Philadelphia Medicine Summer 2019 - 13

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residency displacement in the history of ACGME. The first
day of work for many incoming interns was the day before the
announcement was made to staff.
These residents moved themselves and their families across the
country to begin a new life, with a guarantee of three to seven years
of stable work. They bought houses or signed rental agreements,
then on their second day of work, were told they may need to move
again to continue their training. Other residents were beginning
their seventh and final year of education, preparing for fellowships
or their first job as an attending, but now worry about meeting
the requirements for board certification.
Health care providers and support staff are now forced to balance advocacy for their patients to receive safe care, with advocacy
for themselves to maintain their livelihood and education. The
surrounding hospitals have been supportive of the residents and
are attempting to approve extensions of programs to help those at
Hahnemann finish their training. The programs with adequate
case numbers and patient volume have made commitments to
displaced residents for the remainder of their education. But

both residents and their new programs anxiously await the release
of funds from the hospital so they can continue their education.
The culture of the health care providers at Hahnemann has
always been more consistent with a county hospital - placing patient
service first. Philadelphia remains one of the only major cities in
the country without a designated county hospital. Hahnemann
has been a safety-net hospital for decades, providing care to an
under-served community. That work will now be forced onto other
hospitals, where ER and other services are already taxed.
Making Hahnemann a county hospital would require significant funding from the government. But the investment would
be worthwhile for the health of Philadelphia, and can potentially
reduce health-care costs in the long term. But, it will not happen
overnight. Until then, most of the providers will need to find
new places to practice and patients will need to find a new place
to receive their care.
The closing is a tragedy for the city that's very personal for the
patients the hospital serves, and those of us who have worked
hard to serve them. *

Summer 2019 : Philadelphia Medicine 13

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Philadelphia Medicine Summer 2019

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