Hahnemann University Hospital is a tertiary care center in Center City, Philadelphia and the Center City Philadelphia teaching hospital of Drexel University College of Medicine. Established in 1885, it was for most of its history the main teaching hospital associated with its namesake medical school, Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, founded in 1848 and named for Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of the medical theory of homeopathy. Hahnemann University Hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
Hahnemann University Hospital, located at the southwest corner of Broad and Vine streets, is also affiliated with St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in North Philadelphia.
The hospital is owned by American Academic Health System (AAHS), a newly formed affiliate of Paladin Healthcare. The sale of Dallas-based for-profit Tenet Healthcare's remaining Philadelphia assets was completed on January 12, 2018.
History
The Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, which was founded in 1848, was located on North 15th Street in Philadelphia until 1928. It moved one block east to its current location in 1928 after the completion of what is now its South Tower, with its Art Deco front doors facing Broad Street. Hahnemann's South Tower was America's first skyscraper teaching hospital. In 1979, Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, needing more space, constructed its North Tower adjacent to the 1928 South Tower. North Tower houses Hahnemann's emergency department, trauma center, patient care floors, and other core services and connects by hallway to the medical education building facing 15th Street.
In 1993, Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital was purchased by Allegheny General Hospital, and Hahnemann briefly became Allegheny University of the Health Sciences. The following year, Allegheny purchased the Medical College of Pennsylvania, the former Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania and Female Medical College, founded in 1850, and the combined school became known as MCP Hahnemann University School of Medicine.
In 1998, Allegheny's parent company, Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation, declared bankruptcy, and Tenet Healthcare Corporation acquired its holdings, including MCP Hahnemann University School of Medicine, Hahnemann Hospital, MCP Hospital, and other regional teaching hospitals associated with MCP Hahnemann, including Roxborough Memorial Hospital, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, and Warminster Hospital.
The Hahnemann University Hospital campus consists of six buildings: the North Tower, South Tower, Bobst Building, Feinstein Building, New College Building and Klahr Auditorium.
Hahnemann's Charles C. Wolferth Trauma Center, completed in 1986, was Philadelphia's first designated-Level I Trauma Center for adults.
On August 3, 2000, former US President Gerald R. Ford was admitted to Hahnemann Hospital after suffering minor strokes while attending the 2000 Republican National Convention. He made a quick recovery and was soon released.
After divesting or closing all legacy AHERF hospitals, Tenet entered into a definitive agreement to sell its remaining Philadelphia assets â€" Hahnemann and St. Christopher's â€" to American Academic Health System, a newly formed affiliate of Paladin Healthcare. The definitive agreement was announced in September 2017, with the sale to AAHS finalized in January 2018.
Services provided
Hahnemann Hospital specializes in:
- Kidney and liver transplantation
- OB/GYN
- Medical and radiation oncology
- Hepato-pancreato-biliary(HPB) program
- Minimally invasive robotic surgery
- Neonatal intensive care unit, Level III
- Bariatric surgery
- Bloodless medicine and surgery
- Neurology and neurosurgery
- Orthopedics
- Pulmonary medicine and sleep center
- Urology
- Bone marrow transplantation
- Renal dialysis
MCP Hahnemann University and Drexel University College of Medicine
The Medical College of Pennsylvania merged with Hahnemann University in 1993, creating four fully accredited schools: the School of Medicine, Graduate School, School of Allied Health Professions, and the School of Continuing Education. In 1993, the College became the first medical school in the country to completely integrate women's health issues into its curriculum instead of an occasional lecture or optional elective. Also in that year MCP and Hahnemann University became part of Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation (AHERF) and were integrated into the Allegheny University of the Health Sciences (AUHS), which included facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately five years later AHERF, which owned eight Philadelphia hospitals, collapsed in the nation’s largest bankruptcy of a non-profit health care organization.
In October 1998, in an historic reorganization, the AHERF hospitals were sold to Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a for-profit hospital corporation based in Texas. A new non-profit corporation, Philadelphia Health & Education Corporation (PHEC), was created to carry on the education, research and service missions under the name MCP Hahnemann University. Drexel University was hired as the university’s operator, to bring the same level of expertise to running this academic medical center that Tenet brought to hospital management operations.
After successfully operating MCP Hahnemann University for three and a half years, the Drexel Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to make its relationship with MCP Hahnemann permanent. On July 1, 2002, two of the MCP Hahnemann schools â€" the College of Nursing and Health Professions and the School of Public Health â€" formally became integrated with Drexel, and PHEC continued to operate as a legal affiliate of Drexel under its new name, Drexel University College of Medicine. Shortly thereafter, the Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approved the transfer to Drexel University of all degree-granting authority that had previously been vested in MCP Hahnemann University. As a result, all students of the former MCP Hahnemann University became Drexel students and all alumni became affiliated with Drexel as well.
Key Milestones and Achievements
- In 1963, Hahnemann University Hospital performed the Philadelphia region’s first kidney transplant
- In 1976, physicians at Hahnemann performed one of the region's first bone marrow transplants
- In 1986, Hahnemann became the region’s first designated Level One adult trauma center and University MedEvac became the region’s first air medical program
- In 2001, Hahnemann performed the region’s first and only artificial heart implant
- In 2016, Hahnemann became the first hospital in the region to offer HOPE Act organ transplantation services. In the same year, the hospital became the first academic medical center in the Philadelphia region to offer a transgender surgical program.
- In 2017, Hahnemann became the first academic medical center in the Philadelphia region and the second in the United States to offer a transgender surgery fellowship.
In popular culture
Hahnemann University Hospital's façade has appeared in numerous TV shows, including It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Cold Case, NCIS: Los Angeles and The Mindy Project.
Grace Kelly was born at Hahnemann on November 12, 1929.
Supermodel Gia Carangi was admitted to Hahnemann Hospital, where she subsequently died in of AIDS. Hahnemann was mentioned in her biography, "Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia" by Stephen Fried.
References
Notes
External links
- Hahnemann Hospital official site
- Office of University Student Life Center City Hahnemann Campus
