be so much older. i did not see a lot of young people in our shelters, i was one of the few young people there. it is the case that many of we need to figure out how to address the specific age. many people that have served the country and the military and the homeless and shelter people, that is tragic and that is committed to what we can do with the limited resources. when people saw me and they knew that they did not recognize me,

people really came up to me and started explaining the system to me. they were telling me which nonprofit centers they did not like. there is a model that is already existing. there is a peer to peer mentor ship among the people. i want to thank the members of the public that are here today. this is a powerful issue that i am passionate about addressing and want to make sure that we are in conversation together to keep moving forward. >> i just wanted to clarify the

statement that we made about the santa clara county transportation program in which you asked us to do some research the thing we could not fight is the eligibility requirement. >> many of the people that came today are part of a coalition that came together to serve our city. there was a discussion about the inability to maintain facilities.

>> thank you for bringing the staffing issues.

they will get frustrated and angry. i know that that is a vicious circle. the training may only be good for nine months if they are not staying within the system. whatever we can it do to address that issue is incredibly important. if we can have a motion to continue this item at the call of the chair. >> can you please call item number 2? >> item number2, the appointment

of taylor mcgee to the hall commission. >> thank you. i know that she is here today and i would like to thank her and appreciate her patient as a move through our first item. i know she has been waiting for quite a bit of time. i apologize, we will take a recess. i know that my colleagues have not gotten out.

>> that is the conclusion of our recess. thank you for your patience, thank you for waiting.

>> i have attended full commission meetings. in anticipating in these meetings, i am proud to say that i am honored to serve as such a group of distinguished individuals. people have been thanking me for green to serve on the health commission.

george wallace would not be open to someone like me. it was at the university of alabama where my journalism began. this promised me a multi disciplinary opportunity. after graduation, i was offered a full-time position as a reporter. my broadcast journalism career would take me from one of the smallest television markets. there are issues ranging from murder is, sexual violence, political corruption, abortion clinics. there is one story that i will always remember. it was 1988 and randall terry

was the head of the group operation rescue which was famous for blocking access to women's health groups. millions had arrived at the clinic. i was the only news representative that manage to get inside the clinic. i interviewed patients that were there for a range of health option o. this incident reinforced my commitment to use my skills to help beat the voice for people's that are often cited. after years of reporting, i decided to chart a different course, one that would lead me to public health advocacy and policy.

as the chief of staff for the washington state insurance commissioner, i was proud to help craft one of the first universal health-care laws in the nation. we developed a policy that existed exclusions and guarantee portability for people when they changed their jobs. later, i worked as a communications director in washington, d.c. where i had an opportunity to work with a journalist from broadcast, print, all kinds of media on abortion access issues. in california, i've let state efforts to protect women's access to the full range of health care options. in san francisco, the mayor appointed me as the advocate for the status of women. as a member of the board of

directors for an international ngo, working to improve sexual and reproductive health for men and women, i have witnessed women in ethiopia walking miles to get reproductive health services only to find that the supplies run available. i spoke with women in tanzania and of the countries whose pregnancies for compromise because of lack of access to health care services. these work experiences have informed my social consciousness about the importance of ensuring that all people have access to culturally appropriate preventive health care services regardless of age, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, economic status, and geographic location. as the health commissioner, i look forward to working with the

board of supervisors, the mayor, and the public health director, to advance public policy that ensures adequate and affordable health care access for all san franciscans. i am particularly interested in a number of health-care issues. the president has just issued a memorandum on march 30th of that talks about the integration of domestic violence and sexual reproductive health. i am interested in looking at that as a public health issue. i would like to see this addressed. i am happy to answer any questions that you have. >> we have supervisor campos. >> thank you very much for members of the public and the

audience who might be wondering about how this process works, under the charter, the mayor makes an appointment to the health commission and then we have 30 days during which to act, otherwise it becomes final. it is not because i have any issues or concerns with the appointment. i think this is an excellent choice for a lot of different reasons and people can see why this is the case. i believe that the hall commission is one of those commissions that often does not get enough attention. i think the issue of health care is something that we need to spend more time talking about. it is especially important to talk about health care given some of the changes that are happening. i wanted to have an opportunity for my constituents and for the rest of the city to hear directly from you as to what your priorities are and the backgrounds.

you talk about your background, you talked about your priorities. we should move forward as the city. there is equitable access. >> on the issue of the master plan, i am happy to see that the

department of public health has really taken a good initiative in terms of looking at how bad is going to operate and exactly in what the input would be in from consumers in san francisco. i think this is an issue of really listening to those folks. in looking at qualitative data, what you find from the residents in terms of the common theme? i talked with supervisor campos about middle-aged women, for example, and their health care access issues. i am looking forward to discerning what exactly it is that the community needs, how do we address that, how is the health commissioner work with the supervisor and the mayor's office.

>> and there is a question about what we have been discussing in city hall. the ryan white fighting has been cut at the federal level and this has supported the best -- the rest of our colleagues on the board of supervisors and with the support of the mayor of supervisors. >> this is a last resort. with the amount of funding that is scheduled to dissipate, if you will, it would be interesting.

the department of public health has been working on this issue. i worked with a great organization based in oakland called women organized to respond to life-threatening diseases with birc -- diseases that works with women in the with this issue. it is important to look at women-focused services. i think that from what i can tell right now, the department of public health under the direction of director barbara garcia is really looking at this issue and is trying to figure out how the city manage without

those important funds. it is shameful that we are faced with the situation where the fund would be gone and i just think that it is important that we look at what would be the impact to people who rely on those services as well as programs. >> people use medical cannabis to help them with the pain and symptoms of their illness. when he was running for president, senator obama had made a pledge that if the state allowed for medical cannabis, if elected, he would respect that.

unfortunately, that is not what we see happening. nevertheless, we have had a number of regulations that have been in place for a few years and those regulations have become models. access to medical cannabis is a very important issue. this came out of the aids crisis. many of us believe it is important for us to stand firm and make sure that we protect and fight for access to safe medicine for these patients and i'm wondering if you have had any thoughts about that. >> the department is looking to

continue to make sure those services are available as well as look at the public safety issue and balancing both of those. i am looking forward to learning about this issue and seeing how we can continue to regulate in a way that works for the city of san francisco. >> thank you. >> one of the most important issues is the cpmc. i am wondering if you have any thoughts about how this would be implemented in san francisco. >> this is not comparable to

other institutions. i am very certain that the department of public health. the health commission has been involved in the 8. plan that really sort of lays out. i see my role as a health commissioner and insuring that that happens. >> i know that you got to hear some of our hearing today. i would like to hear your thoughts in terms of what we can do to improve health care for women.

>> this is always changing. how does this system really support women where they are and really listening to women. what is the data that we have from women. how do we manage the health care services. all of those issues we can look at. i would like to see them to talk to women and hear directly from women. >> who would like to get public

comment going? >> this is worth the wait. i cannot test a lot of the community members, a lot of them had to leave because you had a long hearing. miss belle mcghee has been an outstanding member of the african-american the community. she has spent all these decades working across the country. in bayview, hunters point, you know about the health disparity. you know about the environmental issu