State’s rushed closure of SF hospital paused after transfer deaths & community outcry

Hospital shelters 700, majority people of color

by Griffin Jones, SF Bay View

On July 28, the federal government agreed to the City of SF’s request to pause transfers and discharges at Laguna Honda Hospital following four patient deaths due to “transfer trauma.” This comes after CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), a federal agency, cut off Medicare and Medi-Cal payments to the facility – funding which makes it one of few long-term care sites in the city serving majority low-income people, most of whom are Black, Asian and Latinx.

In May, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center lost its certification to operate upon inspection by CMS, which cited issues with hand hygiene, infection prevention and control as well as two missed doses of a medication. The inspection followed two non-fatal overdoses at the hospital that were self-reported in 2021 by the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

CMS’ decertification required full closure of Laguna Honda by Sept. 15, 2022, which included the immediate discharging and/or transferring of all patients, many out of the county or out of state. 

Of the 57 transfers that had already taken place by July 25, at least four residents died shortly after transfer: three at an out of county nursing home and one at a medical respite homeless shelter, report the SF Gray Panthers. 

Mayor London Breed said in a statement: “While I’m glad we’ve reached an agreement with the federal government to pause these transfers, it shouldn’t have come to this. When we entered this recertification process, we asked for an 18-month window to ensure that our residents did not receive any disruption of care at Laguna Honda. 

“We were given four months, and we’ve seen the disastrous results of that requirement. We are ready and willing to confront any and all challenges we have to make Laguna Honda work, but that commitment should not conflict with the care we have provided for so many for so many years.”

Laguna Honda workers, residents, patient families and city leaders warned against transfers, which are entirely unnecessary, and have been loudly protesting closure since May. The pause has finally been granted, but only after the changes proved deadly.

“While a temporary pause on transfers is an important first step, we must fight for the pause on transfers to be permanent.”

The hospital, an institution since 1866, is the largest nursing home in SF and the only long-term care facility of its kind in the U.S., providing San Franciscans with culturally-competent care, skilled nursing, rehabilitation, AIDS care, dementia services, hospice and acute care, an adult day health care center and a senior nutrition program.

Of the approximately 700 Laguna Honda residents, 26% are African American, 29% white, 20% Asian, 18% Hispanic, 1% Native, 1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and 4% unknown.

Theresa Rutherford, incoming president-elect of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1021 and longtime certified nurse assistant at Laguna Honda Hospital, stated of the pause on transfers:

“While a temporary pause on transfers is an important first step, we must fight for the pause on transfers to be permanent. It breaks our hearts to know that four people already died as a result of the forced transfers ordered by CMS. Many of our patients are economically challenged people from communities of color with very complex healthcare needs; Laguna Honda is their home and many of them have nowhere else to go.”

Thanks to community-led protests, we can hope for the pause to be permanent until January 2023, when it is expected the hospital will be recertified. 

To help, contact your government representatives now and attend the upcoming town hall on Laguna Honda Wednesday, Aug. 3, 1-2:20 p.m., presented by California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. Register at tinyurl.com/laghonda. 

Griffin Jones is a journalist and copy editor formerly of the Los Angeles Review of Books. She can be reached at griffin@sfbayview.com.