Dear Dr. Brotman:

I am a doctor at San Francisco General Hospital, a mother of two, and an avid supporter of St. Luke's Hospital. I received exemplary pre- and postnatal care under Dr. Laura Norrell and Midwife Yeshi Neumann over the last few years. The services they offer are not matched by any other facility in the San Francisco vicinity.

Understanding medical situations from both the patient and the doctor perspective, I am confident that, for the birth of my first child, I would've undergone an emergency C-section had I been at a different hospital. The L&D and maternity wards' nurses are highly trained to accommodate the unique, more natural approaches of these doctors and midwives; keeping the inpatient wards intact is crucial to supporting the obstetrical practice.

For my second pregnancy, a coexisting medical condition made it a very difficult pregnancy from the very beginning. Dr. Norrell and Yeshi were able to help me navigate through the toughest of those times with extraordinary availability and grace, along with Dr. Christian Tuan, who was my endocrinologist.

These are testaments to the extraordinary practitioners at St. Luke's Hospital, but also a testament to what a smaller community hospital can provide. As a health professional, I know how difficult it is to provide personal and exceptional care. St. Luke's does this, and provides such services to its immediate community. This is a model more hospitals and medical centers can follow.

Please do the right thing by keeping St. Luke's outpatient and inpatient services alive. Our community counts on it!

Sincerely,

Cynthia Li, MD

Staff Physician, Internal Medicine

San Francisco General Hospital, Clinic 4J

1001 Potrero AveSan Francisco, CA 94110