Bay Area's Zuckerberg Hospital may be getting a name change
A San Francisco politician wants the Facebook CEO's name removed from the hospital following recent scandals.
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A San Francisco politician wants to cut "Zuckerberg" from San Francisco General Hospital's name.
San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin wants Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's name removed from a hospital Zuckerberg has donated $75 million to.
Peskin requested the city attorney to "revisit the city's policy on the acceptance of gifts in exchange for naming rights and, specifically, to outline the procedure for removal of the Zuckerberg name from San Francisco General Hospital." Peskin's comments were made during a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. Business Insider earlier reported the news.
Peskin's call for the name removal comes as Facebook deals with a series of recent scandals, including election meddling by Russia and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which data from as many as 87 million Facebook users was improperly shared with the political consultancy.
"It cannot be normal for this city to put a price tag on the branding of institutions and spaces that fundamentally belong to the citizens of this city," Peskin said.
Earlier this year, nurses protested for the removal of the Facebook CEO's name from Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, out of fear that patients would associate the hospital with the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
"Our hospital's mission has been to serve the people of San Francisco, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay," said Susan Ehrlich, CEO of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, in a statement. "Through their generous gift, Dr. Priscilla Chan, previously a resident physician at the hospital, and Mr. Mark Zuckerberg have significantly contributed to the fulfillment of that mission by allowing us to acquire state-of-the-art technology we use every single day to save patient lives."
Ehrlich added that "naming is an important convention in philanthropy that encourages additional donors, and our hospital relies on the support of the community, the City and County of San Francisco, and generous private philanthropy."
First published Nov. 28, 1:22 p.m. PT.
Update, 1:39 p.m.: Adds confirmation and comment from Peskin's office.
Update, 4:49 p.m.: Adds comment from Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
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