Temple accepts dozens of medical residents from Hahnemann

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The news that Hahnemann University Hospital was closing left hundreds of medical residents in limbo. Many budding physicians transferred to other training programs across the country. Still, many were left to wonder what's next.

Susan Coull, Vice President of Medical Education at Temple, says the University saw the need and stepped up to help out, and accepted 84 of the fellows and medical residents.

"Some of them have their whole training left, which could be three years, four years, five years, depending on their specialty.

"So they are now part of the Temple family. They are our residents and our trainees. So what's left for them is to be here and to successfully work through the training program," Coull said.

Temple says it accepted as many students as it could from a variety of specialties in medicine. Being able to help is a proud moment for the University.

"First of all, the commitment to education is what we do. We really saw it as our responsibility to get approval for as many as we can take so that we can really keep them in the city and have them complete their programs here. So we feel really proud," Coull said.

Medical residents, like Sam Krass, were just weeks from finishing up at Hahnemann and were floored to hear the University was closing.

"We were totally stunned because we were completely caught off guard. It was a total shock and we just kind of scrambled to find positions to complete our medical training," Krass said.

Others we talked to, were equally stunned.

"We had just started orientation. We stared on the 24 and found out on the 26. So it was surprising because Hahnemann is a 171-year institution," said psychiatry resident, Ryan Serdenes.

Getting into medical school and residency programs is hard enough, the closure of Hahnemann was just added stress. The residents and fellows are now breathing a sigh relief that they can transfer to a program at Temple and saying, thank you.

"We are so overwhelmed with happiness and excitement and so appreciative of everything Temple has done for us and we really can't thank them enough," Krass said.

"I absolutely wanted to practice in Philadelphia. I wanted a patient population similar to Hahnemann and I think Temple will definitely provide that for me," said Serdenes.

All thanks to Temple University, these 84 physicians in training can get back to focusing on completing their medical career and eventually saving lives.