After several recent upheavals in its administration, the Health System recently named Arthur Rubenstein, the former dean of New York's Mount Sinai Medical School, as its permanent leader.
On Saturday, the diabetes specialist will officially become both an executive vice president of the University and the dean of the School of Medicine. He was appointed in late July.
Rubenstein's dual position will require him to work with both the University and the Health System, helping define the relationship between the academic and clinical systems.
"I think that we need to be creative and be sure that the Health System and Medical School's clinical operations don't negatively impact the university," he said in July.
As an executive vice president, Rubenstein will be working with University President Judith Rodin; as a dean, he will report to Provost Robert Barchi.
Rubenstein will also oversee Health System Chief Executive Officer Robert Martin, who had been serving at the helm since the departure of former CEO Peter Traber, who left the University for the private sector last July after only five months on the job.
Rubenstein will be replacing Arthur Asbury, who has been acting as interim dean of the Medical School since Traber left. Both Martin and Asbury were unavailable for comment.
To some, Rubenstein's appointment to work with both the University and the Health System comes as a surprise. Earlier this year, Rodin announced that the Health System would become a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation separate from the University -- a maneuver designed to insulate Penn from any debts the Health System incurred.
Penn had considered several options for the Health System, including an outright sale, in response to the more than $300 million deficits it racked up in the late 1990s. But officials chose to form the spin-off in order to maintain the academic mission of the Medical School, which works closely with the Health System.
The appointment of Rubenstein "seems inconsistent with the Health System's decision to become an independent organization," said Robert Field, director of the Health Policy Program at the University of the Sciences.
"To me, it seems as though Penn is acknowledging that teaching, research and clinical care are so intertwined that you cannot separate them," Field said.
William Ferniany, the senior vice president of administrative and network services at Penn, emphasized the importance of maintaining a close bond between the University and the Health System.
"There's been a lot of discussion about separating the school and the Health System -- it's great that they're combining, because there's less potential for conflict," Ferniany said.
Since 1997, the Health System has been plagued by financial difficulties, largely due to the Balanced Budget Act, which reduced government payments to teaching hospitals. After losing hundreds of millions of dollars, the system began to reevaluate its financial difficulties, and has been gradually recovering from the losses.
Rubenstein said he hopes he will be able to help the Health System set a steady course for the future.
"This is a special university, with an important health system and a great medical school," he said. "It's just an honor for me."
