CPMC & St. Luke's Commit to Sustain Health Care Services in the San Francisco South of Market Area

Business Wire, Sept 26, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO -- After more than two years of in depth evaluation, the California Pacific Medical Center and St. Luke's Hospital Boards of Directors voted to approve an affiliation agreement between California Pacific and St. Luke's Hospital. This agreement sets in motion a process to develop definitive plans aimed at sustaining St. Luke's Hospital as a provider of health care services in the southeast sector of San Francisco. This process will also include extensive community input and the combined resources of CPMC's and St. Luke's Hospital's management and medical staff.

St. Luke's Hospital has long been severely financially threatened and Sutter Health, California Pacific Medical Center and St. Luke's respective Boards of Directors, administration and medical staff leadership are committed to adopting an approach to ensure the long-term viability of St. Luke's in our community. St. Luke's is a community hospital being revitalized, providing medical, surgical, family health and emergency services. It is a dynamic link in the continuum of health care services provided by San Francisco's Sutter Health affiliates.

All alternatives being considered involve keeping St. Luke's Hospital and its emergency department open and continuing its progress towards being a stable, quality-driven organization that is respected and cherished by the diverse community it serves, where employees desire to work.

St. Luke's is proud of its long mission of caring for all, regardless of their means. CPMC is committed to maintaining this legacy and will continue to maintain St. Luke's Hospital's charity care obligations. In fact, both California Pacific and St. Luke's already offer charity care to those at 400% of the Federal Poverty level -- twice the industry standard. This means that families who earn up to $75,000 yearly can still qualify for charity care.

Sutter Health has invested over $160 million in revitalizing St. Luke's. It is important to understand that prior to its affiliation with Sutter Health, St. Luke's experienced well over 15 years of decline during which there was virtually no investment in facilities, technology, equipment or staffing. During this time, some talented physicians, nurses and other staff, including leaders, left the organization. Turning around an organization that has been struggling to this extent does not happen overnight. Success will depend not only on CPMC, St. Luke's Hospital and Sutter Health leaders, but on broad community support as well. What is exciting, however, is that much of the investment required to bring additional clinical expertise to St. Luke's has already been provided by Sutter Health. Much has already been accomplished and with the support of California Pacific, St. Luke's is poised to demonstrate that it is a hospital where physicians and nurses practice quality health care.

The plan being discussed is to refocus and enhance core acute care services around women and children, medicine, cardiology, surgery, oncology and emergency services. It also includes support for community benefit programs that enhance the ability of core services to improve community health, in a culturally-sensitive manner. This will require special focus on ambulatory care access and delivery.

In the coming months, a transition team including the administration, Board and medical staff leaders of both organizations will work out the details of this plan.

About California Pacific Medical Center

California Pacific Medical Center, a Sutter Health affiliate, is one of the largest private, not-for-profit teaching medical centers in California. We are a tertiary referral center providing access to leading-edge medicine while delivering the best possible personalized care. CPMC provides a wide variety of services, including acute, post-acute and outpatient hospital care; hospice services; preventive and complementary care; and health education. Through our Medical Education Program and our Research Institute, physicians at California Pacific Medical Center are able to bring health care innovation to the bedside.

About St. Luke's Hospital

St. Luke's Hospital has been providing quality health care services to San Francisco for over 130 years. A full-service 260-bed licensed acute care facility, St. Luke's is community-based and not-for-profit. Services offered at St. Luke's include a family-oriented Birthing Center with private rooms and certified midwife delivery services, diabetes programs, a Health Care Center, Cardiovascular Center, and a 24-hour Emergency Department.