August 5th, 2009

The decision to close the Northeastern Hospital in June could have a lasting impact on the Temple University Health System. This decision could prevent them from gaining $175 million in state and federal funds.

The Daily News reports:

The bitter war over Northeastern Hospital isn’t over yet.

Most of the battles in this months-long conflict have been won by Temple University Health System officials, who announced in March their decision to close the Port Richmond hospital because of mounting financial losses.

Hundreds of layoffs followed when the hospital ceased inpatient services on June 30.

Now, state Rep. John Taylor and other leaders who had fought to save the ill-fated hospital have fired a salvo that could deprive Temple University of $175 million in state and federal funds.

“We told them we’d do this. Apparently they didn’t understand,” Taylor said. “Now, they have a mess on their hands.”

A bill that would provide Temple with millions of dollars through a nondeferred appropriation was pulled from the state House of Representatives yesterday, Taylor said.

The full story can be found on The Daily News website.