When the pandemic hit, almost overnight staggering number of ZSFG patients lost jobs, housing, and access to social safety-net programs that kept them safe and healthy. In response to this crisis, Dr. Misa Perron-Burdick, Medical Director of the Women’s Health Center at ZSFG, launched the Patient Pantry to give families another place to find support.

This initiative was initially designed to provide pregnant patients and parents with basic necessities, either after a clinic visit or delivered to their home. The pantry provides families with necessities like food, diapers, feminine products, formula, and baby wipes. Patients also receive COVID-19 safety kits that include hand sanitizer, soap, masks, and thermometers.

This program continues to grow thanks to a new partnership with Solid Start—a multi-disciplinary effort at ZSFG focused on pregnant individuals and families with young children in San Francisco. One of our community partners, the Homeless Prenatal Program, is now housing the central pantry in their nearby facility. And thanks to two recent Hearts Grants awarded by the Foundation, even more patients will have access to these health essentials during future visits.

To date, this program has helped over 500 families and more than 50 home deliveries are made each week. As the economic fallout from COVID-19 continues to hit our most marginalized communities the hardest, we are pleased to be able to provide funding for this vital program.

On September 1, Dr. Susan Ehrlich, CEO of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, sat down with Foundation CEO Kim Meredith to give the most recent in a series of updates to the public about the current state of COVID-19 in San Francisco, this time with a special emphasis on the Delta variant. These briefings provide an important source of information and support to the community during a time when misinformation is all too prevalent.

Dr. Ehrlich launched the briefing with a promising update – nearly 80% of our eligible population is now fully vaccinated. She also addressed the most recent wave of infections, vaccine hesitancy, and what makes Delta different. Perhaps most importantly, she directly addressed audience questions about breakthrough infections and booster shots, travel considerations, her predictions for the future of COVID-19 in the Bay Area, and more.

Your donations have made it possible for ZSFG to treat more than a third of San Francisco’s COVID-19 patients, offer community vaccinations, and keep the public informed as this public health situation continues to evolve. If you weren’t able to watch the program live, we invite you to watch it in its entirety on the SFGH Foundation YouTube channel.

Inside ZSFG: COVID-19 & the Delta Variant

Did you know that worldwide, more people are affected by traumatic injuries each year than by HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined? Our partners at the Institute for Global Orthopaedics and Traumatology (IGOT) are celebrating fifteen years of saving limbs and lives.

Founded in 2006 by the faculty and residents of our partner institution UCSF, with a focus on equity, collaboration and scholarship, IGOT’s mission is to build capacity in musculoskeletal care through global partnerships and their vision is to be the global leader in academic partnership in orthopaedic surgery.

Through its four core pillars of surgical education, global research, advocacy and leadership, and knowledge exchange, IGOT takes the tradition of excellence in trauma care found in San Francisco and provides advanced surgical training to surgeons in developing countries. IGOT’s course participants have a 93% surgical success rate.

Many ZSFG patients face complex barriers to medical care, including lack of access to reliable transportation. The pandemic added yet another hurdle with a reduction in Muni service and a higher risk of COVID-19 exposure for patients using public transit.

With your contributions, the Foundation was able to fund an innovative new project to provide safe rides for patients to and from the hospital.

The need for safe transportation is especially critical for immunocompromised patients. Through two Foundation grants, hospital staff were able to fund taxi rides for cancer patients attending their chemotherapy, radiation, and follow-up care appointments, while a second grant funded rides for patients undergoing surgical procedures at ZSFG.

These rides help ensure on-time patient arrivals and a safe return home after discharge. Providing free, reliable transportation helps our patients access the care they need while staying safe. We are so grateful to our generous donors who make grants like these possible.

With 32,000 pediatric visits each year, our Children’s Health Center’s (CHC)  connection with our community is an essential source of support for many parents and families.

When schools closed last year, many of our families were left without the appropriate supplies to support their child’s education from home, and the staff of the CHC realized that many of these families needed immediate support to adapt.

The team pivoted quickly to provide backpacks with school supplies to help kids keep up with their skills during remote schooling. The backpacks were extremely popular and had an immediate impact on these families’ lives.

We are grateful for the donor support that has allowed us to move quickly to care for our patients even after a visit–building healthy connections between a trip to the doctor’s office and academic success.