Last month, Vincent Cristofalo became president of the Lankenau Research Institute, Pennsylvania, and brought along his entire gerontological research team of 20, including seven faculty. Although it is not unusual for an investigator to relocate a research team, the reason for this particular decampment was far from typical: Cristofalo's team were fleeing the bankrupt Allegheny University of the Health Sciences (AUHS), where Cristofalo had held the institution's first endowed professorship.
For over 10 years, the Allegheny name has been associated with healthcare in Philadelphia and has adorned the façade of a successful medical school. But more than two years of financial mismanagement by the CEO of AUHS' parent organization, Allegheny Health Education Research Foundation (AHERF), has changed all that. AHERF filed for bankruptcy last summer, with around $1.3 billion in debts. Tenet Healthcare Corporation bought the AHERF assets (eight hospitals and AUHS), on November 10th and contracted a local university, Drexel, to manage AUHS—which was renamed MCP Hahnemann University (MCPHU)—until June 2001. During this period, Drexel can exercise an option to merge with MCPHU.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution