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Acting director outlines disaster exercise, syringe cleanup, EHR work and hospital payment gains
Summary
Acting DPH Director Greg Wagner briefed the commission on SB 1045 (a conservatorship-related bill), a citywide syringe cleanup, a large-scale earthquake exercise, the Black African American Health Initiative report release, staff awards and a positive federal payment adjustment for Zuckerberg San Francisco General.
Acting Director Greg Wagner updated the Health Commission on departmental activities and ongoing priorities, including legislative, preparedness and program developments.
Wagner told the commission that a California bill he identified verbally as "SB 1045" is on the governor's desk and, if enacted, "would create a new pathway to conservatorship," which the department is watching for how it might affect treatment options for high-need patients. He highlighted the department's participation in a citywide "Love Our City" cleanup that targeted syringes and allowed DPH staff to interact with people who use its services. He also summarized a Yellow Command emergency exercise — a citywide drill modeled on a 7.8-magnitude San Andreas earthquake — as a way to test response coordination with the Department of Emergency Management.
Wagner noted the department's Black African American Health Initiative published its 2018 report documenting health disparities in San Francisco and said copies would be made available to the commission. He also recognized two staff members, Meg Walshui and Devon Morris, for receiving a Promising Practice Award from the National Association of City and County Health Officials for innovative data tools. Finally, Wagner reported that Zuckerberg San Francisco General received a positive adjustment under the federal hospital value-based purchasing program, a financial outcome the department views as validation of longer-term improvement efforts.
Commissioners asked about publication and distribution of the Black/African American report; Wagner said he would ensure the commission receives copies and believed the report was or would soon be posted on the department website. Several commissioners raised questions about the department's large electronic health record implementation, workforce development and efforts addressing homelessness and street-based outreach as priorities the next director must be prepared to oversee.
