About

The UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations at San Francisco General Hospital carries out innovative research to prevent and treat chronic disease in populations for whom social conditions often conspire to both promote various chronic diseases and make their management more challenging.

History

Garden artworkThe UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations was co-founded by Drs. Dean Schillinger and Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo in 2006, inspired by the vision of Dr. Talmadge King, current Dean of the UCSF School of Medicine and Vice Chancellor of Medical Affairs. Drs. Bibbins-Domingo and Schillinger co-directed CVP from 2006 - 2012. Dr. Bibbins-Domingo was Director from 2012 - June 2018. Dr. Margot Kushel was appointed Director of CVP in July 2018. 

The CVP is based within the UCSF Department of Medicine’s Division of General Internal Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital, the public health hospital of the City and County of San Francisco, which serves a diverse and largely indigent population. The CVP is at the frontline of practice-based research on chronic diseases for the diverse and disadvantaged populations of San Francisco and the Bay Area.

CVP Mural

CVP mural

The CVP mural is a collage of images and ideas generated through a collaborative and participatory design process involving faculty, staff, and patients led by Precita Eyes, a San Francisco Mission District based community muralist organization. Workshops were held with faculty, staff and patients to determine what CVP meant to each person through individual sketches and group brainstorming sessions. Key words, ideas, or images that came from these sessions were physical activity, fresh fruits and vegetables, farmers’ markets, safe community spaces, diverse communities, double helix DNA, challenges of the system and breaking through these systemic barriers to enact change. Additionally, focus was placed on the development of the new San Francisco General Hospital and the diverse patient population that it serves.

CVP Mural Project: Precita Eyes
Photo of Mural: Casey Dominguez, (530) 615-6087