While a bankruptcy judge in Delaware approved the sale of shuttered Hahnemann University Hospital's residency program, physicians from the system's children's hospital rallied in Philadelphia for a nonprofit buyer.
St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia is up for sale for the "highest and best" bidder after its owner, El Segundo, Calif.-based American Academic Health System, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy July 1. Hahnemann, which was also owned by AAHS, didn't make out so well — the hospital closed its doors Sept. 6, the day after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross approved a bid to sell its 550 residency slots to a coalition of other health systems in the area for $55 million.
St. Christopher's physician leadership and community leaders banded together to form a nonprofit association that led the rally Sept. 5.
"We are here to tell you that the best bidder may not be the highest bidder. Whether or not this hospital remains as a resource to the families of North Philadelphia will be dependent, in large part, on who purchases us," Grier Arthur, MD, a pediatric surgeon at St. Christopher's, said in prepared remarks at the rally.
On behalf of the coalition of physicians and community leaders, Dr. Arthur called on the judge to find a buyer that was nonprofit, local and committed to maintaining the hospital and its tertiary care services.
The hospital does not have any bids yet.
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