June 30, 2019
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Hahnemann University Hospital will no longer accept trauma patients, effective immediately, officials said. The hospital will instead divert patients to other facilities in the area, despite the state health department ordering the hospital to cease its closure plans on Thursday.
Hahnemann University Hospital will no longer accept trauma patients, effective immediately, officials said. The hospital will instead divert patients to other facilities in the area, despite the state health department ordering the hospital to cease its closure plans on Thursday.
The emergency department will remain open, but it will not accept trauma patients, the hospital said in a statement on Saturday. The hospital is "de-designating" as a Level 1 and 2 trauma facility. It gave notice to the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation of its plans to no longer serve trauma patients on Friday.
Opening in 1986, Hahnemann's Charles C. Wolferth Trauma Center was the first designated Level I trauma center for adults in the greater Philadelphia region.
"After reviewing our plan of closure and in consultation with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, we felt this move is in the best interest of patient safety," Dr. Alexander E. Trebelev, Chief Medical Officer at Hahnemann, said in the statement. "Unfortunately, we are facing clinical and operational challenges. We cannot continue to serve trauma and STEMI patients under these conditions."
On Wednesday, the hospital, owned by American Academic Health System, announced they were closing its doors in September due to financial loss. Officials said Hahnemann was suffering monthly losses of between $3 million and $5 million.
The announcement came just days after Drexel University filed a lawsuit to prevent a sudden closure of the hospital. The university's medical school uses Hahnemann as its teaching hospital.
"We have processes and procedures in place to assure these things don’t occur and this letter, in no uncertain terms, advises Hahnemann that it must follow those rules in the best interest of patients and employees," Gov. Wolf said in a statement.
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