Nurses and patient families rallied against Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health's plans to close the skilled nursing and sub-acute units at California Pacific Medical Center St. Luke's campus in San Francisco, according to the Inquirer.
Citywide coalition San Franciscans for Healthcare, Housing, Jobs and Justice, which includes healthcare providers, among other members, held the rally at San Francisco City Hall.
Protestors argued the planned closure will negatively affect patients, according to the report.
"This closure hits the most vulnerable patients in San Francisco and there is no plan for them when the unit closes so we are opposed to that. This is inhumane. Where will these people go? Once again we are bringing attention to marginalizing the already marginalized. What are we going to do? These are human lives," St. Luke's Hospital emergency room nurse Jane Sandoval, a a California Nurses Association board member, asked at the rally, according to the report.
The coalition ultimately seeks to at least delay the closure, reports the Inquirer.
Sutter Health announced the planned closure of the two units in June. The closure is slated for Oct. 31, affecting 72 employees.
CPMC spokesperson Dean Fryer said in an emailed statement to Becker's Hospital Review the pending closure of the sub-acute unit at St. Luke's "was a result of negotiations between the city and CPMC that resulted, in 2013, in the development agreement for two new state-of-the-art hospitals in San Francisco."
"We will continue to provide the best possible care to our patients while we work with them and their families to secure places for them in nearby locations. And we are committed to working with other local health providers and the city to assess the community's overall sub-acute facility needs," the statement added.
Mr. Fryer said affected employees have job opportunities at other CPMC or Sutter locations.
More articles on human capital and risk:
Healthcare continues job growth trend; hospitals add 6.4k jobs in August
Midwest hospital workers to join SEIU 'Fight for $15' marches on Labor Day
Here's a way to help Texas hospital employees affected by Harvey