe hospitals and creating a Citywide network of care in San Francisco.
“After several weeks of thoughtful discussion with Mayor Lee and his team, we have submitted a comprehensive offer that we believe is responsive to the community, responsible, and fair,” says Warren Browner, MD, MPH, CEO of CPMC. “Our proposal is based on the Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations for St. Luke’s and the agreements we reached with the San Francisco Health Commission.”
The pledge of more than one billion dollars comes on top of CPMC’s $1.9 billion in costs to build a new hospital at Van Ness and Geary, and to rebuild the hospital at its St. Luke’s campus. This brings CPMC’s commitment to $3 billion dollars in new facilities and services in San Francisco, all of which will be borne by the medical center, Sutter Health, and private donations with no cost to taxpayers.
CPMC’s $1.1 billion Community Benefit Plan providing health care for low-income and uninsured people in San Francisco over the next ten years includes:
- The creation of a new Center for Tenderloin Health to support community-based providers and improve access to care at CPMC
- Establishment of an innovative Center for Excellence in Community Health at St. Luke’s to provide patients a primary care medical home and to support chronic disease management
- Development of a Center of Excellence in Senior Health at St. Luke’s, consistent with the Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations
In addition CPMC will provide almost $50 million in investments in affordable housing, workforce development, transit improvements and pedestrian safety in the City.
“This proposal is a pledge to the people of San Francisco, a sign of our commitment to their personal health by building earthquake-safe facilities and investing in the latest technologies to support advances in medicine, education, and research,” says Dr. Browner. “The Center for Tenderloin Health reflects our desire to create partnerships that offer community-based care to those most in need, in an easily accessible, culturally-appropriate way.”
The $1.1 billion Community Benefit Plan does not include the more than $250 million that CPMC has committed to building a new hospital at its St. Luke’s campus, which helps support San Francisco General Hospital and medically underserved areas South of Market.
Dr. Browner says the benefits of world-class hospitals, medical facilities, research, and education cannot be overstated. The projects will not only provide health care services for San Francisco, but also brings significant economic and job-related benefits to the City. The new seismically-safe hospitals – which the hospital is required to build by state law – will protect the health and safety of patients and staff, inject $1.9 billion into the economy, create 1,500 new union construction jobs, and protect the jobs of the more than 6,200 people who work at CPMC.
CPMC’s offer responds to an ambitious request from the City for almost $2 billion in additional funding beyond the recommendations of both the Blue Ribbon Panel and previous agreements reached with the San Francisco Health Commission in order to win approval for its plans.
“After six years of planning, outreach, public hearings and discussions with the City we are ready to move forward,” says Dr. Browner. “We hope this proposal will help the City find the will, and the way, to approve our plans.”
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. Medicine can transform a body. But going beyond medicine can transform a life. www.cpmc.org
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