The federal agency, which pays for care for the majority of the nursing home’s 700 patients, also ordered the facility to begin offloading or transferring its patients before a mandatory closure in mid-September.

On Thursday, regulators agreed to suspend transfers, the San Francisco Department of Public Health said in a statement.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health is working to get the nursing home recertified before the Sept. 13 closure deadline, but it’s still required to transfer or discharge all patients according to a closure plan.

The city, backed by representatives from San Francisco to Washington, including Senator Diane Feinstein, has called on the federal agency Medicare and Medicaid to suspend all transfers from Laguna Honda Hospital, saying it was difficult to find places that can support the patient complex. health care needs.

As of Thursday, Laguna Honda had transferred or discharged 57 patients, including a few to homeless shelters. At least four patients have died days or weeks after being moved from Laguna Honda, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Transfers and discharges will be suspended “while an evaluation takes place over the next few weeks,” Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told the newspaper, adding that the agency had posted a representative there. tuesday.

Founded in 1866, the sprawling facility serves people who need long-term care but cannot afford private nursing homes. Many patients suffer from dementia, addictions and other complex medical needs.

“Laguna Honda has served San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents for 150 years and we plan to do so for another 150 years,” Laguna Honda interim CEO Roland Pickens said in a statement.

Senator Diane Feinstein in May called on Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to reverse the federal agency’s decision to end Laguna Honda Hospital’s participation in Medicare and Medicaid and to force the relocation of its vulnerable patients.

Feinstein said Friday that the hospital provides services to many patients who have no other options and that she hopes the federal agency will work with the city of San Francisco to make necessary improvements to the hospital. so that he can join the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

“If (the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) does not reverse its decision, these patients would again be put at risk as they are transferred to other facilities,” she said in a statement. “This is particularly concerning after some patients were reportedly sent to homeless shelters ill-equipped to provide necessary medical services.”

Pickens wrote in a letter to patients and their families that it is unclear how long the transfer and discharge of patients will be suspended.

“We know the uncertainty is difficult, but we hope this pause brings relief to our community,” he wrote.