Established in 1967, the Saint Francis Memorial Hospital Bothin Burn Center is the only dedicated burn center in San Francisco and surrounding Bay Area. The Burn Center is the only burn center in Northern California to be verified by the American Burn Association and the American College of Trauma Surgeons. The 10-bed intensive care unit provides treatment for seriously burned children and adults from all over the western United States. The Center combines the expertise of surgeons, nurses, therapists, pain control specialists, and home care nurses and aides to treat patients from their first acute trauma to their return home. The Center offers the latest treatment modalities available including cultured epidermal autographs and hyperbaric oxygen treatments. The Burn Center at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital (SFMH) is the largest tertiary service, acute burn care facility in the Bay Area. The Burn Center treats over 225 inpatients annually and approximately 200 out patient visits per month.
The Plan to Meet the Needs for the new Burn Center
The Burn Center is Located on the 5th floor of the Saint Francis Memorial Hospital (SFMH) 1958 Building. The Burn Center remodel will reconfigure and expand the existing department to include four additional patient beds within two new rooms, for a total of 14 beds (four of which are in isolation rooms). This critical expansion and upgrade will allow the Burn Center to grow from 6,731 square feet to over 10,200 square feet and have the capability to provide burn care to an additional 90 inpatients and 900 outpatient visits per year. We are committed to meeting the needs of our community.
The existing Burn Center Procedure and Hydrotherapy rooms on the east end of the building will remain the same with some modification to their walls to allow space for a new center core that will include two nurse stations, clean supply, soil utility, medication and equipment storage rooms. The existing day room and lockers will be relocated to the north end of the building, adjacent to a new waiting area, office and staff lounge. The department will also expand into the SFMH1968 Building, where a new waiting area, reception, consultation, physician dictation and 3 exam rooms will be located, adjacent to the existing corridor connection to the SFMH 1958 Building.
The Burn Center remodel will not only reconfigure the rooms, but will also improve the overall healing environment for patients and staff within the department. General improvements to landscaping on the SFMH 1978 Building roof will beautify and enhance patient views from their windows. The connecting corridor and elevator lobby will have interior design upgrades to provide appealing visual impact for those visiting the department. Patient room upgrades, including the addition of patient televisions, are also part of the remodel and expansion plan.
Construction for the remodel will occur concurrently with the seismic retrofit work required for the SFMH 1958 Building. An interim Burn Unit will be relocated within Saint Francis Memorial Hospital until construction and remodel of the Bothin Burn Center is complete.
Facts About the Bothin Burn Center and the Verification Process:
- The Bothin Burn Center is the only verified burn center in San Francisco Bay Area.
- There are approximately 132 burn centers in the U.S., but only 43 are verified.
- Burn center verification is conducted by a joint team from the American Burn Association and the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma.
Verification is a two-day process that requires several weeks of gathering and preparing data for review, including patient population, census, and quality indicators relating to physicians and nursing staff. The process includes a site visit, a chart review and certifying that the center offers multi-disciplinary services (therapy, nutrition, burn education, psychiatry).
Burn centers are verified every three years. The Saint Francis Memorial Hospital Bothin Burn Center was one of the first burn centers in the country and the first in California to receive the prestigious certification of verification. The Bothin Burn Center has been verified three times.
In Partnership with the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation
The Bothin Burn Center is pleased to offer a free support group to burn survivors, their loved ones, and professionals in the burn community. The goal of this self-help support group is to provide a safe and supportive environment for people to share and explore issues related to burn injuries. The group meets on the fourth Thursday of every month from 7:00pm-8:30pm on the fifth floor of the hospital in the Burn Center Day Room.
Who Will Benefit From the Project?
The entire San Francisco Bay Area as well as the surrounding regions benefit from this renovation and expansion project as the Bothin Burn Center at Saint Francis is the only certified burn center in San Francisco. This means if you are burned and live in San Francisco and the surrounding area Saint Francis is where you will be receiving your care.
The Cost of the Expansion and Upgrading Project
- The expansion and upgrading of the Burn Center will cost $4.7 million.
- Funding of the Expansion and Upgrading Project
Saint Francis Memorial Hospital cannot provide the funds to pay for this new facility while also addressing its many other high priority capital needs. For this reason, the Saint Francis Foundation, in cooperation with the Hospital Board of Trustees, agreed to raise the funding necessary to expand and upgrade the Burn Center and therefore continue to provide burn care to patients throughout the Bay Area, Northern California and the West Coast.