Refurbished apartments help organ transplant patients recover closer to Sutter CPMC campus
By Shawn Chitnis
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SAN FRANCISCO, California (KPIX) — The high cost of hotel stays and rent in San Francisco makes it challenging for transplant patients from out of town to stay close to the hospital after recovering from a procedure. Recently renovated apartments this spring near Sutter’s CPMC Pacific Heights Outpatient Campus better accommodate their needs thanks to a multi-million dollar gift.
“It made me feel really safe and really comfortable knowing that I was so close to any care that I would need,” said Ethan Miguel, 28, a recent transplant patient from Davis. “I think this resource is so special and I think it’s what makes the Sutter transplant team so amazing is that they do offer something like this for people that do live further away.”
Miguel needed a convenient place to stay for 30 days after his surgery to complete his recovery close to the campus. The renovated apartments include a modified shower without a tub to make it easier for a patient like him to get in and out, along with a special bed that operates like a hospital bed.
“I think it made me a lot more comfortable, there was a lot less worry about where we were going to stay afterward,” he told KPIX while staying in the apartment with his mother. “I had a liver transplant because I had a cirrhosis of the liver and basically I needed a new liver just to continue living.”
The apartment building is designed for liver and heart transplant patients who need to stay close to the hospital for testing and monitoring following the procedure. The units, which also include a full kitchen, cost families a fraction of the price they would pay for rent in the city or a hotel stay. A nearly $3 million philanthropic renovation was possible in part because of a generous donation from the Sangiacomo family, who had a loved one receive a transplant and decided to give so they could help other patients. Money for the project also came from transplant doctors and surgeons as well as other donors.
“The transplant housing we have at Sutter Health is important for our patients in order for them to have access to transplant care in Northern California,” said Dr. Robert Osorio, a Sutter Health surgeon and chair of the transplant and organ therapies program. “We’re fortunate that we have philanthropic donors that have leaned in and this would not be possible without their incredible, generous donations.”
Sutter Health medical staff say it’s common for patients to travel for a transplant but the preference is for them to stay within an hour of their surgery location. Not only would the commute from Davis have created its own expense for Miguel, but it would also have been extremely taxing on his recovery.
“I feel so lucky, it’s a second lease on life and it’s something I do not take for granted and I’m so grateful for every single day,” Miguel said. “The transplant housing we have at Sutter Health is important for our patients in order for them to have access to transplant care in Northern California,” said Dr. Robert Osorio, a Sutter Health surgeon and chair of the transplant and organ therapies program. “We’re fortunate that we have philanthropic donors that have leaned in and this would not be possible without their incredible, generous donations.”
Sutter Health medical staff say it’s common for patients to travel for a transplant but the preference is for them to stay within an hour of their surgery location. Not only would the commute from Davis have created its own expense for Miguel, but it would also have been extremely taxing on his recovery.
“I feel so lucky, it’s a second lease on life and it’s something I do not take for granted and I’m so grateful for every single day,” Miguel said.
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