The Grant´s father Facebook

San Francisco General Hospital Foundation will receive an historic grant of $75 million from Facebook founder and CEO Mr. Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan‘s donor advised fund at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation for San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, the City’s largest safety net provider and only trauma center. This grant is the largest single gift the Foundation has received since it was established in 1994, and is believed to be the largest single private gift from individuals to a public hospital in the United States.

This grant is the vital piece necessary to complete The General’s new acute care and trauma center.  This grant will fund critical state-of-the-art equipment and technology for the new building and will help convert the existing hospital building into an ambulatory care facility. The new acute care and trauma center will open in December 2015.  The grant builds on the earlier investment made by San Franciscans in 2008 when voters overwhelmingly approved an $887.4 million bond to begin the process of building a new facility.

Additionally, the grant will enable the Foundation to provide ongoing support to The General and to the more than 100,000 patients it serves each year.  It will also support the Foundation’s efforts to increase awareness for the key role The General plays in public health throughout the community.

«As the only trauma center in the City, The General saves lives every day, no matter who you are.  The generous grant from Mark and Priscilla will help transform The General into a state-of-the-art hospital and trauma center and enable us to better serve our patients», said Sue Currin, RN, MSN, CEO at The General. «Located in the Mission, The General also serves as a community hospital and a safety net to more than 100,000 patients annually. We provide high quality care with compassion and respect to all regardless of their ability to pay».

The new hospital will include two additional trauma rooms and three more operating rooms. The new Emergency Department will double in size from the existing one and has the capacity to more than quadruple the number of beds in the event of a major emergency.  Other enhancements for patients include 90 percent private patient rooms, 28 more intensive care beds, two additional palliative care rooms, four pediatric exam rooms and one dedicated pediatric waiting room in the Emergency Department.  The General will be the only hospital in the City with a base-isolated foundation, the most advanced seismic resistant design known today.  It will be a «green» building for reduced water and energy use, and is seeking LEED Gold Certification.  In recognition of this transformative gift, the City has begun the process of adding their names to the hospital which will be named Priscilla and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.

Today, The General remains at the forefront of health care. It became the first hospital in the country to be certified for a Traumatic Brain Injury program in 2011 and is the only Baby-Friendly certified hospital in San Francisco.  The General houses nationally recognized Centers of Excellence, including those in neurotrauma, stroke and orthopaedics and it provides groundbreaking programs that improve access and quality of care to the most vulnerable populations.  In partnership with University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, The General provides valuable training for future leaders in health care.  With the new hospital opening in December 2015, The General’s capabilities will continue to grow, serving diverse patients with some of the City’s most complex and chronic problems.