How Helen Gym’s fight to save a hospital turned her into a frontrunner to be Philadelphia’s next mayor.
by Matthew Cunningham-Cook, The Lever
When private equity threatened to destroy a 133-year-old hospital, Helen Gym, a former teacher and parent organizer turned first-term Philadelphia City Council member, sprung into action.
“How corrupt is it for an investment banker and a real estate company to come in and buy a major medical hospital in the poorest large city in the country?” Gym’s voice boomed out to a crowd of hundreds in front of Hahnemann University Hospital in central Philadelphia at a July 2019 rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind.-Vt.), one the first times Gym’s organizing work caught national attention. “And how wrong are our laws when Joel Freedman and his cohort of vulture capitalists can run this hospital into the ground in less than 18 months and now they’re going to flip it for a real estate deal?”
Just three weeks before, Joel Freedman, a private equity executive, had announced that he was closing the hospital. It was one of just five hospitals that could treat trauma patients, and one of just six hospitals where people could give birth, in the sixth-largest city in America.
Now Gym, after two terms on city council, is running for Philadelphia mayor on an ambitious platform to invest in and expand public institutions, especially health care and schools. If she wins in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, overcoming an entrenched Democratic Party establishment and powerful billionaires opposing her insurgent campaign, she will also confront Philadelphia’s major health and housing disparities. These deep inequities are a microcosm of yawning nationwide problems of which the federal government has effectively washed its hands.
Recent Posts
Opposition of Nuclear Power ‘Revival’ in New York Holds its First Forum
Take Action Now This first forum, a webinar on Jan. 15, was titled a “Symposium for Safe and Affordable Energy in New York” as part of a series…
In Response to the Renee Good killing, Dems Propose ICE Reforms That Would Have Done Nothing to Prevent the Renee Good Killing
Take Action Now Good’s killer was a 10-year ICE veteran, himself a trainer, and recorded the killing. What good would more training and more cameras…
The Consequences Of Trump’s War On Climate In 7 Charts
Take Action Now Seven snapshots reveal how climate rollbacks altered the trajectory of U.S. energy, environmental protection, and economic security.……
Trump Received The Nobel Peace Prize From Maria Corina Machado. But Who Is She?
Take Action Now While Machado has played a pertinent and critical role for the US in causing chaos, disseminating propaganda, and pushing for regime…