A Jack in the Box restaurant in San Francisco’s Union Square neighborhood has been ordered by a San Francisco Superior Court judge to fix its faulty plumbing, which for several months last year leaked water and feces onto Biscuits and Blues, the old-school music venue below it that has remained closed for almost a year.

The order is part of a temporary injunction issued by the court on Monday. It comes roughly 10 months after the building at Geary and Mason streets began to have plumbing issues. According to the filing, Jack in the Box “must stop any leaks from the refrigerators and freezers up to and including unplugging the appliances.” It goes on to say Biscuits and Blues “continues to suffer irreparable harm” while the 24-hour burger joint operates.

The order does not specifically state which repairs need to be made or whether Jack in the Box will be forced to temporarily close.

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“I’m more excited now about what’s happening than I have been in a while,” said Steven Suen, owner of Biscuits and Blues. “I feel like this could be the official start of our countdown to when we’re finally back in business.”

Biscuits and Blues, which closed last April, opened in 1995 and is one of the oldest blues bar and restaurants in San Francisco, where the number of similar venues has been shrinking. What first drove the Jack in the Box location and Biscuits and Blues to court was a disagreement about who would pay to fix the plumbing. Biscuits and Blues said it was Jack in the Box’s responsibility. The fast-food restaurant owner said it was the duty of the landlord, and the landlord said the Jack in the Box operator should pay for the work.

Jack in the Box Inc., which does not own the restaurant but was later added to the lawsuit as a defendant, and the legal representatives for the San Francisco franchisee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

As the court battle raged, Suen said Biscuits and Blues teetered on the brink of a permanent closure. Over nine months, Suen said he has canceled more than 100 shows. He said all 16 of his employees have left to find other work. In late 2019, Suen said he was losing as much as $250,000 each month.

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Biscuits and Blues owner Steven Suen inspects the damage to his ceiling and nightclub in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019 caused by flooding from the restaurant above. The Biscuit and Blues nightclub has remained closed since April 4 when a sewage line from the Jack in the Box restaurant on the floor above cracked, sending waste water raining down from the ceiling of the club.Paul Chinn / The Chronicle 2019

But simply fixing the plumbing and changing appliances as the injunction orders won’t address all of the building’s issues, according to Gordon J. Calhoun, who represents the franchisee of Union Square’s Jack in the Box, Saeed Khan. During a Jan. 29 court hearing, Calhoun said the plumbing in the building was more than 20 years old and repairing it would require structural work on the building’s foundation, which would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take roughly two years to complete.

But according to a Jan. 28 letter from Tony Sanchez-Corea, a local building inspector who reviewed the property at the request of Biscuits and Blues, the damage at the location “is fairly minor in nature and could not reach a level requiring a seismic or foundation upgrade.”

Alexander Hamilton of the Versant Law Group, a representative for Meiyan Enterprises Inc., the landlord of the property that houses both Jack in the Box and Biscuits and Blues, said during the Jan. 29 hearing that he wanted to see “both tenants able to operate and remain in place.”

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Despite the doors being closed to Biscuits and Blues, Suen said he spends his time functioning as though the business were to reopen tomorrow. He was scouting blues talent in Memphis during Super Bowl weekend. Later this year, he plans to attend a blues music awards show for the same reason. He’s also working on upgrading the payment system at the bar and restaurant.

Since music venue mainstays in the city like Bissap Baobab, Elbo Room and Hemlock Tavern are either closing, moving or being sold, the local blues community has rallied to support Biscuit and Blues. Roughly 20 people have attended each court hearing for the business over the past nine months.

Chris Siebert, a piano player and bandleader for Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, performed regularly at Biscuits and Blues for 25 years until it closed. Both Siebert and Smith sat in the audience at the Jan. 29 hearing.

“It’s just incredibly frustrating to see what has been happening. There’s just so many people that care about this place,” Siebert said while leaving the hearing. “You’ve been seeing honest, hardworking people being stonewalled by a big corporation.”

Biscuits and Blues owner Steven Suen views the damage to his nightclub in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019 caused by flooding from the restaurant above. The Biscuit and Blues nightclub has remained closed since April 4 when a sewage line from the Jack in the Box restaurant on the floor above cracked, sending waste water raining down from the ceiling of the club.Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

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The post As SF blues venue Biscuits and Blues’ closure drags on, court docket steps in appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

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Caltrans has scheduled a full day closure of the San Francisco Bay Trail near Cordilleras Creek Bridge in Redwood City starting at 7 a.m. on Monday.

