Here read this about drexels plan on buying the hospital that it currently uses
Posted on Tue, Feb. 24, 2004
Drexel looking at MCP purchase
The university medical college hired consultants to study a possible takeover, becoming the third potential bidder.
By Karl Stark
Inquirer Staff Writer
A third potential buyer is looking at MCP Hospital.
The Drexel University College of Medicine said it had hired a consulting firm to investigate the possibility of taking over MCP Hospital.
"We're seriously looking at the site and trying to make a determination of what Drexel could do with it," Linda Roth, a medical school spokeswoman, said. "That would keep our faculty employed, it would serve as a resource for our students and our residents, and serve the community. If it can be a win-win [situation], we'd be interested."
In a related development, Common Pleas Court Judge Matthew D. Carrafiello largely backed out of the case over the hospital's future yesterday, citing the out-of-court accord reached last week between MCP's owner, Tenet Healthcare Corp., and the Pennsylvania Department of Health that would keep the hospital open for an additional three months. But Carrafiello left open the possibility that he could play a role later.
Drexel's effort comes after two other health systems have also expressed interest in MCP. The Temple University Health System has assigned a team of executives to see if MCP can work as a stripped-down institution with an emergency room, surgical suites, doctors offices, and a small number of beds.
The state has also asked the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network to look at taking over MCP.
Susan Anderson, who is heading the governor's effort on MCP, called Temple's plan "the only concrete thing we have on paper from anybody."
Drexel already uses MCP as a major teaching site, and it employs about 150 full-time and part-time professors, along with 200 residents and about 40 medical students at any one time. Many are anxious about where their training will occur in the coming months.
Anderson said Drexel had told the Governor's Office that it had retained a consultant to study the possibilities at MCP. "I have actually been amazed that they haven't done more since it was all of their doctors who are at [MCP Hospital]," she said.
Nancy Pickering, a cardiologist who is leading the effort to save the hospital, expressed some satisfaction that the hospital might have options.
"This shows that MCP does have value," Pickering said.
Philip Mead, president of the MCP medical staff, said the move could be sound, especially since many observers wonder if Tenet will stay in the brutally competitive Philadelphia market long-term.
"Theoretically, [a Drexel offer] makes all the sense in the world, and I wondered why they weren't considering it because their medical school is practically right across the street in Queen Lane," Mead said. "If Tenet pulls out of the market, Drexel is crazy if they don't have a hospital."
Meanwhile, at City Hall yesterday, Carrafiello dismissed the request for an injunction by the Association to Save MCP, citing the accord between Tenet and the state. The agreement echoed the language of his earlier order keeping the hospital open, Carrafiello said.
At the same time, the judge said he was keeping the case alive, and he said the parties could return to court if they felt it necessary.
Both sides praised the decision, saying it was a natural response to the accord announced Friday by Gov. Rendell. Tenet agreed to keep MCP open until June 30 in the face of a threatened state Health Department lawsuit. The company also promised to keep MCP operating at the same level of service.
MCP had 60 patients on Sunday, a spokeswoman said.
Gerard Schrom, an attorney for the Association to Save MCP, said the case would "move from the courtroom to the boardroom" to see if a buyer could be found.
Larry Ceisler, a public relations executive representing Tenet, called the judge's actions wise, and said: "Tenet is going to do everything in their power to make sure there is access to health care in this area."
Some movement is already being felt. Employees at the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, which is part of MCP, had been told in writing that they would lose their jobs on March 31. But those letters are being rescinded, spokeswoman Maria Iaquinto said. The workers will keep their jobs until MCP closes or the psychiatric department makes an expected deal to merge with Friends Hospital in the Northeast, Iaquinto said.
The dean of my school has been talking alot about what they are thinking about doing with drexel
