Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf
PHILADELPHIA—As the controversy surrounding the ongoing bankruptcy and threatened closure of Hahnemann University Hospital here continues, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney gave a stinging rebuke yesterday to hospital leadership.
In a joint statement, the governor and mayor said, “The situation at Hahnemann University Hospital, caused by CEO Joel Freedman and his team of venture capitalists, is an absolute disgrace and shows a greed-driven lack of care for the community. The hospital has $300 million in debt that is growing daily. Now the owners want a bankruptcy proceeding to protect the profits they extracted from the hospital and community. This mounting debt means a short-term solution is simply not viable.”
They also noted that while they are in solidarity with hospital employees and have been working for months to protect patient care at Hahnemann University Hospital and find solutions to maintain current medical services at the hospital, they are now looking to new investors to save the facility.
“While it is clear that the hospital's current operation is no longer financially viable, we are both committed to working with potential investors to find support for the restructuring of Hahnemann and for protecting St. Christopher's Hospital for Children,” the governor and mayor stated. “Maintaining a level of medical services at Hahnemann and ensuring St. Christopher's never faces a similar fate is critically important to saving jobs and lives, as well as meeting the needs of Philadelphians.”
They urged any willing or interested parties to contact their offices “to discuss how we can help mitigate the damage done by Joel Freedman and his firm,” they stated.
Earlier this week, a Philadelphia judge granted an injunction to stop the closing of Hahnemann.
On Monday, 8,500 members of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals called on Governor Wolf, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney to save Hahnemann hospital. Specifically, the union urged elected officials to provide a bridge loan to Hahnemann to ensure that services are protected while a buyer is found for Hahnemann and St. Christopher's hospitals.
Hahnemann University Hospital and Tower Health announced this week they had entered a letter of intent to transfer the majority of the residency and fellowship programs at Hahnemann/Drexel University to Tower Health, according to a report in the Philadelphia Business Journal.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
