AHERF to mull sale of all Philly hospitals. (Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation's Philadelphia area hospitals)

NORTH SIDE - Top executives at Allegheny General Hospital's parent company, faced with huge financial problems in eastern Pennsylvania, will examine whether the statewide system should sell all nine of its Philadelphia area hospitals.

The Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation had been negotiating to sell six of its Philadelphia-area hospitals to Nashville-based Vanguard Health Systems Inc. The sale of the financially troubled hospitals was considered vital to the health of AHERF as a whole.

On Monday, the deal collapsed. And AHERF is now re-examining the status of its eastern operations.

AHERF president and chief executive officer Tony Sanzo will raise the sale of all nine Philadelphia-area hospitals as a possible strategy in internal discussions, according to AHERF spokesman Tom Chakurda.

That option is very tentative at this stage. "At this point in time," Mr. Chakurda stressed, "it is not part of our strategy to consider divesting …