Hahnemann University Hospital announces closure plan timeline

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Hahnemann University Hospital has announced a closure plan timeline on Tuesday.

Philadelphia Academic Health System, the parent company of Hahnemann University Hospital, says the dates are pending approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Philadelphia Health Commissioner's Office.

- Admissions from the emergency department will end at 7:00 a.m. on July 17th.
- Elective surgical cases requiring inpatient care will cease on July 17th.
- The inpatient operating room will close for non-emergency cases on July 17th.
- Direct inpatient admissions will cease on July 19th.
- Endoscopy and colonoscopy services end on July 26th.
- Same-day surgeries will end on July 26th.
- Infusion center and aphaeresis services end on July 26th.
- Sleep Lab will close on July 26th.
- Emergency Department will close on August 16th.
- Hospital services such as lab, radiology, blood bank, and pharmacy will close on August 23rd.
- The Drexel outpatient oncology suite located in Hahnemann will cease operations on or before September 6th.
- The hospital building is planned to close on or about September 6th.

"The decision to close Hahnemann was an extremely difficult, but necessary one, due to continuing, unsustainable financial losses. We have been working hand in hand with the Mayor's Office, Drexel University, and officials from the Philadelphia Health Commissioner's Office and the Pennsylvania Department of Health to ensure a smooth wind-down of operations," said Ron Dreskin, PAHS Interim System CEO.

The announcement comes one day after Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders came to Philadelphia for a rally at Hahnemann University Hospital.

"At a time when our country faces a major healthcare crisis, when 80 million Americans are either uninsured or under-insured, including tens of thousands of people here in the Philadelphia area, we should be moving - we must be moving forward to guarantee healthcare to all people as a right, and we should not be talking about shutting down a major hospital and converting that property into hotels or condos or some other real estate opportunity," Sanders said to those in attendance.

Gov. Tom Wolf and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said Monday that it isn't responsible to give taxpayer money to the hospital's venture capital parent company.

They accused them of taking Hahnemann into bankruptcy court to protect profits they extracted from the 495-bed hospital and community. On Facebook, Sanders says Hahnemann's for-profit owners want to make money off the hospital's real estate.

The firm says it tried to keep the hospital open. Its bankruptcy filing says the hospital's finances were in unexpectedly bad condition when it took over last year.

Wolf and Kenney pledged up to $15 million to help meet the health care needs of Hahnemann patients and the community, and they want the federal government to match that and cover the company's debts of $40 million to the state and city.