San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed, along with Supervisor Vallie Brown and City officials, today broke ground on renovations at the Maxine Hall Health Center. Following construction, the building will be seismically safe and will make room for larger exam rooms, seven additional patient rooms, and an accessible patient group meeting room.

“This renovation will allow the Maxine Hall Health Center to continue serving thousands of people in the Western Addition for decades to come,” said Mayor Breed. “People rely on this health center for medical care and to get access to other resources, like food, shelter, clothing and transportation. We want to make sure it’s designed to keep meeting the needs of the community. Not only will the new facility have an expanded clinic with additional patient rooms, but it will also be seismically safe and will be able to provide refuge in the event of an earthquake.”

Once the building updates are complete, patients will be able to receive primary care, such as regular check-ups, behavioral health care, short-term counseling, and other medical services including lab testing in one location. Co-location of services will enable Maxine Hall health care providers and staff to serve the whole patient. The remodel also will improve accessibility for patients with disabilities by adding an elevator, curb ramps and updating existing ramps.

“Over 50 years ago, Maxine Hall Health Center started out at as radical idea—to locate community health services directly in the neighborhoods that needed them most,” said Supervisor Vallie Brown. “For so many families, elders and youth, Maxine Hall has been there; keeping their doors open through thick and thin, and providing more than just basic health care services. From fresh groceries to a prenatal care check-up or access to a warm bed, the Health Center has not only treated illnesses, but the whole person. The renovation of the new Maxine Hall Health Center preserves a tremendous asset for Western Addition residents and the surrounding neighborhood. Today, we’re making an investment in the health and future of our community for years to come.”

Maxine Hall Health Center, located at 1301 Pierce St., provides care to nearly 4,000 patients and has served the Western Addition for more than 50 years. The clinic offers prenatal care, women’s health services, counseling, and support services. Most Maxine Hall patients reside nearby – 23% in the Western Addition and Japantown; followed by 11% in Hayes Valley, the Tenderloin, and North of Market.

The clinic was renamed after Maxine Hall, a community activist in the Fillmore District who was killed by a stray bullet in 1993. Today, the Maxine Hall staff work in the spirit of the clinic’s namesake and have lead efforts to achieve a 66% rate of controlled hypertension for Black/African American patients.

“This remodel is going to help us improve patient care by giving us more room for mental health and substance use disorder services, group therapy, and other health services,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of Health. “It’s also going to make our building safer in an earthquake and more accessible for patients with disabilities.”

Construction for the remodel will start in late 2019. Starting on November 5, Maxine Hall Health Center will move its services during construction to 1181 Golden Gate Ave., near the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center. The clinic will be closed November 1^st through the 4^th for the move. During the remodel, Westside Community Services, which shares the Maxine Hall building, will continue to serve its patients on Pierce Street in both a temporary clinic and in part of the existing building.

“Public Works is proud to be a part of this next step in safeguarding our City,” said Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. “In collaboration with our private contractors, the project team will design a first-class facility that will protect patients and residents when the next big one hits.”

The Maxine Hall remodel, totaling $14 million, was mainly funded by the 2016 Public Health and Safety Bond (Prop A). The Mayor’s Office on Disability also contributed $1.2 million for the elevator and other accessibility improvements. San Francisco Public Works is providing project management and design for the remodel. The Department of Public Health is leasing the site for the temporary clinic at 1181 Golden Gate Avenue from the City’s Real Estate Division. Prop A is also helping to fund capital improvements at the Castro-Mission Health Center, the Southeast Health Center, and on the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital campus.

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