Mount Sinai SOM

[murkywater]

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I have noticed (maybe its just me) a correlation between med schools I know to be in financial trouble and the cost of the secondary (again, maybe its just me)...

I was wondering if anybody who knows anything can tell me whether Mount Sinai SOM is in financial trouble...also, how it is over there.

thanks

 

[turtleboard]

Every academic medical center is currently experiencing some degree of financial trouble, whether it's something as illustrious as the Penn or what was formerly known as Allegheny, and Mount Sinai is not immune.

And that's part of the reason for why Mount Sinai and NYU recently merged their medical schools and medical services -- all in an effort to cut down costs.

The same thing happened at Columbia and Cornell and that's why they're one entity now.

It's happening all over New York and the country.

My friends at Sinai like it there, but I have no firsthand knowledge.


Tim of New York City.

 

[1918]

Just a brief clarification: New York Hospital and Columbia Presbyterian merged to form NY-P, but the respective medical schools are still independent. Don't look for that to change in the immediate future given the complicated politics and egos involved.

 

[murkywater]

Originally posted by turtleboard:
Every academic medical center is currently experiencing some degree of financial trouble, whether it's something as illustrious as the Penn or what was formerly known as Allegheny, and Mount Sinai is not immune.

And that's part of the reason for why Mount Sinai and NYU recently merged their medical schools and medical services -- all in an effort to cut down costs.

The same thing happened at Columbia and Cornell and that's why they're one entity now.

It's happening all over New York and the country.

My friends at Sinai like it there, but I have no firsthand knowledge.


Tim of New York City.

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There are medical centers/schools in this country that are running at a profit.

 

[ned]

This isn't true! What is your source?

I am currently attending a medical school whose hospital boasts a $2 billion "surplus." Several non-profit and for-profit hospitals in the area have also posted surpluses and profits, respectively. What may be confusing you is the following: USUALLY, virtually every penny within a given health care system is designated for construction, capitalization, technology, or reserve funds.

 

[turtleboard]

Perhaps I should've modified my statement and not make a sweeping generalization. Practically all academic medical centers are experiencing financial difficulty except for a few, and they have varying charactersitics that have kept them in the black.

I happen to be from a school that isn't in financial trouble and actually running "at a profit," but the other two medical centers in the system are in the red.

Sorry for the misinformation.

Tim of New York City.

 

[ned]

Well: I hate to harp, but I think I will because I think it's very important for premeds, med students, and 'academic' practitioners to know they aren't in as much trouble as they think: The MAJORITY of academic med centers ARE financially solvent.

It is true that several high-ranking and visible academic medical centers have undergone shaky mergers, filed for bankruptcy, or made horrible financial decisions over the past few years (e.g. Allegheny, UPenn, and Stanford/UCSF). As a group, however, academic medical centers are not in as much trouble many people might think.

The bottom line is that LIFE ISN'T THAT BAD for academicians. The following article is a MUST-READ for people interested in the solvency of academic medical centers. It talks about the problems associated with AMC's in the 21st century and reasponably assesses the financial situation over the past decade:
http://www.brook.edu/comm/PolicyBriefs/pb059/pb59.htm