The one-day bike path closure will allow our contractors to do work pertaining to the Cordilleras Creek Bridge Replacement Project.

The Bay Trail Bike Path closure will be in place starting at the entrance of Blair Island Road and ending at entrance of Twin Dolphins Drive in San Carlos, during the hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For 24/7 traffic updates, visit 511.org: https://twitter.com/511SFBay.

For real-time traffic, visit Caltrans QuickMap at http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/

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The post Full day closure coming for San Francisco Bay Path in Redwood Metropolis – Instances Herald On-line appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

“60% Off” sale signs posted at Handyman’s San Diego home improvement stores are likely to be replaced with “store closed” signs after an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting Thursday in St. Louis.

Shareholders are expected to approve a board proposal to liquidate the company, a move that would take Handyman’s stock value to an estimated $47.11. Just three months ago, the stock was trading at $22 a share.

Board members proposed liquidation, which should be completed by the end of the year to take advantage of tax breaks, as Handyman, while profitable, was unable to keep up with “significant changes” in the highly competitive home improvement industry.

Despite a $17.3 million store modernization program, increasing competition has “adversely impacted the performance of existing stores,” according to a Handyman proxy sent to shareholders late last month.

Handyman considered strengthening its market presence by acquiring additional stores, but “the result would have been the prices charged for desirable locations…”. . . poor return on investment,” the commissioner said.

Rather than continue the battle against better-funded competitors, Handyman board members decided in September that shareholders would be better served by going into liquidation.

The sale of the assets will generate gross sales of $224 million and shareholders will earn $121.5 million — or $47.11 per share — according to proxies.

The liquidation plan provides for the creation of a liquidating trust to oversee the sale of the assets. The Trust also ensures that shareholders benefit from favorable tax provisions that will be eliminated as a result of federal tax reform on January 1st.

However, some Handyman stores will likely remain open after the board meeting.

Handyman Vice President Steven M. Babin and retired Vice President Norman Fox are reportedly continuing to negotiate the purchase of some Handyman stores. Fox and Handyman declined to comment on those talks Monday.

Handyman President Harvey W. Rosen’s bid to buy several stores fell through because he was unable to obtain financing, the commissioner said.

Handyman’s retail space and leases are being acquired by competitors and other types of retail businesses. For example, Handyman sold seven of its Northern California retail stores to Circuit City in late November. The home appliance and electronics retail chain also negotiated the acquisition of three additional Handyman locations.

Though Handyman will no longer exist as a public company if shareholders approve the liquidation Thursday, it could take up to three years to complete the sale of the assets.

Handyman, which operates 53 retail stores, four distribution centers and an administrative office in San Diego, was incorporated in June 1985. Prior to the IPO, Handyman was a wholly owned subsidiary of Edison Brothers, a St. Louis-based retail company. The first store opened in 1962.

The post Shareholders Prone to OK Closure at Handyman appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO — Last year, with pandemic lockdowns in its rearview mirror, Whole Foods Market made a bet on a grim San Francisco neighborhood. The high-end supermarket chain opened a massive flagship store in a part of the city that’s home to both tech companies like Twitter and open-air drug stores.

But the business soon found itself head-on with many of the problems that plagued the area. People threatened employees with guns, knives and sticks. According to records of 568 emergency calls over 13 months, many of which showed scenes of chaos, they threw food, screamed, fought and tried to defecate on the ground.

“Man with machete is back,” says the report of an emergency call. “Another guard just got attacked,” says another. A man with a 4-inch knife attacked several security guards and then sprayed store employees with foam from a fire extinguisher, according to a third party.

In September, a 30-year-old man died in the bathroom from an overdose of fentanyl, a potent opioid, and methamphetamine.

When Whole Foods announced in mid-April that it was closing the store citing the safety of its employees, many in San Francisco saw it as some of the city’s most persistent problems: property crimes like shoplifting and car break-ins, an entrenched network of dealers selling fentanyl and other illegal drugs Selling drugs and people suffering from untreated mental illnesses roaming the streets.

