Drexel is likely to take over four Center City graduate schools. The pending sale of eight Philadelphia-area hospitals owned by a bankrupt organization to a big for-profit company from California should preserve at least one important element of the local status quo -- and could give a big boost to a Penn neighbor. Tenet Healthcare Corp. has promised to inject $60 million into Philadelphia's financially troubled Allegheny University of the Health Sciences. The university enrolls 3,000 students in four schools: MCP-Hahnemann School of Medicine, School of Health Professions, School of Nursing and School of Public Health. Under the Tenet deal, the university would be owned by a third-party, non-profit entity created expressly for that purpose. Drexel University would manage the institution but assume no financial risk for it. The plan is pending approval by Drexel's Board of Trustees. "This [the sale of a medical school] is a totally extraordinary event," said Richard Tannen, senior vice president of Penn's School of Medicine. Most medical schools are remarkably stable, and have long-standing affiliations with some larger institution of higher education, Tannen said. The deal would offer Drexel four graduate schools in the areas where it currently has no programs. Drexel is a private university known for its well-regarded engineering programs. The addition of a medical school also stands to significantly increase Drexel's prestige as a research institution, Tannen said. Allegheny University received $60 million in state and federal research grants last year. In a statement, Drexel President Constantine Papadakis said acquiring the schools would benefit "the students and faculty of both institutions and the people of Greater Philadelphia." Tenet will provide additional short-term funding to the school.
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