| “Our family voted YES on Prop D.” | ||
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Anonymous San Francisco General Hospital Psychiatric Nurse |
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| “The Union of American
Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) of the American Federation of State, County
and Municipal Employees-AFL-CIO, endorses Proposition D. We support the rights of the disabled,
vulnerable Laguna Honda patients to be in a safe environment, free from
abuse and violence.” |
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Union of American Physicians and Dentists |
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| “We support Measure D because it adopts a policy of zero tolerance for abuse and restores Laguna Honda as a place where low-income, older women and disabled people can be provided safe, high-quality, long-term nursing care.” | ||
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National Organization of Women, SF Chapter |
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| “The patients and staff of Laguna Honda Hospital should not be put into harm’s way by the ill advised transfer of violent patients with mental disorders from San Francisco General Hospital. Vulnerable patients and staff should live and work in the peaceful environment that a Laguna Honda land use zone would provide under Proposition D.” | ||
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— Stuart Bussey, MD, JD |
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“I know there’s a severe shortage of safe, skilled nursing beds for elderly and disabled San Franciscans. That’s why I fully support Prop D. “Director of Public Health Mitch Katz’s assertion Alzheimer’s patients would be discharged from LHH is a red-herring. Title 42 §483.12(a)(1)–(7) provides due-process protections against involuntary transfers. California’s Department of Health Services would never permit the involuntary transfer of elderly persons with Alzheimer or Parkinson-related dementias. “Mayor Newsom should have known this before writing the Opponent argument. Ignore both men’s propaganda! Vote Yes on Prop D!” Sister Miriam Walsh, Director of Pastoral Care “The silent crisis of our era is the elderly San Franciscans unable to live independently in the community and unable to afford the help they require. I believe we have a moral obligation to care for our elders. “Infirmities and ailments of old age are often serious and chronic, requiring skilled long-term care. By mixing younger, able-bodied patients with elderly, disabled patients, neither receives the care they deserve. “City leaders must meet both needs, but in different facilities. We must not abandon senior and disabled San Franciscans. Selling us LHH as a safety-net for ‘Old Friends,’ then changing LHH’s mission is a double injustice — to voters and our vulnerable elders.”
“Some claim Proposition D unlawfully discriminates against people with psychiatric disabilities. Proposition D doesn’t discriminate! “Laguna currently provides some psychiatric treatment; Proposition D permits this to continue if the person doesn’t threaten safety and can be adequately cared for. But Laguna doesn’t have a psychiatric license, and can’t accept patients whose only or primary diagnosis is psychiatric. Under Proposition D, elderly, frail and physically disabled people who also have psychiatric disabilities would be eligible for long-term care, assisted living and short-term programs …”
“In a 30-bed ward filled with patients who have various kinds of brain damage and mobility problems, it only takes one patient with uncontrollable behavior to cause havoc. “In my last years there, my daily work at Laguna Honda was compromised by street-wise, able-bodied bullies, who, despite the incredible teamwork of Laguna Honda staff, could not be safely handled. I could not continue to work in this ethically and legally dangerous environment. I could not return every morning to find out who got beat up, robbed, or terrorized. “Staff decisions about who cannot be cared for MUST be honored. That’s why I support Prop D and urge you to vote for it.”
“It is a shame. In my 44 years at Laguna Honda I have never seen anything like this. “Admitting able-bodied patients with addictions, psychiatric disorders, and criminal histories, for which Laguna Honda is not licensed, has resulted in violence, citations, and fines from OSHA. “The alarming recently-released State Deficiency Report gave Laguna Honda its worst rating in history. And, in spite of City Hall’s denial and cover-up, the state report is proof that the patient abuse continues today.”
“Dumping patients with substance abuse, mental illnesses, and criminal histories into Laguna Honda is endangering the frail elderly and severely disabled people who live there. “This policy also harms people with severe psychiatric problems and addictions, because they cannot receive the care they need in a skilled nursing facility. “Proposition
D will put and end to this inhumane situation, restore safety
to Laguna Honda, and force the Health Department to provide all
patients with the care they need in the appropriate setting.” Howard Chabner,
JD, Family Member
of
“Some claim Prop D would permit privately owned nursing homes on public land throughout San Francisco. This is incorrect, and an attempt to divert attention from the dangerous admissions at Laguna. Laguna’s site is the only public land to which Prop D applies. Importantly, the State independent nursing home ombudsman has said it’s not economically feasible to build and operate new nursing homes in San Francisco. “Without Prop D the City will complete San Francisco General Hospital’s takeover of Laguna Honda, convert Laguna to other uses, and exit the nursing home business — leaving indigent San Francisco seniors needing nursing home care with nowhere to go in San Francisco.” In 2004, the number of women residents at Laguna Honda dropped below 50% for the first time and this has continued. Since elderly women make up the majority of people who need traditional nursing home care, how can this be? Laguna Honda is being used by the Department of Public Health as a holding tank or dumping ground for “hard to place” patients in the public health system. Some are younger, vigorous, substance abusing, and with criminal backgrounds. Aging and disabled San Franciscans who truly need skilled nursing care are being displaced out-of-county for a bed, while younger patients who would do better in other settings take up spaces at Laguna Honda. State citations for resident-on-resident altercations involving harm and danger at Laguna Honda have increased every year since 2004. Women’s wards were converted to men’s wards. Long-term care wards have been converted to short-term care psychosocial rehabilitaiton wards. The needs of elderly and physically disabled people, especially women, were given low priority. State inspectors have levied more fines every year. This is a violation of the right to peace and safety for those residents who stay on at Laguna Honda, as well as a violation of the rights of those “hard to place” patients who deserve appropriate treatment, but aren’t getting it at Laguna Honda. The San Francisco Health Commission, and City officials, haven’t listened. Proposition D is only saying: Obey and enforce current laws governing skilled nursing facilities, and use Laguna Honda as the people of San Francisco were promised when they passed Prop. A in 1999. There is no land grab, there is no zoning problem; these are excuses, and a cover up. A promise to the people of San Francisco has been broken, which must be rectified. Printer Friendly Version More … |
Naomi Gray, Former Health Commissioner
Robert Neil, President, Laguna Honda Residents Council,
and 
Teresa
Palmer, MD, Geriatrician,
Laguna Honda Hospital for 15 Years, With Her Mother Berenice
Palmer
Virginia
Leishman, RN, Director of Nursing, 
René
K.A. Thomas, MD, Staff Psychiatrist, 
“Last
year we learned of two assaults by a resident on our relative’s
ward against another resident. To our knowledge, nothing
like this had ever happened in the ward in her many years there.
The perpetrator was new to the ward, able-bodied, powerfully
built, and much younger than the other residents, frail ladies
in their 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. The victim
was a gentle lady in her 70’s with cancer; she died several
months later.