State budget allocation will let Chinese Hospital bring more care beds to SF

San Francisco’s only independent hospital is getting a boost from the state to improve the Bay Area’s access to care for patients who require special medical equipment, supplies and treatment.

Assemblyman Phil Ting , who will reach his term limit later this year, announced Friday that $5 million had been allocated from the 2023-24 state budget to Chinese Hospital to construct a 23-bed subacute-care unit.

People needing subacute care typically suffer from illnesses, injuries or diseases that don’t require hospitalization. However, they still require around-the-clock care and supervision from a dedicated team of doctors, nurses and health-care experts. Their needs can include feeding tubes or ventilators.

With high operating costs and low Medicare and Medi-Cal reimbursement rates, Ting’s office said many facilities must close. The City currently has no subacute beds available for patients in its public health system.

St. Luke’s Hospital in the Mission district operated the last unit of this kind in San Francisco before Sutter Health’s California Pacific Medical Center opted to close it at the end of 2017. The closest facility is located in Daly City at Seton Hospital.

Chinese Hospital opened in 1899 in San Francisco and will celebrate its 125th anniversary on May 9. The hospital’s unit is expected to open one year from now, pending licensing by the California Department of Healthcare Services after construction is completed. While the hospital will provide culturally competent care, the beds will be available for needy patients.

Ting noted that The City needs far more than 23 subacute beds to comfortably meet its demand. He said he hoped the new beds would make health-care providers see the necessity of this service and reconsider coming back to San Francisco to offer it.

“It’s a terrible situation for San Francisco to be in,” he said in a release. “Demand for these beds is escalating, and we have nothing to offer. Families are forced to turn to other parts of the state. They shouldn’t have to travel great distances to visit their loved ones.”

“We must fill this gap in services, especially when it impacts vulnerable people who have limited resources and rely on the government to provide care,” he said.

Ting and hospital management have been working to improve the Bay Area’s access to subacute-care services for almost two years. In October 2022, the hospital received a $5 million state budget appropriation to upgrade its infrastructure for the wing. That funding allowed the hospital to update and modernize infrastructure on its second floor, where the facility plans to place its unit.

Friday’s influx of cash will allow Chinese Hospital to build the unit. Support and services will include post-surgical care, wound care, pain management, and cardiac care.

In a statement, Dr. Jian Zhang, CEO of Chinese Hospital, said, “The combined $10 million in state funding enables Chinese Hospital to establish the only hospital-based sub-acute care unit in San Francisco, addressing urgent needs in our wider community.”

Ting’s office said local families requiring subacute care often have to look outside city limits, which makes routine visits difficult. It can take months for a family to find a facility that can take in their loved one, as the lack of subacute beds is a problem at the state and national level.

Ru Sen Zhao, an elderly Chinatown resident, said he would like to pay daily visits to his son, who is being cared for at a facility in Daly City. However, he currently relies on public transportation to make the journey.

“I am getting older,” he said. “If my son can transfer to Chinese Hospital, that would be great for my family.”