The closure also appeared to be the latest indicator of San Francisco’s faltering economic outlook, and provided more material for an ongoing debate about where the city is headed after tying its fate to the tech industry. The Whole Foods was intended to cater to technicians and other professionals, part of a long-term downtown redevelopment plan. But the business fell victim to a crushing downtown decline that began with the pandemic and could last for years as companies vacate offices to work remotely.

In a city famous for its boom-and-bust cycles, San Francisco’s ongoing slump has residents in a bad mood, angry at city leaders and waiting for the spark of revival. Now, largely because the tech industry has so fully embraced work-from-home, activity in downtown San Francisco remains at about a third of pre-pandemic levels — according to a new study that used cellphone data as a, lower than in about 50 other major cities a measure.

“This is going to be a very slow recovery,” Effi Shoua said this month from behind his desk at the downtown art gallery he owns in Union Square. The area is a prime spot for tourists who are steadily returning to the city, a bright spot and a contrast to the 26 percent vacancy rate for downtown offices.

Many merchants fear a domino effect of business failures, with office workers being permanently absent for about half the week, while people using drugs, experiencing mental health crises or living on the streets remain more visible than ever.

The impact on the city’s budget is also significant: the office industry accounts for almost three quarters of the city’s gross domestic product. After years of surpluses, the government now projects a deficit of $780 million over the next two fiscal years — a roughly 6 percent cut in its general fund, according to the mayor’s office.

City officials say they are looking at ways to diversify the economy and reduce homelessness and drug trafficking. They realize that some of the largest local employers, Big Tech companies, aren’t going to pull San Francisco out of its economic shoals. Twitter, Google, Facebook and Salesforce, all of which have offices in the city, have laid off thousands of workers.

San Francisco executives point out that the city has continued to bounce back, even after the near-collapse of the tech industry in 2000 and the national recession some eight years later.

“We’ve been tallied before and there have been others who have tried to imply it’s over because things aren’t happening as quickly or as they think it’s over,” said London Breed, the city’s mayor in an interview.

In the famously liberal city, where Republicans make up just 7 percent of voters, moderate Democrats like Mayor Breed are calling for aggressive moves to address public safety concerns, while progressive voices denounce law-and-order strategies as knee-jerk responses that trample on the weak .

City guides face some limitations. A federal judge ruled in April that San Francisco can’t evict the homeless from public spaces because it hasn’t done enough to provide shelter. Mayor Breed supports bills in the state legislature that would make it easier to coerce people with mental illness into treatment. The mayor has also proposed tackling homelessness through more building: cutting the construction permitting process with a goal of building 83,000 additional homes — a 20 percent increase over the city’s current total housing stock — in eight years.

Though downtown is littered with “For Rent” signs, the city’s unemployment rate is below 3 percent, and the mayor and other officials say the engineering talent pool remains the city’s greatest asset. And San Francisco has a lot more to offer than downtown. It’s always been a constellation of very diverse neighborhoods, some with very few of the social ills that plague the area near the closed Whole Foods.

Officials add that downtown could eventually become more resilient as it attracts industries like life sciences and biotechnology whose employees still need workspaces. The tech industry is also growing: the development of artificial intelligence, which promises to change the way people live and work, is concentrated in San Francisco.

Garry Tan, president of Y Combinator, a well-known venture capital firm, says he sees signs of renewal in San Francisco. “It’s always the gold rush,” he said.

Mr. Tan belongs to a generation of tech workers who are more confident in their demands of city officials and unafraid to take sides in the city’s murderous politics and fund organizations that are pushing for a greater emphasis on public safety.

“Now the narrative is out there for some of the founders in our community, I’m not sure I feel safe here. I’m not sure if I want to stay here. The quality of life issues are the issue. Can I start a family here?”

In early April, some tech leaders took the fatal stabbing downtown of Bob Lee, a prominent industry leader, as an alarming sign that downtown was unsafe. But an acquaintance was later charged, and San Francisco’s murder rate is quite low compared to other major cities. Overall, police statistics show fewer property and violent crimes in 2022 than in 2018, before the pandemic began.

Still, Bill Scott, the city’s police chief, says many residents complain that they feel less safe, and outdoor drug use, much of which is tied to fentanyl, is a major contributor.

Matt Dorsey, a board member who lives steps from the closed Whole Foods, said the recent election signaled a shift in voter priorities. He pointed to last year’s dismissal of progressive district attorney Chesa Boudin, who was replaced by a prosecutor who promised to crack down on crime.

