Save St. Luke's Hospital in San Francisco

Sutter Health is threatening to close St. Luke’s Hospital, the only private hospital serving southern San Francisco and its heavily Latino, African American, and Asian patient population. This is not only illegal—it’s wrong and San Francisco will not stand for it."Medical redlining," the process of granting healthcare access only to certain "desirable" groups, is regularly practiced by mercenary corporations who care more about profits than about patients. It’s time to tell Sutter Health that this kind of discrimination has no place in our city.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Save St. luke's Hospital in San Francisco

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Please sign this petition to join the broad coalition of patients, nurses, doctors, community groups, religious leaders, and elected officials who are coming together to tell Sutter Health that we will not stand to see St. Luke's Hospital closed. Every San Francisco patient deserves access to healthcare.

Signed by:

Campaign Launched:
December 10, 2007


Background Information

For 130 years, St. Luke’s Hospital has been a San Francisco landmark, treating a diverse population and serving as a symbol of our commitment to make sure all people have healthcare, regardless of race, class, or national origin. Now, just as St. Luke’s has served generations of San Franciscans, it’s time for us to come together and protect St. Luke’s Hospital

Sutter Health is threatening to close St. Luke’s Hospital, the only private hospital serving southern San Francisco and its heavily Latino, African American, and Asian patient population. This is not only illegal—it’s wrong and San Francisco will not stand for it."Medical redlining," the process of granting healthcare access only to certain "desirable" groups, is regularly practiced by mercenary corporations who care more about profits than about patients. It’s time to tell Sutter Health that this kind of discrimination has no place in our city.

Not only will this end access to healthcare for tens of thousands of the most vulnerable among us, but Dr. Mitch Katz, the San Francisco Director of Public Health reports that closing St. Luke’s “could really hinder our ability to handle health services throughout the city,” as other hospitals are forced to deal with more emergency and acute-care patients. This means longer waiting times at emergency rooms across the city, more strain on our healthcare safety net, and a potential disaster if we experience an earthquake or other crisis. The emergency room alone treats 23,000 patients per year. Where will they go? What will they do?

The latest cuts have been announced—Sutter says they will shut down the neo-natal intensive care and pediatric units, forcing desperately ill children and their families to travel an hour by bus, away from their homes, to seek care at an unfamiliar institution. Unfortunately, for poorer patients, as the Journal of the American Medical Association finds in their Oct. 24/31 issue, “traveling across town to access better resources of health care facilities is often beyond their means.” How many children must suffer as a result of Sutter’s greed?

Please sign the petition below to join the broad coalition of patients, nurses, doctors, community groups, religious leaders, and elected officials who are coming together to tell Sutter Health that we will not stand to see St. Luke’s Hospital closed. Every San Francisco patient deserves access to healthcare.