Frontline DPH nurses and staff tell commission shortages and safety problems persist

Three public commenters who identified themselves as current San Francisco Department of Public Health employees told the commission that operational conditions at San Francisco General and other network sites remain strained.

Lily, who said she works for San Francisco General, described immediate supply‑chain problems that she said impede patient care: specific laboratory tubes and supplies were not consistently available, requiring some samples to be sent to Mission Bay for processing, and she described recent near misses that she tied to shortages. "We just we need supplies," Lily said, urging the commission to act.

Megan Green, a nurse at San Francisco General, described the emotional and physical toll on clinical staff after two years of pandemic response: mandated extra hours, severe sleep deprivation, and a sense that frontline workers had been overlooked as the system pivoted back to normal operations. "The last two years for me and my coworkers have been hell on earth," she said, and asked commissioners to visit frontline units and witness conditions firsthand.

Julie, who identified herself from the emergency room at San Francisco General, reported increased assaults on staff and described unsafe patient placements (children being near psychiatric patients) and inadequate staffing levels during prolonged shifts. She urged commissioners to see the ER in person and to support efforts to increase staffing and training.

Commissioners acknowledged the comments and asked staff to follow up. Secretary Morwitz said he would connect commissioners with network leadership (Roland Pickens and Dr. Claire Horton) to pursue operational clarifications and requested follow‑up reports.

No formal action or vote followed public comment at this meeting; the record shows the commission asked staff for follow-up and monitoring.