i am the director of the san francisco department of public health, and i want you to think back 13 years, because that is when i began. and when i started, the very first crisis i had to deal with is what shall we do about the laguna honda hospital. it has always been known for the incredible care, the loving nurses, the fantastic physicians, the energetic volunteers, the courage of our residents, for all of the things that made the care great. but we had a problem. and the problem was the building. we were in a building that had long outlived its usefulness as a place resents to live. it was no longer consistent with any medicare or medicaid rules. we were the only facility left in the country running open wards. we were told we would not be allowed any longer by both the federal and state authorities. it was a place where, while the care was wonderful, the building did not fit any modern earthquake standards. where privacy was insufficient to support human dignity. where p
if you would take your seats for this incredibly happy occasion. i am the director of the san francisco department of public health, and i want you to think back 13 years, because that is when i began. and when i started, the very first crisis i had to deal with is what shall we do about the laguna honda hospital. it has always been known for the incredible care, the loving nurses, the fantastic physicians, the energetic volunteers, the courage of our residents, for all of the things that made the care great. but we had a problem. and the problem was the building. we were in a building that had long outlived its usefulness as a place for residents to live. it was no longer consistent with any medicare or medicaid rules. we were the only facility left in the country running open wards. we were told we would not be allowed any longer by both the federal and state authorities. it was a place where, while the care was wonderful, the building did not fit any modern earthquake stan
any medicare or medicaid rules. we were the only facility left in the country running open wards. we were told we would not be allowed any longer by both the federal and state authorities. it was a place where, while the care was wonderful, the building did not fit any modern earthquake standards. where privacy was insufficient to support human dignity. where people did not have a place to store their stuff. where people did not have a window to look out on. where we had to have wards that had closing doors because there was not that easy access to the outside. here we had a vibrant set of people residents, nurses, doctors, attendants but what we lacked was a space that was equal to them. with that, i hope all of you looking around the crowd, so many of you did to make this reality. derek parker set the vision of every room with a window. whether it is one of you who voted for this, or one of our wonderful residents who has been a volunteer here. all of you had a role i
one person whose spirit is here, but whose sisters took the time to come out here. that is his sister and his kids that are here somewhere in the crowd. there you are. thank you karen, for coming out. john was a special diet and so many ways. we would not be here had it not been for his constancy, his faith in the notion of this project and his love of every one of the residents, many of whom are here today. it is good to see you guys. and all the caregivers here, john loved. i want to take that moment and reflect on his contribution. let us also take a moment to reflect on the doctor. we are blessed. you do not want to be the best of the best. you want to be only the one who does what you do. his commitment to public health in san francisco is second to none. he has done an extraordinary job leading by example. this is a city that is doing things that no other city in the united states of america could even imagine doing, things that even when we had all the resources in the
this incredibly happy occasion. i am the director of the san francisco department of public health, and i want you to think back 13 years, because that is when i began. and when i started, the very first crisis i had to deal with is what shall we do about the laguna honda hospital. it has always been known for the incredible care, the loving nurses, the fantastic physicians, the energetic volunteers, the courage of our residents, for all of the things that made the care great. but we had a problem. and the problem was the building. we were in a building that had long outlived its usefulness as a place for residents to live. it was no longer consistent with any medicare or medicaid rules. we were the only facility left in the country running open wards. we were told we would not be allowed any longer by both the federal and state authorities. it was a place where, while the care was wonderful, the building did not fit any modern earthquake standards. where privacy was insuffic