A Case for
Updating the 1997 San Francisco Nursing Facility Bed Study
by Patrick Monette-Shaw
In November 1999, San Francisco
voters approved a bond measure to rebuild Laguna Honda Hospital
and Rehabilitation Center. The bond measure passed by over 73%.
Voters did so, in part, based on a Department of Public Health
White Paper written in 1998, which was based on
a 1997 analysis of the skilled nursing bed capacity in San Francisco
at the time, authored by the Hospital Council of Northern and
Central California.
Now 11 to 12 years later, neither the DPH White Paper nor the Nursing Facility Bed Study have been updated, just as City officials are considering whether to permit California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) to shut down operation of 180 of its skilled nursing beds, and build a new hospital on the corner of Van Ness Avenue and O'Farrell Street.
A strong case can be made that updating the 1997 nursing facility bed study must be done before any further strategic public policy decisions are made. An inventory of the capacity of current nursing home beds in San Francisco has been updated (print this on legal size paper), and should be monitored closely.
Patrick Monette-Shaw
Monette-Shaw, an accountability watchdog, is a skilled nursing bed advocate.
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