San Francisco, CA – Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG), an essential community provider under the San Francisco Department of Public Health and part of the San Francisco Health Network, received the 2024 Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity from The Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente.
The national award recognizes ZSFG’s achievements in closing health care disparities, specifically addressing the disparity in readmission rates for Black/African American patients with heart failure. Since its inception in 2021, the Tyson Award has honored groundbreaking work that achieved a measurable, sustained reduction in one or more health care disparities.
ZSFG’s efforts under its Reducing Racial Disparities for African American Patients with Heart Failure initiative have made a profound impact resulting in:
- Closing a 5.4% gap in the 30-day readmission rate between Black/African American heart failure patients and the general patient population between 2018 and 2022.
- Reducing the overall 30-day readmission rate for all heart failure patients from 33% to 20%.
- Reducing the overall mortality rate of patients with heart failure by more than 6%.
Key to this success were two innovative strategies:
- AI-Based Tools: ZSFG implemented artificial intelligence decision support systems integrated into electronic health records to provide targeted recommendations for medical and social care.
- Addiction Medicine/Cardiology Co-Management Clinic: This clinic brought together specialists from addiction medicine, cardiology, social medicine, and palliative care to address the complex needs of heart failure patients.
"The San Francisco Department of Public Health is deeply grateful to the Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente for honoring the department with the Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, SFDPH Director of Health. “By investing in cutting-edge technology, we are not only improving outcomes with regard to heart failure readmissions, we are building a foundation for the future where everyone in our community can thrive.”
Earlier this month ZSFG was also honored for the second year in a row with the 2024 Equity Quality Leaders Award (QLA) from the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH) and California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI) in recognition of our efforts to advance high-quality, equitable care through the Heart Failure Readmission Rate Reduction initiative. See video highlighting this work.
“These awards highlights how innovative teamwork by our clinicians and staff can effectively address the systemic healthcare inequities that impact our patients,” said Susan Ehrlich, MD, MPP, CEO of ZSFG. “By focusing on the needs of our Black/African American patients with heart failure, we not only reduced disparities but improved outcomes for all patients. This inspires us to continue striving for equity in every aspect of care we deliver.”
ZSFG’s dual recognitions underscore its commitment to addressing systemic inequities, fostering collaboration, and delivering compassionate, patient-centered care as San Francisco’s essential safety-net hospital.
About Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG) is a 397-bed acute care hospital operated under the San Francisco Department of Public Health and it is part of the San Francisco Health Network. ZSFG provides a full complement of inpatient, outpatient, emergency, skilled nursing, diagnostic, mental health and rehabilitation services for adults and children. It is the largest acute inpatient hospital for psychiatric patients in the city. Additionally, it is the only acute hospital in San Francisco that provides 24-hour psychiatric emergency services and the only Level 1 trauma center in San Francisco. ZSFG aims to provide patients with a better experience, a healthier community and a more efficient health care system, providing patients with timely, efficient, high quality, safe and effective care. We are also one of the nation’s top academic medical centers, partnering with the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy on clinical training and research. ZSFG serves more than 100,000 patients per year and provides more than 20 percent of all inpatient care for San Francisco. We serve a diverse patient population providing services in more than 20 languages to our ethnically and racially diverse community.
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Media Desk
Department of Public Health Communications
City and County of San Francisco