What to Know
- About 40% of Drexel's physicians and clinical staff will be laid off as a result of Hahnemann University Hospital's impending closure.
- Drexel doctors staff many of Hahnemann's departments and wards.
- The move comes despite previous state and city efforts to keep the medical center open.
Hahnemann University Hospital doctors-in-training were officially "released" to pursue their medical studies elsewhere, the embattled institution announced Wednesday.
Its the latest development in the steady unraveling of a nearly 200-year-old hospital that announced its demise last month.
The news comes barely two weeks after Hahnemann told its residents and fellows they were free to pursue studies at other institutions.
Residents and fellows were notified via a conference call with academic officers, according to a statement.
“Helping our residents and fellows continue their training and launch their careers with a minimum of disruption has been a top priority of our closure plan,” Ron Dreskin, Philadelphia Academic Health System interim CEO said in a statement. “The hospital is using an orderly approach to releasing the residents and fellows to ensure patients are still being safely cared for as Hahnemann winds down operations.”
Over the following two weeks, Hahnemann will also start an "orderly and voluntary withdrawal" of accreditation of its residency and fellowship programs. This will allow physicians to join different programs throughout the country.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Residents and fellows will continue to receive their salary and benefits until Aug. 25, or until they begin their new program.
Last week, Hahnemann announced that about 40% of Drexel University's physicians and clinical staff would be laid off as a result of its impending closure.
The moves came despite previous state and city efforts to keep the medical center open. Last week, presidential candidate Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also weighed in, calling for Joel Freedman, the president and CEO of Philadelphia Academic Health System, which owns the hospital, to cease closure plans.
Employees at Hahnemann told NBC10 the hospital has become a "ghost town" as fewer patients have been admitted and wards closed.
Earlier this month it stopped admitting patients from the emergency room into the hospital. Before that, it closed its maternity ward and began diverting trauma patients to other hospitals.
As it stands, Hahnemann is slated to close in September.
