In 2007 it was announced that St. Luke's, a hospital serving under-privileged communities would be closed to acute and sub-acute patients and serve as an outpatient facility only. In January of 2008 it was announced that Alioto-Pier would lead a panel of stakeholders to save St. Luke's. "Maintaining and rebuilding St. Luke's and developing it into a first-class hospital for the Mission District and the Southeast section of San Francisco is my primary objective." In response to the recommendations of the panel, in September of 2008 CPMC announced a reversal of their decision, stating that St. Luke's would be re-built to continue serving the communities that depend upon it.