Penn Medicine’s Scheie Eye Institute and Wills Eye Hospital are exploring an ophthalmology partnership.
According to an Oct. 6 message to Wills employees, the two institutions signed a preliminary agreement to evaluate collaborative efforts on patient care, research, and medical training. If the agreement is finalized, it will mark a major change in Wills’ affiliation with the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital — which dates back to 1972 — while preserving the eye hospital’s independent license and existing governance.
Wills CEO and ophthalmologist-in-chief Julia Haller outlined the discussions in the message, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Under the preliminary agreement, the institutions will conduct due diligence before deciding whether to finalize a joint venture.
“I want to assure you that this process will be very deliberate,” Haller wrote in the message.
She added that Wills would retain its name and branding, remain a trust of the City of Philadelphia, and continue under its current board leadership. Both institutions acknowledged that the efforts might culminate with a final agreement.
In an email to the Inquirer, Penn Med wrote that the potential partnership would evaluate whether collaboration between Wills and Penn’s ophthalmology department “could expand access for patients, accelerate research and innovation, strengthen education and training, increase the organizations’ collective impact in ophthalmology.”
The discussions come amid continued financial losses at Wills. The hospital, founded in 1832, has recorded at least 11 consecutive years of operating losses. It reported $109.8 million in revenue and a $15.9 million operating loss for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.
The proposed partnership also raises questions about Wills’ longstanding ties to Jefferson Health — the Philadelphia health system affiliated with Thomas Jefferson University.
Jefferson’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College sponsors Wills’ ophthalmology residency program, which has 24 participants, according to Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education figures in the report. The health system expressed disappointment with Wills’ decision in a written statement to the Inquirer, stating the hospital would “pursue a different path after more than 50 years of partnership.”
The health system said it would seek other partnerships and opportunities to expand access to eye care across the region.
On Oct. 8, Jefferson appointed neuro-ophthalmology specialist Robert Sergott as Interim Chair of ophthalmology at Sidney Kimmel Medical College, effective immediately. Haller previously held the chair position through Wills’ affiliation with Jefferson.
The discussions follow other changes to Penn Med’s regional network. In April 2025, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that Doylestown Health joined the University of Pennsylvania Health System — making its 245-bed flagship hospital Penn Med’s seventh such facility. Craig Gronczewski subsequently became CEO of Penn Med Doylestown Health on June 1, 2026.
Senior reporter Ananya Karthik covers central administration and can be reached at karthik@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies communication and economics. Follow her on X @ananyaakarthik.
