What to Know
- Trinity Health’s Mercy Philadelphia Hospital, which has served its community for more than a century, will shut down its inpatient services, officials announced Wednesday.
- Founded in 1918, Mercy Philadelphia, located on 501 S. 54th Street, is a 157-bed community teaching hospital that serves Southwest and West Philadelphia.
- The spokesperson did not reveal a specific timeline for the closure.
Trinity Health’s Mercy Philadelphia Hospital, which has served its community for more than a century, will shut down its inpatient services, officials announced Wednesday.
“After careful consideration, we have come to the financial realization that our Mercy Philadelphia campus simply cannot continue operating in an acute-care capacity over the long term,” a spokesperson for Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic wrote.
Founded in 1918, Mercy Philadelphia, located on 501 S. 54th Street, is a 157-bed community teaching hospital that serves Southwest and West Philadelphia. The spokesperson did not reveal a specific timeline for the closure.
“In the coming months, we will begin the slow, deliberate and informed process of transforming our campus away from an inpatient hospital, shifting toward a model that can better and more sustainably serve the West Philadelphia community in the future,” the spokesperson wrote. “While we do not yet have all the answers, we promise to keep our patients, physicians and colleagues informed throughout every step of this process.”
Many patients at Mercy are among the neediest in the Philadelphia area. With the closure of inpatient services, any Mercy Philadelphia patient with a condition that requires hospital-level care will need to find another facility.
That’s a huge concern for Philadelphia City Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier who represents the Third Councilmanic District.
“The people who live here need and deserve high quality healthcare,” Gauthier said.
Gauthier told NBC10 there needs to be a concrete plan for the closure.
“So we’re not in a position where everybody is scrambling,” she said. “Where community members are scared and when it feels like there’s no plan or strategy.”
The announcement comes months after the closure of Philadelphia’s Hahnemann Hospital, which was shut down due to heavy financial losses.
