Temple, lawmakers meet to save aid for school

Now that they have everyone's attention, a pair of local elected leaders and Temple University officials are starting to play nice together.

State Rep. John Taylor said that he and Rep. Michael O'Brien have had three positive meetings with Temple brass since both pols took steps last week to deny the university $175 million in state and federal funds.

Taylor had promised to cut off the school's funding in March, when Temple University Health System officials abruptly announced their intention to close Northeastern Hospital because of mounting losses.

Health-system officials rebuffed numerous pleas from Taylor, O'Brien and others to save the Port Richmond hospital and the jobs of hundreds of employees, who were laid off when Northeastern closed on June 30.

Still, many Temple officials seemed shocked last Tuesday, when Taylor had a bill pulled from the House of Representatives that would provide the university with $175 million through a nonpreferred appropriation.

The university announced that the loss of funding would lead to a $5,000 tuition increase for undergraduates, a threat that spread like wildfire among students on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

"It's all-hands-on-deck now," Taylor said of Temple officials, whom he expects to meet with again today.

The group will discuss services that could be added to Northeastern, including a pediatrician's office, maternity and hospice care, and housing for seniors, Taylor said.

The hospital, which treated 60,000 emergency-room patients and delivered 1,800 babies last year, has offered a limited amount of outpatient services since July 1.

"Some of the things we want to bring in there could be really positive for the community," Taylor said. "The campus is so big, all those things are possible together."

Ken Lawrence Jr., Temple senior vice president for government, community and public affairs, acknowledged yesterday that school officials have "had productive conversations with many legislators," including Taylor.

Temple brass, Taylor and O'Brien haven't directly discussed the move to cut off the university's funds, Taylor said.

"It's like the 300-pound elephant in the room," he said. "If we get some level of cooperation, everything will be OK. If we don't, everything won't be OK."