Commissioners press DPH for contingency staffing plan as SFGH reopens

Commissioners at the San Francisco Health Commission hearing pressed department leaders for a concrete contingency staffing plan to ensure a smooth opening of the rebuilt San Francisco General Hospital.

Department HR leadership reported use of continuous open recruitments and new hiring tools; presenters said recruitment has improved but acknowledged significant vacancy rates remain at San Francisco General and that the department will combine permanent hires with contingency and registry staff to meet staffing needs. HR indicated it expects to use civil service exemptions and expanded recruiting to accelerate placements.

Commissioner Singer emphasized the operational risk of not having enough staff to open all licensed beds and asked for a specific contingency-hiring plan showing how many temporary and permanent staff will be onboarded, when and how they will be trained. The commission requested the department return next month with a detailed plan mapping contingency hires to the staged opening of units and bed counts.

Director Garcia and other leaders said the department is budgeted for the full 210 beds and believes it can reach that target over time, but acknowledged the opening day is likely to rely on a mix of permanent and registry staff. Commissioners asked that the report include retention strategies (Laguna Honda cited for low turnover), training plans, and timelines for clinical readiness.

Next procedural step: HR and hospital leadership will present a detailed contingency staffing and staged-opening plan at the full commission in about a month.