Facebook CEO Donates $75 Million to San Francisco Hospital

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco General Hospital Foundation is getting a historic grant of $75 million from Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan’s donor-advised fund at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation for San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (The General).

The General is the city’s only trauma center. The grant is the largest single gift the foundation has received since it was established in 1994. It is also believed to be the largest private gift from individuals to a public hospital in the U.S.

“Through my training at The General, I know firsthand the vital health care and trauma services this hospital provides to anyone who lives, works or travels through San Francisco,” said Dr. Priscilla Chan in a statement. “Day in and day out, I witness the compassion and dedication of my colleagues as they work tirelessly to deliver the best available care to all of our patients. Mark and I are proud to support such an important public hospital.”

The grant will help complete The General’s new acute care and trauma center. It will fund state-of-the-art equipment and technology for the new building and will help convert the existing hospital building into an ambulatory care facility. The grant builds on the earlier investment made by San Franciscans in 2008 when voters overwhelmingly approved an $887.4 million bond to begin the process of building a new facility.

Additionally, the grant will enable the foundation to provide ongoing support to The General and to the more than 100,000 patients it serves each year. It will also support the foundation’s efforts to increase awareness for the key role The General plays in public health throughout the community.

“As someone who has seen firsthand the quality of emergency care at San Francisco General, I can say that I am personally grateful for this $75 million grant from Mark and Priscilla — the largest gift to our City’s hospital ever,” said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee in a statement. “This grant illustrates my call for 21st Century philanthropy and is a game changer for the rebuild of San Francisco General, leveraging more investment for state of the art technology to treat some of the most critically injured patients and deliver innovative high quality, compassionate patient care. San Francisco’s residents and visitors will benefit from this grant for generations because thousands of first responders and health care providers will have the 21st Century hospital they need to save lives around the clock. I know this gift will inspire others to support our General."

“Priscilla and I believe that everyone deserves access to high quality health care. The General serves anyone who lives, works in or visits San Francisco. We can think of no better place to focus our philanthropy in San Francisco than The General,” Zuckerberg added in a statement. “The Bay Area is our home, we work here, we live here, and we want to invest in efforts that can make a difference in people’s lives here.”