St. Chris staffing pact threatened by Temple-Shriners new project. (St. Christopher's Hospitals for Children; Temple University School of Medicine; Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children)

For nearly half a century, Temple University School of Medicine's faculty have staffed St. Christopher's Hospitals for Children in North Philadelphia.

Now it looks like that relationship is headed for a divorce.

Last Friday, the state approved a plan by the 80-bed Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children to relocate from Northeast Philadelphia to the Temple University Hospital campus in North Philadelphia. As part of the $68 million project, Temple also got the green light to erect a 60-bed children's hospital that will provide support services for Shriners.

The ruling gives Philadelphia the distinction of being the only major city in the United States with three independent pediatric hospitals.

St. Christopher's had opposed the Temple part of the project, arguing the new $32 million Temple pediatric facility wasn't needed and could threaten …