Public commenters and a physician urged the San Francisco Department of Public Health on Oct. 6 to address delays in admissions to Laguna Honda Hospital (LHH), transparency around census and discharge data, and an apparent rise in out-of-county placements for older San Franciscans.

The concerns were voiced during the meeting’s public comment period by Dr. Teresa Palmer and by an unnamed public commenter who provided a numerical snapshot of LHH’s census. "I had a terrible ... experience this month trying to help a family advocate ... who was precipitously transferred out of county ... and she ended up dying in a hospital in the East Bay," Dr. Palmer said, describing a case she called an "untimely death." She told commissioners that Medicare PPOs and HMOs do not have contracts with Laguna Honda and that the result can be transfers out of county to facilities she described as inadequate. "The family had to call 911 and she ended up dying," Dr. Palmer said.

A separate public commenter described LHH census figures and a delay in responding to a public records request. The commenter said that "as of Sept. 22, LHH's total patient census was 545 patients with only 538 residents on the 13 skilled nursing units," and that the hospital has 649 skilled-nursing facility beds with 111 currently empty. The commenter said a records request for admissions, discharges and expirations was delayed under a claim the data were not "simple, routine, or otherwise randomly answerable" and urged DPH Director Tsai and the commission to intervene.

Multiple commenters asked that the Laguna Honda Joint Conference Committee (LHHJCC) schedule special meetings in October and November to address the issues. Director Tsai and staff noted that the October JCC was canceled for a holiday but that the LHHJCC is scheduled to meet Nov. 10. Another public commenter repeated the request that the department schedule additional meetings.

Commissioners asked follow-up questions and requested that the department include written public testimony in the meeting record. The record shows no formal action or vote on policy changes during the meeting; DPH staff noted the written testimony will be included in the minutes and confirmed the Nov. 10 LHHJCC meeting date.

Ending: Commissioners and the public urged more timely data sharing and more frequent JCC meetings; DPH indicated it will include submitted testimony in the record and confirmed the LHHJCC meeting on Nov. 10.