“San Francisco is in the midst of a voter revolt over public safety,” said Mr. Dorsey. In a poll conducted by the San Francisco Chronicle in September, nearly two-thirds of respondents said life in the city is worse than when they first moved here.

New district attorney Brooke Jenkins has started prosecuting more drug-related offenses than Mr. Boudin, but the city saw a 40 percent increase in fatal drug overdoses in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. Citing those statistics, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday authorized an anti-narcotics task force in San Francisco that will include members of the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol Police.

The mayor and police chief have promised to hire hundreds of additional officers, which would expand the force by more than a quarter, a difficult feat when law enforcement agencies across the country are facing bottlenecks.

Not everyone is on board.

Dean Preston, a board member who was re-elected on a Democratic-Socialist platform in 2020, opposes an increase in police staffing and says calls for more public safety are overblown.

“There has been a massive propaganda effort to change public opinion about policing and public safety,” he said.

Mr. Preston uses his district as an example of how uneven the pandemic recovery has been. Some areas like Japantown and Haight Ashbury are thriving, he said. Others, like the Tenderloin, which sits next door to the closed Whole Foods, are riddled with drug dealing and homelessness.

One of the next big tests for downtown could be the expected opening of an Ikea store this summer not far from the Whole Foods location.

Police described theft as rampant at Whole Foods, with thieves walking away with an armful of alcohol, at least initially. After 250 shopping baskets were stolen, the company refilled 50 more. Those are gone too.

According to official reports, at least 14 people have been arrested in the 13 months that the store has been in operation, on charges including theft and assault. Chief Scott said plainclothes officers were sent there and security has been improved over time, but apparently not enough for the company.

On a recent chilly night across from the closed store, Joseph Peterson, a former construction worker who lost both legs to diabetes and is homeless, rolled down the sidewalk in his wheelchair. Mr. Peterson was able to see the 2,000-unit Trinity Apartments, the high-end complex that Whole Foods had hoped would become its client base. Across the street, security guards were standing outside the Orpheum Theater, where Pretty Woman: The Musical was playing. A few dozen steps away, vendors sold fentanyl and crystal meth.

Mr Peterson said he understood why Whole Foods closed the store.

“People kept stealing from it,” he said. He, too, has taken macaroni and cheese and chicken from the warm snack bar several times, he said. But he made a difference. Other people stole from the store because they wanted to resell what they had taken.

“I only stole mine to eat,” he said.

Alain Delaquérière, Susan C. Beachy, and Kitty Bennett contributed to the research.

The post San Francisco Entire Meals Closure Displays Metropolis’s Economic system and Crime Woes appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

He visited the facility to observe some of the areas that Laguna Honda needs to bring up to speed in order to be recertified, such as:

Reporters weren’t allowed on the tour, but Becerra said he spoke to nurses and patients, who told him they hoped he’d protect Laguna Honda.

“Most of them were like, ‘Help us keep Laguna Honda open,'” Becerra said. “A facility like this is vital to a community and a facility like this understands that it needs to meet standards so anyone who needs to send their loved ones here can know they are getting the health and safety we would all expect , is guaranteed.”

It has been a year of constant uncertainty and crisis for staff and patients at Laguna Honda. In 2022, federal authorities withdrew the hospital’s certification after it was found to be non-compliant on a number of safety issues, including drug storage, hygiene practices and the use of a lighter near an oxygen tank.

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra during a press conference at HHS headquarters June 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Despite objections from hospital and city leaders, regulators ordered the hospital remove as many patients as possible from the hospital while staff work toward regaining certification.

Regulators suspended their initial transfer requirement in July 2022 after some of the 57 patients originally transferred from the hospital reportedly died. In all, the deaths of 12 former patients were confirmed, almost all of whom had been transferred to other qualified care facilities in the past year.

Becerra’s tour comes months after local and national leaders, including Mayor London Breed and Senator Diane Feinstein, called on Becerra to stop the involuntary transfer of patients from the hospital, which previously housed more than 700 patients and is now less than has 600 patients.

Laguna Honda is still a licensed care facility. But losing certification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which Becerra oversees, would mean removing the 156-year-old hospital from federally-subsidized health plans that the vast majority of Laguna Honda patients rely on.

The hospital is now working toward recertification, and CMS has agreed to continue Medicare and Medi-Cal payments through November. And all involuntary transfers will be suspended until at least May.

