Hi there,

I am truly saddened that St. Luke's is in danger of closing.

On Christmas Day, 2006, I gave birth to my son Jasper at St. Luke's Hospital. I had received all my prenatal care from the wonderful doctors and midwives at the hospital as well. Throughout my 31-hour labor, the midwives, nurses and doctors were very responsive to my needs and never tried to hurry me along. When I needed vacuum at the end, I felt reassured by the capable team of doctors and nurses that jumped in to attend the procedure. We were also very pleased with the aftercare, and have stayed with the pediatrics group ever since.

I would love to have my second child at St. Luke's as well. I not only had a great experience here myself, but I also support St. Luke's philosophy of being a community hospital. Although we have company-sponsored health insurance, not all Mission residents are so fortunate. I'm sad to see that their only recourse will be a long bus ride to SF General. I myself will definitely not switch to CPMC, as I object to their board's handling of the St. Luke takeover. If St. Luke's is not available, I'll have to choose some other hospital or midwife practice in the city.

I hope the CPMC / Sutter group will reconsider their decision to close the hospital.

Sincerely,

Laura Bergmans

Glen Park resident