Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - April 23, 2002
Examiner Staff
"The place we are in now is perhaps the most disturbing we've been in in 20 years," Katz said.
Katz made his comments to the Board of Supervisors during his annual State of the City Public Health address.
Katz attributed the increase to the growing perception that AIDS is no longer a death sentence among people who are at risk.
"If you got AIDS, you were going to die. That was true in the '80s and early '90s," Katz said. "It's not true now. The removal of that fear has seen HIV rates, syphilis rates and gonorrhea rates return to pre-AIDS levels."
In addition, Katz said, the cost of healthcare increased by nearly 25 percent last year and some people who need treatment are going without as a result.
"I am proud to say we are still able to offer indigent, uninsured patients top-quality medical care," Katz said, "but our waits for this care are growing long and longer. Our resources are insufficient to meet the demand in a timely way."
As a result, Katz said, San Francisco must develop less costly alternatives to hospitalization, such as the creation of housing for homeless that includes on-site access to mental health treatment, substance abuse counseling and medical services.
"Our one opportunity to lower costs is where we can do prevention or early intervention so someone does not need treatment in a hospital," Katz said.
Also on Monday, the supervisors:
Rejected Mayor Willie Brown's reappointment of Frank Cook to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Several of the supervisors noted Cook's distinguished service as a member of the PUC, but went on to say that the commission needs a member with greater experience in civil engineering, given that The City is facing a massive $5 billion rebuilding of the Hetch Hetchy water system.
The supervisors approved the mayor's reappointment of PUC vice chairman Dennis Normandy.
Supervisor Jake McGoldrick introduced legislation that would allow decisions made by the San Francisco Redevelopment Commission to be appealed to the Board of Supervisors.
"My intent is to reform the agency to keep the mayor's appointments and his power to make them intact, but to make it crystal clear that the agency is responsive to the community," McGoldrick said.
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