The sprawling hospital serves the diverse and densely packed Philadelphia suburb of Upland, and a large proportion of its patients earn low incomes. Malone remembers a time when the hospital, once the largest in the county with nearly 500 licensed beds, was such a hub that neighbors would come to the cafeteria just to have dinner.
Now many of the units sit empty. Gone are the pediatric unit, the transplant program and the detox program where Malone used to work. Staff has been reduced and supplies are scarce.
Patients’ rooms in the main building haven’t had television since the cable was disconnected last month, she said.
Malone has grown accustomed to telling this story over and over to reporters, to researchers, even to Congress in recent years. Her community — her hospital — is a cautionary tale for what can happen when private equity comes to town.
“We want to give good patient care,” she told Stateline. “We want to not be using broken equipment and piecing supplies together. But we don’t have the power to stop what’s happening.”
Private equity firms use pooled investments from pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds and wealthy individuals to buy controlling stakes in companies. In the past couple of years, private equity’s foray into hospital ownership has drawn public outrage and, increasingly, legislative scrutiny.
