Milestone Marked With Dedication and Ribbon Cutting at Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - November 21, 2015) - Today, San Francisco General Hospital Foundation was joined by Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Mayor Ed Lee, city officials, hospital staff, patients and hundreds of San Francisco residents to celebrate construction completion of the new acute care and trauma center at Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (Zuckerberg San Francisco General). This milestone was marked with a building dedication and campus naming honoring the transformational grant of $75 million from Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg and was followed by a community celebration.
"The doctors, nurses, and staff at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center answer the call to care for the people of this great City 24/7," said Amanda Heier, CEO at San Francisco General Hospital Foundation. "It's a truly historic moment and an outstanding demonstration of public-private partnership that we've witnessed today. We are able to celebrate this milestone because of the many individuals, as well as corporate, foundation, and civic and community leaders, who have answered the call in support of this unprecedented initiative."
More than 70% of the patients Zuckerberg San Francisco General serves are uninsured or underinsured. The hospital provides care to anyone who lives, works in or visits the City. The ceremony celebrated this unique public-private partnership that will ensure community members in the San Francisco Bay Area who depend on this hospital for care will receive it. This includes thousands of at-risk children who need pediatric care, the more than 100 babies born each month in the hospital, people living with HIV/AIDS striving to lead normal healthy lives and all San Franciscans when a disaster strikes.
Architects and medical staff collaboratively designed the new acute care and trauma center, creating a facility that will enhance patient experience, promote wellness and healing, and also further the education of Providers who are trained at Zuckerberg San Francisco General. The building will include 31 more beds in the Emergency Department, growth in the number of ICU beds from 30 to 58, two additional trauma rooms and CT scanners, three more operating rooms, 90% private patient rooms, four pediatric exam rooms, a dedicated pediatric waiting room in the Emergency Department, and two additional palliative care rooms. The acute care and trauma center will be the only hospital facility in the City with a cutting edge base-isolated foundation, the most advanced seismic resistant design known today. It will be a "green" building for reduced water and energy use, and will seek LEED Gold Certification.
During the ceremony, Heart of Our City Capital Campaign Co-Chairs, Pam and Larry Baer and Judy and Rich Guggenhime announced that to-date, with the generous gift from Dr. Chan and Mr. Zuckerberg, the campaign has raised an incredible $141,403,953, exceeding the campaign's $135 million goal, towards funding critical equipment, furniture and fixtures within the new acute care and trauma center. They underscored that although the capital campaign will officially come to a close on December 31, 2015, this celebration marks the beginning of a new era in philanthropy for Zuckerberg San Francisco General and one that will serve as a model for public hospitals across the country.
"Through my work at Zuckerberg San Francisco General I have seen firsthand the incredible dedication of the entire staff to ensure all San Franciscans, regardless of resources, receive the highest standard of medical care," said Dr. Priscilla Chan. "This phenomenal new facility was designed to promote high quality patient care with respect and dignity, from the state of the art operating rooms to the beautiful art and outdoor spaces. Mark and I are honored to support this important public institution, promoting equality and advancing human potential."
Speakers at the event included Mayor Edwin M. Lee, Barbara Garcia, Director of Department of Public Health, Roland Pickens, Interim CEO of Zuckerberg San Francisco General, Dr. Sue Carlisle, Associate Dean, University of California San Francisco at Zuckerberg San Francisco General, CongresswOman Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, Pam Baer and Judy Guggenhime, Heart of Our City Capital Campaign Co-chairs with San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, Mohammed Nuru, Director of Department of Public Works and JD Beltran, President of San Francisco Arts Commission.
"This hospital represents San Francisco's values at their best, and demonstrates that our City is a leader in innovation and compassion," said Mayor Lee. "I thank San Francisco voters for overwhelmingly supporting the rebuild of this great hospital and I thank the many generous donors, City departments and talented hospital staff for creating a world-class seismically safe, technologically advanced, and sustainably built hospital for all San Franciscans, today and for future generations."
Following the ribbon cutting and dedication, a community celebration included a Danza Azteca Blessing with Danza Xitlalli de San Francisco, Chinese Lion Dance by San Francisco Police Department, Afro-Brazilian Samba band performance by the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, arts and crafts with Precita Eyes, face painting, balloon art, food trucks and refreshments, a health fair with Zuckerberg San Francisco General's Community Wellness Center, Free Flu Shots, and more.
With construction of the building complete, patient move-in and the official opening is on target for spring of 2016. The coming months will allow for final certifications and licensing of the new building and advanced technologies and critical care services that Zuckerberg San Francisco General will provide as the City's only trauma center (level 1). Equipment and IT will be installed and tested and the hospital's 5,400 employees will receive thorough training and orientation.
About San Francisco General Hospital Foundation
San Francisco General Hospital Foundation (the Foundation) is an independent 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation that provides philanthropic support to Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (Zuckerberg San Francisco General). The Foundation is dedicated to promoting excellence in research, education and care for all at Zuckerberg San Francisco General. Funds raised by the Foundation allow Zuckerberg San Francisco General to continue its long history of providing compassionate and high quality health care to San Francisco and northern San Mateo County. In addition to the Heart of Our City Capital Campaign, currently underway, some of the programs funded wholly or in part by the Foundation include the Avon Comprehensive Breast Care Program, Children's Health Center, HIV/AIDS Division Positive Health Program, Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit, HIVE – formerly Bay Area Perinatal AIDS Center (BAPAC) and the Orthopaedic Trauma Institute. For more information, please visit www.sfghf.org or www.Facebook.com/SFGHFoundation.
About the Heart of Our City Capital Campaign
In 2008, San Franciscans overwhelmingly supported the $887.4 million bond to fund San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center's rebuild construction project with an unprecedented 84% vote. However, the bond funding did not provide for the technology and equipment that the physicians, nurses, researchers and staff need to save lives and treat patients in the new building. The funds contributed to the Heart of Our City Capital Campaign will be used to fully equip the new acute care and trauma center with critical medical equipment including Physiological Monitors, Interventional Radiology Equipment, Operating Room Equipment and Mobile CT Scanners, as well as furnishings and other amenities to make patient stays and family visits more comfortable and healing.
About Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (Zuckerberg San Francisco General) is the sole provider of trauma and psychiatric emergency services for the City and County of San Francisco. A comprehensive medical center, Zuckerberg San Francisco General serves some 100,000 patients per year and provides 20 percent of the City's inpatient care. In 2011, Zuckerberg San Francisco General became the first hospital in the country to be certified for a Traumatic Brain Injury program. As San Francisco's public hospital, Zuckerberg San Francisco General is a member of the San Francisco Health Network, an integrated delivery system operated by the Department of Public Health that provides all levels of care to San Franciscans. Zuckerberg San Francisco General's mission is to provide quality health care and trauma services with compassion and respect to patients that include the City's most vulnerable. Zuckerberg San Francisco General is also one of the nation's top academic medical centers, partnering with the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine for clinical training and research.
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Link: San Francisco General Hospital Foundation Celebrates Public-Private Partnership to Ensure High Quality Health Care for All San Franciscans