Becerra, who previously served as California Attorney General, toured the facility with Mayor London Breed, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Gahlay, San Francisco Attorney David Chiu, San Francisco Department of Health Director Grant Colfax, and interim CEO of Laguna Honda Roland Pickens.

The post Well being Secretary Xavier Becerra Visits San Francisco Hospital Combating Off Closure appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — The city of San Francisco announced Thursday that it is suing the federal government over its decision to stop funding Laguna Honda Hospital and force the nursing home to move all patients out of the facility by September. 13.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday against the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Minister Xavier Becerra. It is alleged that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), operating under HHS, have forced the city to implement an unworkable closure and patient transfer plan that is putting them at risk and denying the city’s due process.

In April, CMS terminated Laguna Honda’s participation in its Medicare/Medicaid programs after the hospital was found to be non-compliant with multiple safety inspections, including finding contraband items such as drug paraphernalia on site and failing to comply with hand hygiene, documentation, and infection prevention protocols.

Laguna Honda Hospital

CBS

As a result of the decertification, the hospital lost federal funds that funded more than two-thirds of its services to nearly 700 patients with complex medical needs and low incomes.

The federal government also ordered the facility to reduce its patient population, and the hospital transferred several dozen patients over 10 weeks. At least four patients reportedly died within days of being relocated, including three who were taken to homeless shelters. A total of nine patients died within days or weeks of being transferred or discharged, according to prosecutor David Chiu.

Laguna Honda last week halted referrals for the remaining 600 patients following the deaths.

The complaint alleges that CMS set an arbitrary deadline for patient transfers to September 13 and is asking that it be closed before the city’s appeals can be decided, which could render the transfers unnecessary.

In a press release, Chiu said a second class action lawsuit against the state of California and the federal government, filed by former prosecutor Louise Renne, alleges the closure and transfer process violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and denies patients and their families a proper due Procedure .

“The federal government has placed Laguna Honda and our city in an impossible situation,” Chiu said in a prepared statement. “As the last safety net for many of our most vulnerable San Franciscans, Laguna Honda serves a need too critical to be shut down by an arbitrary, bureaucratic decision. The city has been forced into an unworkable plan of closure and relocation that has done far more harm than good.”

The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief to overturn the September 13 deadline and extend federal funding to Laguna Honda at least until appeals can be decided and all patients can be safely transferred or discharged.

“We are working hard to address issues that have been raised at Laguna Honda and this important work continues,” Mayor London Breed said in a prepared statement. “But closing this facility and forcing residents and families to endure the trauma of transfers should not be part of this process. This facility provides care and support to some of the most vulnerable people in our city, and that support must continue to keep them healthy and safe.”

“For over 150 years, the San Franciscos have relied on Laguna Honda to provide critical care to our most vulnerable,” Renne said in a prepared statement. “We simply cannot allow Laguna Honda to close. The actions of CMS and the California Department of Health and Human Services are illegal, unnecessary and cruel.

Theresa Rutherford, the President-elect of SEIU 1021 and longtime Board Certified Nursing Assistant at Laguna Honda Hospital, released the following statement in response to the lawsuits announcement:

“Laguna Honda Hospital is more than just a hospital, it is a long-term home for many. Keeping patients at Laguna Honda, where they will have one of the most unique and comprehensive care services in this country, must be a priority for us as a community and for elected officials at all levels. We support patients and families campaigning to stop the closure because we know it will save lives.

We understand how stressful and scary the past few months have been for staff and patients alike. Transfer trauma is a real danger to the people we serve, which is why our union is doing everything it can to get Laguna Honda Hospital recertified. We encourage community members to join us by contacting their elected leaders at all levels and asking them to join us.”

In May, Sen. Dianne Feinstein wrote a letter to Becerra asking that CMS’s decision to end Laguna Honda’s participation in its programs and force the relocation of its vulnerable patients be reversed.

“Unless CMS reverses its decision, these patients would be put at risk again if they were transferred to other facilities,” Feinstein said in a statement last month. “This is of particular concern after reports of some patients being sent to homeless shelters that were ill-equipped to provide the necessary medical services.”

The hospital remains open and licensed as it continues to work to rejoin federal programs.

