Though few consider the hospital a Jewish institution anymore, many still feel a deep sense of attachment to the facility founded by Jews in the 19th century. Many Russian Jewish emigres receive medical care there. The hospital also serves as a site for vocational programs training emigres.
“The direct relationship is not what it once was, but it is near and dear to many people’s hearts,” said Gia Daniller, director of government relations at the Jewish Community Relations Council.
The JCRC has received several calls of concern since news of a projected $60 million loss at UCSF-Stanford Health Care hit the airwaves. Mount Zion became part of UCSF-Stanford Health Care, a private nonprofit, in 1997.
Facing its losses, UCSF-Stanford is looking at several options to stay afloat. Mount Zion, they say, accounts for $56 million of the projected $60 million deficit for UCSF-Stanford. Cost-cutting proposals include closing Mount Zion’s emergency room and hospital beds and moving its patients to the UCSF Medical Center on Parnassus Avenue.
Other possibilities include closing the emergency room and maintaining a few hospital beds for stays of less than three days or transferring some medical services to Mount Zion from the Parnassus campus, which would provide room there for other programs. Amid the changes, jobs are likely to be lost.
The UCSF-Stanford board will likely vote on the options at a July 23 meeting. “There is concern that no hasty decisions be made,” Daniller said.
Ann Lazarus, chief executive officer of the nonprofit grant-making organization Mount Zion Health Fund, echoed the thought. “We’re saying, ‘Please slow down. Give some of these factors a chance to develop. Let’s work hard to come up with a vision and plan for Mount Zion that makes sense.'”
Like the JCRC, Lazarus has received calls from concerned members of the Jewish community. They want to know what they can do to save Mount Zion, which merged with UCSF in 1990 and still receives its share of Jewish philanthropic dollars.
The problem, Lazarus said, is that “it’s hard to argue with the economics being put forward. People are arguing it on a moral stance: ‘It’s been around for 113 years. It serves the community. It has a special role.'”
It was in 1887 that 43 Jewish citizens met and began planning a San Francisco Jewish hospital. Though the hospital would be supported financially by the Jewish community, it was dedicated to treating anyone without regard to race, creed or ability to pay.
The intention to create a Jewish atmosphere, complete with a full-time rabbi and kosher kitchen, distinguished Mount Zion from other hospitals of the day. In addition, Jewish doctors needed a place to practice, since discrimination often made their professional lives difficult.
Community members will have several opportunities to make their opinions on Mount Zion’s future known.
*6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Neighbors, patients and community leaders will hold hands to form a human chain around Mount Zion at 1600 Divisadero St., S.F.
*7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday. A community hearing on the possible closure of the hospital will be held in Herbst Hall on the second floor of Mount Zion.
*1 p.m. Wednesday. A University of California Regents Health Services Committee meeting will include a public comment period. It will take place at 3333 California St. (at Presidio), in S.F.
*10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, July 16. State Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) will chair a Senate Oversight Committee hearing at 455 Golden Gate Ave., Room B-100, S.F.