Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
San Francisco Board Rebukes Naming Hospital for Facebook CEO
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
December 16, 2020

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — Supervisors in San Francisco overwhelmingly approved a resolution Tuesday condemning the naming of the city’s public hospital for Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, in 2015 after the couple gave $75 million toward a new acute care and trauma center.

The nonbinding resolution does not have the force of law and does not require the hospital to do anything. The hospital was the first in San Francisco to administer vaccines protecting against the coronavirus on Tuesday. The current board does not have the authority to revoke the agreement, resolution co-sponsor Supervisor Gordon Mar said.

But he said the resolution would send the message that San Francisco is not for sale and that a public hospital that caters to the poor should not bear the name of someone whose social media platform endangers public health, spreads misinformation and violates privacy.

“There’s been growing public outrage that this important public health institution was named and the naming rights were sold to the highest bidder and to somebody as controversial as Mr. Zuckerberg and Facebook,” he said.

The measure passed 10-1, with Board President Norman Yee the only no vote.

He said nonprofits often use naming rights to spur donations and while this involved city property, he could not support the condemnation without more of a policy discussion.

Yee said he would support a move to remove Zuckerberg’s name and retain Dr. Chan’s name on the hospital. He was among several supervisors behind the 2015 resolution that approved the gift and name change.

San Francisco, where Zuckerberg and Chan have a home, has increasingly soured on the social media behemoth, dismayed by the company’s sluggish response to protecting consumer privacy and halting the proliferation of false statements. The federal government is seeking to break up Facebook as lawmakers call for stronger oversight of a company they say has gotten too big.

Tuesday’s resolution is not a new sentiment as local Facebook critics, including some nurses at San Francisco General, have argued for years to remove the Zuckerberg name. They say the new name, good for 50 years, is inappropriate when San Francisco taxpayers are paying for most of the hospital’s upgrade by approving more than $1 billion in bonds.

The Hospital Is Closely Entwined With San Francisco.

Julie French, a hospital employee, said in an email via her personal account to the supervisors that while it would be reasonable to name a building, cafeteria or rooftop for big donors, to rename the whole hospital is “a slap in the face.”

“We are not a ballpark or a stadium to be bought and sold for commercial purposes. We are a public hospital of and for the people of the city and county of San Francisco. We deserve to have that dignity preserved,” she said.

But Dr. Susan Ehrlich, chief executive of the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, said in a statement that the donation has allowed the hospital to acquire state-of-the-art technology and the naming reflects their appreciation.

“Naming is an important convention in philanthropy that encourages additional donors, and our hospital relies on the support of the community, the City and County of San Francisco, and generous private philanthropy,” she said.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the couple’s philanthropic arm, directed requests for comment to the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation. Its CEO, Kim Meredith, said in a statement the gift helped pay for needed furniture, fixtures and equipment for the new hospital. She added that Chan studied and practiced as a resident pediatrician at the hospital.

“We are proud that the hospital now bears their names and disappointed in attempts to condemn it – especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when the impact of their gift has never been greater,” she said.

The hospital is closely entwined with San Francisco.

It survived the 1906 earthquake and fire and treated patients in ensuing health crises, including the 1918 Spanish influenza, the AIDS epidemic and the current coronavirus pandemic. The hospital serves more than 100,000 people annually.

The resolution declares that the city and county of San Francisco should not reward tax dodges, which some say the donation is. It also lists a number of Facebook’s failings, including its failure to protect users from major security breaches, including its Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal in 2018.

The mayor at the time of the donation, Ed Lee, praised the agreement as did the current mayor, London Breed, who was president of the Board of Supervisors when a board with different members approved the name change.

The resolution also urges city departments to establish clear standards and criteria so that naming rights reflect San Francisco values of social and racial justice.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

DON'T MISS

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

DON'T MISS

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

DON'T MISS

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

DON'T MISS

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

DON'T MISS

Can CEMEX Dig a 600-Fit Hole and Not Harm the River? Arambula Says No and Writes a Bill

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Destiny Christine Brown

DON'T MISS

Three Missing Fresno Teens Found Safe After Nine Days

DON'T MISS

State Center Trustees Vote for Special Interest Giveaway Over Students: Opinion

UP NEXT

Athletics Bat Boy Stewart Thalblum Takes Down Drone in Left Field

UP NEXT

NFL Postpones Tush Push Decision but Passes Other Rule Changes, AP Source Says

UP NEXT

March Madness: It’s South Carolina vs. Texas and UCLA vs. UConn in Women’s Final Four

UP NEXT

Major Layoffs Begin at Health Agencies That Track Disease and Regulate Food

UP NEXT

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

UP NEXT

U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis

UP NEXT

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

UP NEXT

Silver Fire Grows to 1,250 Acres, Threatens Homes in Inyo County

UP NEXT

Sue or Hold Back? The University of California Does Both as It Faces Trump’s Wrath

UP NEXT

Top Vaccine Official Resigns From FDA, Criticizes RFK Jr. for Promoting Misinformation, Lies

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

1 hour ago

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

1 hour ago

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

2 hours ago

Can CEMEX Dig a 600-Fit Hole and Not Harm the River? Arambula Says No and Writes a Bill

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Destiny Christine Brown

3 hours ago

Three Missing Fresno Teens Found Safe After Nine Days

3 hours ago

State Center Trustees Vote for Special Interest Giveaway Over Students: Opinion

4 hours ago

Lakers Hold Off Rockets With 6 3-Pointers Apiece From Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent

4 hours ago

Athletics Bat Boy Stewart Thalblum Takes Down Drone in Left Field

4 hours ago

Prosecutors Directed to Seek Death Penalty Against Luigi Mangione

5 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

President Donald Trump has settled on a final plan for sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs, which are expected to take effect Wednesday after he a...

9 minutes ago

Vehicles at an Audi showroom in Miami, March 29, 2025. President Donald Trump has said that tariffs would encourage auto companies and their suppliers to move to the U.S. (Saul Martinez/The New York Times)
9 minutes ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

Vehicles are passed through final inspection at the end of the assembly line at the General Motors facility in Spring Hill, Tenn., Oct. 7, 2024. Sales of cars picked up recently partly as buyers rushed to lock in deals before President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on cars and auto parts go into effect. (Brett Carlsen/The New York Times)
44 minutes ago

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

51 minutes ago

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., takes questions on tariffs while meeting with reporters at a news conference, at the Capitol, in Washington, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
1 hour ago

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)
1 hour ago

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

July 27, 2017, shows a Hooters sign at a restaurant in Hialeah, Fla. (AP File)
2 hours ago

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

2 hours ago

Can CEMEX Dig a 600-Fit Hole and Not Harm the River? Arambula Says No and Writes a Bill

Destiny Christine Brown is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for April 1, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
3 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Destiny Christine Brown

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend