A resolution in sight?

For well over a year now, the financial struggles of the University of Pennsylvania Health System have played out like a long, agonizing soap opera. We were introduced to the bitter truth -- $330 million in losses over just three years -- through a series of layoffs, cost cutting and the lowering of the University's bond rating in October 1999. The trouble continued in March 2000, when we witnessed firsthand the personal torment of an ousted CEO in William Kelley. And later that year, we were stunned with the sudden and ill-timed departure of Kelley's successor, Peter Traber. All told, the deficits at the $1.9 billion Health System continued to rack up. And despite recent signs that some financial relief may finally be around the corner, a definitive end to those financial woes has yet to materialize. This week, though, it finally appeared as if a light may very well be at the end of that dreary tunnel, with reports that talks were ongoing with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to determine the eventual fate of the Health System. It is still far too early to know where the discussions between the University and CHOP are going, and it is likewise impossible to know what the ramifications of such a deal would ultimately mean for Penn. Regardless, these recent discussions suggest that the University is exploring all possible options -- no matter how substantial -- to remedy the Health System's financial mess. Furthermore, we are highly encouraged that Penn has chosen to open discussions with CHOP -- a proven, academically-oriented health services provider with close ties to the Health System and its staff. Without question, the future of the Health System and its institutions should include an academic component. Such a mandate was the guiding principle for its founding in 1993. We are fairly certain that most academic elements -- including the sharing of faculty members between the two institutions and the use of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania as a teaching facility -- would be preserved should any deal be reached between the two organizations. For that reason, CHOP appears a good match for the Health System and its neighboring hospital. Much ado has also been made in recent weeks about the possible fallout should the Health System find its way into the hands of a for-profit firm, rather than an academic, not-for-profit organization similar to the University and CHOP. But with the Health System still in such dreary shape, University administrators must look to preserve Penn's core function -- academics -- when determining a resolution to this complicated financial saga. It now seems as if such resolution may be in sight. And it's just in time, too. The soap opera was beginning to get very expensive.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.