San Francisco Department of Public Health
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | City and County of San Francisco |
| Headquarters | 101 Grove Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
| Employees | About 8,000 |
| Annual budget | $2.1 billion[1] |
| Agency executive |
|
| Website | www |
The San Francisco Department of Public Health, previously called the San Francisco Health Department, is composed of various subdivisions that work together to serve the city of San Francisco.
Mission
San Francisco Department of Public Health's mission is to protect and promote the health of all San Francisco citizens. It achieves this via its two main divisions: the San Francisco Health Network and Population Health.[2]
History
In 1899, there was an outbreak of bubonic plague in San Francisco's Chinatown, . During this time, it was discovered that there had been cases of the plague in Hong Kong, China. Chinese people were forbidden from entering the U.S. and fear affected citizens of San Francisco. The San Francisco Health Department closed Chinese businesses and subsequently burned parts of Chinatown. The inhabitants of Chinatown were required to receive vaccinations if they planned on emigrating from the city. A citizen, Wong Wai, sued the department; the ruling was in favor of Wai and requested that the department terminate their behavior. Health officials dissatisfied with the ruling ostracized and isolated Chinatown and all its inhabitants, because of their suspicions of the plague spreading.[3]
The plague scare raised awareness for public health intervention.[4]: 88 San Francisco's health officials, who consisted of San Francisco Mayor Eugene Schmitz, California Governor George Pardee, and his personal health officials, created a partnership between themselves and the sanitary campaign in Chinatown.[4]: 244–249 Through this partnership, health boards all around the state would be notified if the causes of death were suspicious or had suspicion of the plague. This was in efforts to address and better serve the public's interests in health and sanitation during the time of the plague. In addition, any obtained tissues from suspicious causes of death would directly be sent to the Public Health Service Laboratory in San Francisco to help identify and eradicate the infection.[4]: 244–249
Subdivisions
Population Health Division
Population Health Division(PHD) covers a broad spectrum of topics.
San Francisco Health Network
The San Francisco Health Network consists of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Laguna Honda Hospital and many other clinics throughout San Francisco. The network has vocalized their non-discriminatory approach and mission to serve all who are in need of health services.[5] The San Francisco Health Network has stated they will serve irrespective of immigration status or the lack of health insurance.[6] The network aims to implement and increase innovative strategies.
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital
ZSFGH is the only level one trauma center in San Francisco.
Public Sanitation
In fulfilling the San Francisco Department of Public Health's mission to promote the health of its citizens, part of that effort focuses on upholding public sanitation standards of sidewalks, streets, parks, playgrounds, and public spaces and facilities throughout its 13 districts. A huge amount of the department's efforts to keep the streets clean focuses primarily on the removal of needles, syringes, human and animal waste, and miscellaneous litter.
In addition to the work done by SFDPH, San Francisco Public Works[7] also provides maintenance for the streets and groundwork of San Francisco. Through a number of programs, the organization works to fulfill their mission statement of serving those that reside, work, and visit San Francisco:
- Provision of different street cleaning services[8], specialized by district and by street direction.
- Beginning 2014, SF Public Works placed a number of Pit Stops[9] in various impacted locations around San Francisco. Pit Stops provide access to universal toilets, needle disposal, and dog waste stations.
References
- ^ "Department of Public Health FY 17-19 Budget" (PDF). Retrieved July 7, 2018.
- ^ About the DPH, Mission of DPH. sfdph.org
- ^ Chang, Iris (2003). The Chinese in America: A Narrative History. Penguin Group. pp. 139–140. ISBN 978-1-101-12687-5.
- ^ a b c Risse, Guenter (2012). Plague, fear, and politics in San Francisco's Chinatown. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9781421405100.
- ^ "San Francisco Health Network". San Francisco Health Network. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "SFDPH Annual Report 2015-2016" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "District Maps". San Francisco Moderates. 2010-04-27. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
- ^ "San Francisco Property Information Map". propertymap.sfplanning.org. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
- ^ "Pit Stop Program". pitstop. Retrieved 2018-11-02.