Hahnemann Hospital faces financial cliff; Glen Mills Schools to close | Morning Newsletter
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This morning’s big news is about shake ups at local institutions. Our first story focuses on Hahnemann Hospital, which is running out of time to shore up its shaky financial future. If the Center City hospital were to close, the impact would be felt across the city. Glen Mills Schools, on the other hand, is closing. Pennsylvania is shutting down the reform school amid an investigation into allegations of abuse there.
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— Aubrey Nagle (@aubsn, morningnewsletter@philly.com)
Center City’s Hahnemann University Hospital is in financial peril and Joel Freedman, the California investment banker who bought it last year, needs to find a solution, “ASAP or else,” he said.
Without more money from government and insurers and savings from an academic training program with Drexel University, the hospital faces closure.
And it’s already faced layoffs, with 175 announced last week and more expected to come. If Hahnemann does close, it would affect some of the city’s most vulnerable patients and eliminate more than 2,500 jobs.
Pennsylvania is closing the Glen Mills Schools, the country’s oldest existing reform school. The news comes amid an investigation into child abuse and cover-ups at the Delaware County campus.
The state Department of Human Services is revoking the school’s license having found evidence that its employees beat juveniles sent to the all-boys school and attempted to coerce them into silence.
An Inquirer investigation published in February documented decades of abuse at the school. Last month the state ordered an emergency removal of all remaining boys there.
City zoning officials have denied an appeal by the Arizona-based youth-services company VisionQuest, which wants to house 60 undocumented immigrant children in North Philadelphia, throwing the company’s plans at the site into question.
The plan has generated controversy and opposition from local immigrant advocates. Nearly two weeks ago a contentious community meeting over the site saw Logan residents criticizing VisionQuest while its employees cheered the plans.
A spokesperson for the for-profit company said it would appeal the ruling in Common Pleas Court.
What you need to know today
An experienced skydiver fell to his death in a South Jersey neighborhood Sunday. Authorities are investigating what was at least the 10th fatality since 2002 for skydivers leaving from Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown.
Shake-ups continue at the Department of Homeland Security. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned Sunday and the U.S. Secret Service Director is being forced out, too, among other changes.
De’Andre Hunter, an alum of Wynnewood’s Friend’s Central High School, scored 27 points Monday night leading Virginia to a 85-77 overtime victory over Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament championship.
Sen. Bernie Sanders will hold a rally in Pittsburgh Sunday as his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination swings through a few battleground states.
What happens to guns that American teachers or school officers bring to school? In at least 60 cases in the last 5 years they’ve been left out or accessible to students, a study has found.
Bruce Deifik, the former owner of Atlantic City’s Ocean Resort Casino, died over the weekend of injuries from a car crash in Denver, according to reports.
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Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly
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That’s Interesting
Rhys Hoskins is on a hot streak. For the second straight day he propelled the Phillies to victory at Citizens Bank Park Monday, this time with two home runs over the Nationals.
Take note, foodies. A diverse dining scene is taking shape in Philly’s Harrowgate section, with coffee, beer, bakeries and more.
Female percussionists are a rare breed, but Drum Like A Lady, a Philadelphia collective that connects women through community drumming, is marching to a different beat.
The Sixers just hired Lindsey Harding, their first female coach in franchise history, and she comes with an impressive resume.
Chester County is home to the oldest mushroom farm in the nation. It uses modern, eco-friendly technology to keep up with the times, but it hasn’t always paid off.
Drum roll, please: soft-shell crab season has come to the region a bit early this year. You can find the treat at restaurants around town.
Opinions
“Lead paint and the resultant dust can cause permanent cognitive damage. Stifling heat, mold, and rodent droppings exacerbate asthma, a cause of suffering and absenteeism among school children in Philadelphia. These conditions would never be allowed to continue in suburban or majority-white school districts.” — Philadelphia educators Janene Hasan and Kathleen Melville on how Philadelphia could end the ten-year tax abatement to repair toxic city schools.
The First Step Act and even the Second Step initiative are not enough to reform the U.S. criminal justice system, writes Inmates to Entrepreneurs founder Brian Hamilton.
It’s tax season and this year Philadelphians should check if they’re eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, an effective antipoverty program for working families, writes Pennsylvania treasurer Joe Torsella.
What we’re reading
Former Sixer Kyle Korver wrote a moving essay on white privilege for The Players’ Tribune that went viral Monday, and for good reason. It’s well worth your time.
After Wrestlemania ended at the Meadowlands Sunday, fans weren’t too happy with the post-show NJ Transit chaos. NJ.com has a good-humored look at the mess.
Need to decompress or get back into healthy habits? Philadelphia Magazine has a list of Philly-based health and wellness podcasts you may be interested in.
If you follow K-pop and Spanish-language rappers you already know what the Guardian says is the latest trend in music: English is no longer the language of pop.
Millennials might want to give their two cents about The Cut’s new essay which asks whether the generation’s penchant for delivery services makes it less adult.
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