News Releases
The latest news and announcements from Mayor London N. Breed

Mayor Lee Celebrates Ribbon Cutting And Dedication Of Priscilla Chan And Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital And Trauma Center

New Public Hospital Funded by San Francisco Voters and Generous Donors will Provide World Class Care for Generations; Unprecedented Public-Private Partnership to Support State-of-the-Art Technology

Today Mayor Edwin M. Lee cut the ribbon on the new acute care and trauma center at San Francisco General Hospital and dedicated the official campus name in honor of donors Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg. The state-of-the-art hospital serving San Francisco and Northern San Mateo counties is the hub of crisis response in a major disaster and provides a safety net for people in need, with 70% of inpatients uninsured or underinsured.

“This hospital represents San Francisco’s values at their best, and demonstrates that our City is a leader in innovation and compassion,” said Mayor Lee. “I thank San Francisco voters for overwhelmingly supporting the rebuild of this great hospital and I thank the many generous donors, City departments and talented hospital staff for creating a world-class seismically safe, technologically advanced, and sustainably built hospital for all San Franciscans, today and for future generations.”

Mayor Lee was joined by members of San Francisco General Hospital Foundation’s capital campaign leadership, Pam and Larry Baer, and Judy and Rich Guggenhime. The campaign has raised more than $141 million for state-of-the-art technology, medical equipment and amenities for patients. This support complements the City’s commitment of $105 million to equip the new hospital.

“Our current hospital was built in the 1970s. It is inspiring to think about the role it played in major responses and health achievements – like AIDS, trauma and earthquakes,” said Health Director Barbara Garcia. “I can hardly wait to see what the new hospital’s era will bring – the end of AIDs, advances in trauma care, major improvements in community health, even cures for cancer. 

“Hospital construction was financed by an $887.4 million bond, overwhelming passed by voters in 2008. San Francisco Public Works managed construction of the building that was designed by Fong & Chan Architects, built by Webcor Builders, with executive management by Jacobs Engineering.

The new hospital is seven stories high, with two basement levels, 484,000 square feet, and will feature an emergency room nearly three times the size of the current hospital’s. The new 284-bed building offers several upgrades to patient care, including more operating rooms, a rooftop garden, an innovative geriatric unit, and large birthing suites with soaking tubs and room for family visits. The trauma services will be enhanced by dedicated radiology equipment in the emergency room, an advanced approach that will speed live-saving care.

The new hospital building is currently being equipped, technology is being installed and staff is being trained on new procedures. It will open for patient care in spring 2016.

Recognized as one of the nation’s top hospitals, it serves the community with a full complement of inpatient, outpatient, emergency, diagnostic and psychiatric services for adults and children 24-hours a day. Considered one of the finest public hospitals, Zuckerberg San Francisco General offers compassionate and culturally competent care to a diverse community of patients in more than 20 languages.

It is the city’s busiest emergency room—the only Level One trauma center—and provides life-saving care to the 1.5 million adults and children of San Francisco and northern San Mateo County. More than 3,900 trauma patients are treated annually with a comprehensive range of resources on hand 24-hours a day, including trauma surgeons specializing in orthopedic, general and neurosurgery, anesthesiologists and other specialists. In 2011, it was the first acute hospital in the country to be certified for a Traumatic Brain Injury program.

“This new building will help our staff provide extraordinary care for patients who need to be hospitalized, who suffer trauma, or who give birth to the next generation of San Franciscans,” said Roland Pickens, Interim CEO of Zuckerberg San Francisco General. The hospital cares for more than 100,000 patients annually, and is the only trauma center serving San Francisco and northern San Mateo counties. Zuckerberg San Francisco General is part of the San Francisco Health Network, the integrated health care delivery system of the Department of Public Health.

“The partnership between UCSF and the Health Department has been in place for over 140 years, and we expect to be here for generations to come in this magnificent new building, producing leaders and compassionate providers for our city and nation,” said Dr. Sue Carlisle, Vice Dean of UCSF at Zuckerberg San Francisco General, where all physicians are UCSF faculty and residents.

The City’s hospital will now be known as Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center or Zuckerberg San Francisco General. The San Francisco Health Commission and Board of Supervisors adopted the new name in March 2015, in recognition of a $75 million gift.

The new hospital features spectacular artwork commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission. Fourteen permanent works and more than 200 framed artworks by 69 local artists were chosen in partnership with hospital staff that helped to select pieces that would promote a healing environment. These works include metal and stone sculptures, artist-created seating, contemporary stained glass, mosaic murals, terrazzo floor design and a video installation.