Pinnacle Healthcare Consulting has been designated the temporary manager of Hahnemann and St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia by the owners, Pennsylvania Academic Health Systems (PAHS), according to a statement from the Pennsylvania Department of Health last week.
 
PAHS voluntarily agreed to be temporary manager after announcing it will close the Center City-based Hahnemann in late June due to millions in losses since acquiring the facilities from Tenet in 2017. The company filed for bankruptcy as well.

The Department of Health sent a cease and desist letter to the owners of Philadelphia’s Hahnemann Hospital, preventing a shutdown of the emergency room planned to start as early as Friday.
 
Members of Philadelphia City Council joined employees of Hahnemann Hospital Thursday in solidarity and called for state intervention to keep the hospital open. The hospital’s owners announced Wednesday plans to close the Center City hospital after months of multi-million-dollar losses. Many who spoke outside City Hall called for assistance from Gov. Tom Wolf (D) and elected officials. 

Sec. of Health, Dr. Rachel Levine, announced on Monday afternoon that Pennsylvania will be joining 22 other states in declaring an hepatitis A outbreak. 

Since January 2018 there have been 171 cases of hepatitis A in 36 counties, with Philadelphia and Allegheny counties being hit the hardest. 

On Thursday morning, the Department of Health celebrated the one year mark of launching the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. The program's goal is to assist health care providers to prescribe and dispense medications safely and referring patients to treatment if needed.