#Hahnemann is a cautionary tale of for-profit companies plundering a #SafetyNetHospital for a land deal. After speaking with several former physician trainees and the Internal Medicine PD @DaveAizenberg. The stories were disheartening. We must do better. #HahnemannStories 1/
#Hahnemann #tweetorial-In all the talk of policy changes and corporate malfeasance, the personal impact cannot be undersold. One story that needs to be shared is that of Erika Correa (permission given to share her experience). #HahnemannStories #medtwitter #MembersMoveMedicine 2/
Dr. Correa was starting #HemeOnc fellowship orientation at #Hahnemann when the closure was announced on June 26. She was suddenly without a program, funding, or health insurance. She had bought a house in Philadelphia, planning to stay at least 3 more years. #medtwitter 3/
Earlier in 2019, there was an @ACGME #Hahnemann site review but no warnings were handed out. None of the hospital workers were notified of impending closure until months later. This resulted in the largest displacement of medical trainees in US history (751)! #medtwitter 4/
Days later, Dr. Correa found out she was pregnant and went her first trimester without being able to get in to see an OB/GYN she no longer had #healthinsurance. This was a physician working in a tertiary center who could not get basic prenatal care! #maternalcare #medtwitter 5/
Meanwhile, Dr. Correa was scrambling to arrange interviews with new programs, with many refusing, and was offered a position at one but could not proceed as her #GME funding was held hostage by the hospital and buyer. #residency 6/
Initially, #GME funding was allowed to be sold to the @TJUHospital hospital system for $55 million by a bankruptcy judge but @CMSGov lawyers argued against the sale (as did advocacy groups) because #residency programs are not assets to be bought/sold. #Hahnemann #MedEd 7/
Later #GME funding was released and Dr. Correa went to @FoxChaseCancer a month later when another judge blocked the attempted sale, thanks to groups like Philadelphia County Medical Society, @PAMEDSociety, @AmerMedAssn, @AOAforDOs, & @CMSGov #MembersMoveMedicine #MedTwitter 8/
Trainees put their faith and #medschooldebt into a chaotic #Match system, through the collaboration of @acgme @NBMEnow @ABMSCert @ECFMG_IMG @AAMCtoday, and move across the country to train/serve their communities. The system failed and dehumanized them. #Hahnemann #residency 9/
Legal issues went beyond #GMEfunding including #J1Visa issues, loss of #healthinsurance, loss of #malpractice insurance, breaking leases and mortgages to move to new cities, etc. It’s unlikely that one lawyer would be able to represent all these issues #Hahnemann #MedTwitter 10/
The @AmerMedicalAssn sent letters to @DoS regarding #J1Visas (searchlf.ama-assn.org/undefined/docu…) and @CMSGov regarding #GME funding (searchlf.ama-assn.org/undefined/docu…). Together #AMA @AOAforDOs @AAMCtoday and @ABMSCert raised $125,000 for #Hahnemann relocation costs, but were stopgap measures. 11/
Just as Dr. Correa and colleagues thought the nightmare was over, they learned that they would lose #tailliability insurance in January 2020 would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars, and that this would affect former graduates well into their careers. #medtwitter 12/
The @AmerMedAssn is taking swift action regarding the loss of #tailliability insurance including for the 571 recent and as well as former #Hahnemann Hospital residents and fellows. #OurAMA #AMAmtg #MembersMoveMedicine 13/
The @AmerMedAssn resolution also outlines how we can build better guardrails for handling future residency closures that need to be addressed immediately asks for additional study. docs.google.com/document/d/18O… #OurAMA #AMAmtg #MembersMoveMedicine 14/
The @AmerMedAssn resolution also outlines how we can build better guardrails for handling future residency closures that need to be addressed immediately asks for additional study. docs.google.com/document/d/18O… #OurAMA #AMAmtg #MembersMoveMedicine 14/
The following are NEEDS:
-Letters to all programs in the country notifying them of hospital closures
-Publicly viewable available or newly created positions at accepting hospitals
-Immediate release of resident and fellow funding to allow for transfer
#Hahnemann #MedTwitter 15/
-Letters to all programs in the country notifying them of hospital closures
-Publicly viewable available or newly created positions at accepting hospitals
-Immediate release of resident and fellow funding to allow for transfer
#Hahnemann #MedTwitter 15/
Additional needs include:
-Advanced notification of closure by hospitals/systems
-Prevention from Matching new trainees at closing hospitals
What happened at #Hahnemann never should happen again.
#MedTwitter #Match @TheNRMP @ECFMG_IMG @ABMSCert @AAMCtoday @acgme 16/
-Advanced notification of closure by hospitals/systems
-Prevention from Matching new trainees at closing hospitals
What happened at #Hahnemann never should happen again.
#MedTwitter #Match @TheNRMP @ECFMG_IMG @ABMSCert @AAMCtoday @acgme 16/
Shout out to many of the advocates who spoke on behalf of these trainees including @TaniMalhotraMD @HansArora @AnkitAgarwalMD @anupriyads @EClevelandMD @DoctorJesseMD @LVSelbs @MarkKashtanMD @JoanneLoethenMD @S1618y @AmerMedicalAssn #MembersMoveMedicine #OurAMA #AMAmtg 17/
And a reminder: /18
