Board adopts resolution urging protection for St. Luke’s, backs blue-ribbon review; one supervisor dissents

On April 1, 2008 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution urging actions to protect acute-care services at St. Luke’s Hospital and directing city departments to cooperate with a newly formed Blue Ribbon Panel and Community Outreach Task Force. The measure passed on a roll-call vote after an amendment to explicitly urge city departments to work with the panel; Supervisor Alioto Pier cast the lone recorded no vote and Supervisor Dufty was recused from the matter.

Supporters told the board the resolution is intended to bolster efforts to retain inpatient and acute-care capacity at St. Luke’s, which they said serves a vulnerable, indigent portion of San Francisco residents. Supervisor Mercarimi, the resolution’s sponsor, described it as “a strong expression of concern” and said nurses and health-care workers backing the effort view the hospital as essential for patients who “rely very, very strenuously on St. Luke’s.”

The nut of the measure, as amended, is twofold: to register the board’s concern about potential service reductions at St. Luke’s and to formally urge cooperation with a multi-stakeholder Blue Ribbon Panel and Community Outreach Task Force that supporters said has begun meeting to seek solutions.

Proponents pointed repeatedly to the Blue Ribbon Panel’s early work. Supervisor Alioto Pier and others described the panel as a stakeholder effort that includes labor unions and community organizations; Dr. Katz, identified in the meeting as the head of the Department of Public Health, told the board the panel’s formation represented “a complete departure from prior ways of working” and called the new process “a very positive process.” Supervisor Mercarimi read a list of panel and outreach members and organizations that he said were participating, including representatives from the California Nurses Association, SEIU, Saving Saint Luke’s, local community clinics, and other local health and community leaders.

Not all supervisors supported the resolution’s timing. Supervisor Alioto Pier argued the board should allow the panel’s deliberations to proceed before issuing strong symbolic measures, saying, “Today should not be one of those days” for political grandstanding and urging patience for the panel’s work. Supervisor Ellsberg offered an amendment to add a resolving clause urging all city departments and representatives to work cooperatively with the Blue Ribbon Panel and Outreach Task Force; that amendment was offered, seconded and accepted without objection and became part of the final measure.

There was also an unsuccessful procedural attempt to continue the item until early July. A motion to continue the item to July 8 was made but failed for lack of a second. Earlier in the meeting Supervisor Ammiano moved to have Supervisor Dufty recuse himself; that recusal was made and noted as effective through May 1.

The board debated the balance between applying pressure to health systems and preserving a collaborative process. Supervisor Ammiano and others said they support both the panel and the resolution as complementary strategies; Supervisor Maxwell said she supported keeping a “hammer” available if the panel’s process failed. At one point Supervisor Alioto Pier warned that issuing a nonbinding board statement too early could “water down” any future leverage the city might need to take.

The measure as amended was adopted on a roll-call vote. The clerk recorded Supervisors Ellsberg, Maxwell, McGoldrick, Mercarimi, Peskin, Sandoval, Ammiano, Chiu and Daly as voting aye and Supervisor Alioto Pier as voting no. Supervisor Dufty was recused.

The debate also included a request earlier in the item that the city attorney examine possible legal options related to the potential closure of services, language raised by some speakers during discussion. The resolution as amended emphasizes cooperation with the panel and outreach process while keeping options and oversight concerns on the record.

The board’s action sets a formal expectation that city departments and staff engage with the Blue Ribbon Panel and Community Outreach Task Force as they continue their scheduled meetings and public outreach.

The panel’s schedule and the outreach task force’s public meetings were discussed in the meeting: speakers said the panel had held an inaugural meeting and planned additional meetings through June, and that the outreach task force had met multiple times with further public meetings scheduled in Bayview, the Mission and the Excelsior.

Implementation details — for example, whether the resolution will trigger additional city reports, further referrals to committee, or specific legal work by the city attorney — were not specified during the board discussion.