Supervisor raises concerns about CPMC plans for St. Luke—s; calls for hearings if inpatient pediatric services, NICU closures proceed

Supervisor Alioto Pier on Nov. 6 described a lengthy Rules Committee hearing on California Pacific Medical Center—s plans for St. Luke—s Hospital and signaled the board—s intent to press CPMC on potential closures of inpatient pediatric services and the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

At the Oct. 25 hearing before the City—s Committee on Neighborhood Services, CPMC officials including Dr. Brotman, President and CEO, and others described proposed changes; Dr. Mitch Katz, director of the Department of Public Health, told the committee he believed St. Luke—s should remain an acute-care hospital with an intact emergency department.

Alioto Pier said more than 25 doctors and department heads testified that St. Luke—s is important to patients across the city. After CPMC acknowledged it had planned NICU and inpatient pediatric closures without notifying the Department of Public Health as required by Proposition Q, CPMC agreed to hold off closure plans and to comply with Proposition Q notification. Alioto Pier said she had confirmed with Dr. Katz that DPH had not yet received the requested notice.

She said she would send a letter to CPMC leadership asking the hospital to delay any closures until CPMC—s institutional master plan and the environmental impact report on Davies and its campus master plan are complete, and that she would call for further hearings if DPH is notified.

Why it matters: Changes to hospital services and closures of pediatric and NICU beds affect access to care for neighborhoods and citywide patient populations. Proposition Q requires DPH notification and public processes for certain facility closures.

Next steps: Supervisor Alioto Pier said she would circulate a letter to CPMC and invite colleagues to sign; she said she would call for a board hearing if DPH receives formal notice of closures.