The post San Francisco sues federal authorities over Laguna Honda hospital closure following affected person deaths appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Update, 5pm Wednesday, Oct. 12: Federal regulators have reached an agreement with California and San Francisco health officials to continue funding the Laguna Honda Hospital & Rehabilitation Center until November of next year. The agreement, announced Wednesday, comes after the San Francisco city attorney filed a lawsuit in August against the federal government for its closure plan for the facility, claiming it was an “unworkable” plan that “denied due process” and put the facility’s 600- plus patients at risk.

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu agreed to drop his lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services after it allowed the facility to receive funding through Nov. 13, 2023, and agreed to halt relocation proceedings until next February.

Officials on the local, state and federal levels released a joint statement following the agreement, saying they are committed to ensuring people in nursing homes “are receiving safe, high-quality services and support.”

“We are all focused on resident wellbeing while Laguna Honda continues to provide critically needed health care services for hundreds of residents,” the statement said.

Laguna Honda agreed to meet requirements set to improve health and safety conditions at the facility, and may be able to reapply for federal funding in the future. The deadline for transfers and discharges of residents could possibly be extended if the facility meets its obligations, according to the agreement.

Original story, 5:30pm Aug 4: San Francisco officials said Thursday they have filed a lawsuit against the federal government over its decision to cut funding to a nursing home run by the city and the tight deadline it set to move all patients out of the facility that state and federal officials deemed was providing “Sub standard care.”

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said the order by the federal government to transfer or discharge all patients out of Laguna Honda Hospital by Sept. 13 has denied the city due process and put patients at risk. He said at least nine patients have died days or weeks after being transferred or discharged and that at least three ended up in homeless shelters.

“We’re asking the federal government to exert compassion and common sense,” Chiu said during a Thursday press conference. “Between the huge shortage of skilled nursing facility beds, we see potentially very negative consequences” if the facility closes. “Individuals will become homeless. These people have nowhere to go.”

The post San Francisco Sues Feds Over Pressured Closure of Laguna Honda Hospital appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Last week, federal regulators agreed to pause the transfers after several patients died within days or weeks of being moved from the hospital and rehabilitation center but the deadline to shut down the hospital remains.

Speaking at the press conference, Renne urged CMS to “come to your senses.”

“How much longer are we going to keep this up before more deaths occur?” Renne said.

CMS terminated its payments to Laguna Honda in April after two patients had nonfatal overdoses at the facility in 2021, and inspectors with the California Department of Public Health declared it to be “in a state of substandard care.”

The federal agency, which pays for care for the majority of the nursing home’s 700 patients, also ordered the facility to start discharging or transferring its patients ahead of a mid-September mandated closure.

Founded in 1866, the sprawling facility serves people who need long-term care but who can’t afford private nursing homes. Many of the patients have dementia, drug addiction and other complex medical needs.

City officials say patients and their families are the ones suffering the most because of the forced closure. Debra Bauer spoke Thursday about how the facility has helped her son, who has a traumatic brain injury, and has been a resident at the hospital for about 20 years.

“My son feels safe there, I don’t want that taken away from him,” she said. “I don’t want it taken away from him or any of the other residents that I see and we wave to in the hallways.”

The post San Francisco Sues Feds Over Pressured Closure of Laguna Honda Hospital appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — The city of San Francisco announced Thursday that it’s suing the federal government over its decision to cut off funding to Laguna Honda Hospital and the order forcing the nursing home to transfer all patients out of the facility by Sept. 13.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday against the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Xavier Becerra. It alleges that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which operates under HHS, forced the City to implement an unworkable closure and patient transfer plan that put them at risk and denies the City due process.

In April, CMS terminated Laguna Honda’s participation in its Medicare/Medicaid programs after the hospital was found out of compliance on multiple safety inspections, including finding contraband like drug paraphernalia on site, and failure to adhere to hand hygiene, documentation and infection prevention protocols.

Laguna Honda Hospital

CBS

As a result of being decertified, the hospital lost federal funding that financed more than two-thirds of its services for nearly 700 patients with complex medical needs and low incomes.

The federal government also directed the facility to wind down its patient population, and the hospital transferred several dozen patients over 10 weeks. At least four patients were reportedly dead within a few days after their relocation, including three that were sent to homeless shelters. A total of nine patients died within days or weeks after transfer or discharge, according to City Attorney David Chiu.

Last week, Laguna Honda maintained transfers for its remaining 600 patients following the deaths.

The complaint alleges the CMS imposed an arbitrary Sept. 13 deadline for patient transfers and required it to close before the city’s appeals could be decided, which might make the transfers unnecessary.

