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The demise of Hahnemann University Hospital demonstrates the need for health care and graduate medical education policy reform.
Hahnemann University Hospital was an academic medical center associated with Drexel University that had served as a clinical patient care hub in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1848. Hahnemann's heritage was significant: One in seventy-two physicians currently practicing in the US graduated from or trained within Drexel University or its legacy schools, Hahnemann University and the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, later named the Medical College of Pennsylvania when men were admitted in 1970. Although Hahnemann University Hospital served as a safetynet institution for underserved people while influencing health care in the Philadelphia area for generations, it is now remembered as the epicenter of the largest graduate medical education (GME) disaster to date. In June 2019 the hospital's new ownership declared bankruptcy, and within two months- after having provided health care to the region for more than 170 years- Hahnemann University Hospital abruptly closed its doors.
The closure made national news for several reasons. The bankruptcy affected the lives of more than 2,500 employees in the city and displaced more than 550 physician trainees. The hospital's underserved, ethnically diverse patient population was left to redistribute their own care around the city. Speculation about whether the intentions behind the acquisition of Hahnemann by a private equity group in January 2018 had been well-meaning or whether it was a dubious real estate ploy caught the public eye and received significant political and media attention. Amid stories of injustice and greed, the new ownership announced the hospital's impending closure less than eighteen months later. During the brief time of ownership, the assets-namely, the hospital itself, its malpractice company, and the centercity property footprint-were split into different corporations. The hospital and malpractice company filed forbankruptcy with millions in unpaid debts, and the owner retained the property lot for future sale.
Amid the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the anniversary of Hahnemann's closure came and went with little fanfare. Here I tell the story of the health care teams that worked and cared for patients at Hahnemann. Hopefully, we can learn from its demise.
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