Dear Colleagues, 

Today, UCSF Health is announcing that we have signed an agreement with Dignity Health to acquire Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center, along with associated outpatient clinics. We hope to complete the transaction by spring 2024, at which time Saint Francis and St. Mary’s will become part of UCSF Health.

Building on our history of collaboration—and bringing together the community-based medicine these hospitals provide with the complex care UCSF Health is known for—is an opportunity to build a more equitable, accessible system of care for all patients in our community, regardless of their ability to pay.

What This Means for UCSF  

Since I arrived at UCSF two years ago, I have heard from our clinicians that we are challenged by too much patient demand, too little space and too little capacity to see patients in the manner we know we can—and should. This acquisition is a major step in addressing these challenges by enabling us to take care of more patients by bringing additional emergency departments, hospital beds, operating rooms, clinical rooms and vital, complementary services to the UCSF Health system.

This acquisition will give us the capacity to support the continued growth of our faculty practice across all clinical departments, supporting tertiary and quaternary excellence and the overall health of our communities to achieve the goals of our Vision 2025 strategic plan. Increasing staffing and resources at Saint Francis and St. Mary’s will enable more patients to access primary and secondary care at those hospitals, allowing us to care for more patients with complex medical needs.

The acquisition will also let us extend our educational and clinical research platforms over time. After initial operational transition and stabilization, we will collaborate with academic leaders from across UCSF to work with our new colleagues to develop a multi-year plan to accomplish our goals.

Connecting both hospitals’ community-based care with the clinical excellence of UCSF Health’s academic medical center will help enhance already strong patient outcomes, quality and safety. We are committed to collaborating with our new colleagues over the first few years to ensure that we can create a seamless health care system for our patients, providers and staff.

What This Means for Saint Francis and St. Mary’s

UCSF Health has committed to maintaining Saint Francis and St. Mary’s existing services. We’ve also committed to retaining the workforce of both hospitals, and we’re excited to welcome these dedicated teammates. The hospitals will keep their open medical staff models, preserving patient-provider relationships and supporting San Francisco’s diverse medical community.

In recognition of their long history of caring for San Franciscans and deep roots in the community, and as the newest addition to our health system, the two hospitals’ new names will be UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital and UCSF Health St. Mary’s Hospital when they join UCSF Health.

Shelby Decosta, president of the UCSF Health Affiliates Network, will have executive oversight over the two hospitals and will lead a dedicated management team that will focus on this new community hospital division at UCSF Health.

What Happens Next 

Today, teams across UCSF Health are hard at work planning for a safe transition on Day 1, led by Chief Network Integration Officer Karen Kemby. After Day 1, UCSF Health will embark on a thoughtful, people-centered approach to a multi-year integration process, prioritizing patients and their care experience while minimizing disruption for providers and staff. Ultimately, we will create a seamless health care experience for everyone at UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital and UCSF Health St. Mary’s Hospital.

Read the press release in our newsroom or visit ucsfhealth.org/communityhospitals to learn more. 

Thank you for your ongoing support of our shared commitment to advancing the health of our community. 

Suresh Gunasekaran 
President and CEO 
UCSF Health