In a press release, Chiu said a second-class-action lawsuit against both the State of California and the federal government filed by former City Attorney Louise Renne alleges the closure and transfer process violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and denies patients and their families due process .

“The federal government has put Laguna Honda and our City in an impossible situation,” said Chiu in a prepared statement. “As the final safety net for many of our most vulnerable San Franciscans, Laguna Honda serves too critical a need to be closed due to an arbitrary, bureaucratic decision. The City has been forced into an unworkable closure and transfer plan that has done far more harm than good.”

The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to eliminate the Sept. 13 deadline and extend federal funding to Laguna Honda at least until the appeals can be decided and all patients can be safely transferred or discharged.

“We are working hard to address issues that have been raised at Laguna Honda, and that important work will continue,” said Mayor London Breed in a prepared statement. “But closing this facility and forcing residents and families to go through the trauma of transfers should not be part of that process. This facility provides care and support for some of the most vulnerable people in our city, and that support must continue to keep them healthy and safe.”

“For over 150 years, San Franciscans have relied on Laguna Honda to provide critical care to our most vulnerable,” Renne said in a prepared statement. “We simply cannot allow Laguna Honda to close. The actions of CMS and the California Department of Health are illegal, unnecessary, and cruel.

Theresa Rutherford, the President-Elect of the SEIU 1021 and a longtime certified nursing assistant at Laguna Honda Hospital, released the following statement in response to the announcement of the lawsuits:

“Laguna Honda Hospital is more than just a hospital, it is a long-term home for many. Keeping patients at Laguna Honda, where they are provided some of the most unique and comprehensive care available in this country, must be a priority for our community and for elected officials at all levels.We support patients and families who are advocating to help stop the closure because we know it will save lives.

We understand how stressful and scary the last few months have been for workers and patients alike. Transfer trauma is a real danger for the people we care for, which is why our union is doing everything we can to get Laguna Honda Hospital recertified. We encourage community members to join us by contacting their elected leaders at all levels and asking them to stand with us.”

In May, Sen. Dianne Feinstein wrote a letter to Becerra asking to reverse the CMS decision to terminate Laguna Honda’s participation in its programs and force the relocation of its vulnerable patients.

“If CMS does not reverse its decision, these patients would again be put at risk as they’re transferred to other facilities,” Feinstein said in a statement last month. “This is particularly concerning after some patients were reportedly sent to homeless shelters ill-equipped to provide the necessary medical services.”

The hospital remains open and licensed as it continues to work on rejoining the federal programs.

The post San Francisco sues federal authorities over Laguna Honda hospital closure following affected person deaths appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco officials said Thursday they have filed a lawsuit against the federal government over its decision to cut funding to a nursing home run by the city and the tight deadline it set to move all patients out of the facility that state and federal officials deemed was providing “substandard care.”

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said the order by the federal government to transfer or discharge all patients out of Laguna Honda Hospital by Sept. 13 has denied the city due process and put patients at risk. He said at least nine patients have died days or weeks after being transferred or discharged and at least three ended up in homeless shelters.

“We’re asking the federal government to exert compassion and common sense,” Chiu said. “Between the huge shortage of skilled nursing facility beds, we see potentially very negative consequences” if the facility closes. “Individuals will become homeless. These people have nowhere to go.”

The city’s lawsuit filed Wednesday against the US Department of Health and Human Services and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra alleges the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, imposed an arbitrary closure, requiring the facility to shut down before San Francisco’s administrative appeals can be decided.

Former City Attorney Louise Renne also filed a class action lawsuit against the state and federal government on behalf of Laguna Honda patients and families.

Last week, federal regulators agreed to pause the transfers after several patients died within days or weeks of being moved from the hospital and rehabilitation center but the deadline to shut down the hospital remains.

CMS terminated its payments to Laguna Honda in April after two patients had nonfatal overdoses at the facility in 2021, and inspectors with the California Department of Public Health declared it to be “in a state of substandard care.”

The federal agency, which pays for care for the majority of the nursing home’s 700 patients, also ordered the facility to start discharging or transferring its patients ahead of a mid-September mandated closure.

Founded in 1866, the sprawling facility serves people who need long-term care but can’t afford private nursing homes. Many of the patients have dementia, drug addiction and other complex medical needs.

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