Jefferson Einstein health workers say North Philly pediatric practices closures will leave ‘a hole’ in communities

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Nurses and other staff at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital are accusing health system owners of divesting services from communities and leaving children and families in North Philly with fewer health care options due to planned pediatric closures.

Jefferson Health, which acquired the former Einstein Healthcare Network in 2021, confirmed it will shutter four longstanding pediatric practices by the end of June, including the Pediatric and Adolescent Ambulatory Center at the hospital in the Fern Rock neighborhood.

Other closing offices include Einstein Physicians Holland Pediatrics’ Buck Road, Frankford and Bustleton locations.

The closures are scheduled for June 30.

“It just leaves such a hole in this community,” said Carla Lecoin, a registered nurse who cares for mothers and babies, outside the hospital Thursday. “[Jefferson] forgot that when they took on the building, they took on us, they took on families in the community as well.”

Lecoin is a member of Einstein Nurses United, which is affiliated with the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Health Professionals, also known as PASNAP. The union represents about 1,200 nurses at the hospital and has been in negotiations for a new contract with the health system’s leadership since February.

The union does not include staff at the outpatient pediatric practices, but hospital nurses say they’ve often directed families to these centers for ongoing care after birth.

Having in-network pediatric practices throughout North Philly provided an easy continuum of care for mothers and babies coming out of the hospital, especially in the neonatal intensive care unit, said registered nurse Samuel Carchidi.

“And it is important for our NICU patients who have a lot of medical needs even after they’re discharged to have that continuity, so that way their care that they’re receiving is as accurate and thorough as it needs to be,” he said.

But Carchidi now worries for those families.

“Once they leave the hospital doors, Jefferson no longer seems to care about them,” he said. “And I feel like closing down all the resources for them shows that.”

Union members are also calling on the health system to approve smaller nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, higher salaries and more affordable health care benefits, and safer working environments.

A Jefferson Health spokesperson said in a statement that the health system has bargained with union representatives in good faith and has “put forward proposals that are fair, competitive, and responsible.”

“It’s disappointing to see the PASNAP resort to misinformation and disinformation to the detriment of our nurses and the broader community,” officials said. “We remain committed to reaching an agreement that is equitable for both our nurses and our mission-driven organization.”

Pediatric practices transitioning to new regional group

Another three Jefferson Health pediatric practices will stay open and become part of True North Pediatrics, which has locations throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania. That will include Trappe Pediatric Care at Iron Bridge, Einstein Pediatrics at Township Line Road in Elkins Park and Einstein Pediatrics at Pennypack.

Jefferson Health stated that it remained committed to supporting access to pediatric services in the region and will continue to provide care through its primary care network, urgent care centers, emergency departments and Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital in Allentown.

Several of the Jefferson Health pediatric practices have already transitioned to True North Pediatrics. A message on the physician group’s website stated that “our goal is to make this transition as seamless as possible.”

The Trappe, Township Line Road and Pennypack pediatric practices will continue to operate in their current locations “with the same physicians, nurses, and staff caring for patients,” said True North Pediatrics.

Pediatricians who currently see patients at the closing Holland pediatric offices can continue to care for them at nearby True North Pediatrics locations.

“This approach allows families to continue seeing the pediatricians and care teams they know and trust while ensuring continued access to pediatric services in the community,” True North Pediatrics stated on their website.

But Lecoin said she doesn’t feel like Jefferson Health’s latest actions reflect a long-term commitment to maintaining local health care services in North Philadelphia or preserve Einstein’s legacy “of taking care of those that were thought of as less because of possibly the way they looked, their religion, their culture.”

“This hospital embraced them,” she said. “And we’re leaving them behind.”