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

Judge Allows Newspaper Copyright Lawsuit Against OpenAI to Proceed

DON'T MISS

Vang Inches Closer to Outright Fresno Council Victory

DON'T MISS

Clovis Man Arrested as Police Serve 4 Warrants in Child Exploitation Probe

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Clovis Sales Tax Hike Starts April 1

DON'T MISS

Visalia Man Arrested for Possession of Child Pornography

DON'T MISS

State Audit: CPUC Needs to Boost Oversight of Energy Efficiency Programs We’re Paying For

DON'T MISS

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Cancel Grants to Teachers

DON'T MISS

Appeals Court Upholds Ban on Trump Admin’s Deportations Under Wartime Law

DON'T MISS

Fresno County’s First Fentanyl Murder Trial Ends in Guilty Verdict

DON'T MISS

Democrats’ Popularity Plummets, yet Midterm Prospects Remain Strong

UP NEXT

Democrats’ Popularity Plummets, yet Midterm Prospects Remain Strong

UP NEXT

USDA Explores Why US Egg Shortage Contrasts with Canada’s Abundant Supply

UP NEXT

Cuts Leave Social Security System in Disarray With Millions Affected

UP NEXT

Hyundai to Build $5.8B Steel Mill in Louisiana, Creating 5,400 Jobs

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Backs Biden’s Ghost Gun Regulation Requiring Serial Numbers, Background Checks

UP NEXT

Trump Signs Order Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote

UP NEXT

CA Bill Would Stop PG&E From Sticking Ratepayers With Ad and Lobbying Costs

UP NEXT

New CA System Tells You When and Where Pesticides Are Applied

UP NEXT

Rural CA Schools and Roads Lose Millions in Federal Funds After Latest Cuts

UP NEXT

Parents Can’t Figure out How California Schools Are Doing. Newsom’s Plan to Fix That Stalls

Wired Wednesday: Clovis Sales Tax Hike Starts April 1

1 hour ago

Visalia Man Arrested for Possession of Child Pornography

1 hour ago

State Audit: CPUC Needs to Boost Oversight of Energy Efficiency Programs We’re Paying For

1 hour ago

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Cancel Grants to Teachers

2 hours ago

Appeals Court Upholds Ban on Trump Admin’s Deportations Under Wartime Law

3 hours ago

Fresno County’s First Fentanyl Murder Trial Ends in Guilty Verdict

4 hours ago

Democrats’ Popularity Plummets, yet Midterm Prospects Remain Strong

5 hours ago

Trump’s Approval Rating Hits Historic Low, Worse Than Any Modern President

5 hours ago

Trump Administration Considers Money for Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioters

5 hours ago

Musk Slams Government Waste, Calls Treasury Payments System ‘Totally Insane’

5 hours ago

Judge Allows Newspaper Copyright Lawsuit Against OpenAI to Proceed

NEW YORK — A federal judge has ruled that The New York Times and other newspapers can proceed with a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Mi...

8 minutes ago

8 minutes ago

Judge Allows Newspaper Copyright Lawsuit Against OpenAI to Proceed

17 minutes ago

Vang Inches Closer to Outright Fresno Council Victory

53 minutes ago

Clovis Man Arrested as Police Serve 4 Warrants in Child Exploitation Probe

1 hour ago

Wired Wednesday: Clovis Sales Tax Hike Starts April 1

1 hour ago

Visalia Man Arrested for Possession of Child Pornography

1 hour ago

State Audit: CPUC Needs to Boost Oversight of Energy Efficiency Programs We’re Paying For

2 hours ago

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Cancel Grants to Teachers

3 hours ago

Appeals Court Upholds Ban on Trump Admin’s Deportations Under Wartime Law

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

Search

Send this to a friend