Philadelphia’s Hahnemann University Hospital released its last patient last week and is expected to fully shutter within the coming weeks, laying off over 2,500 union staff and leaving a vacuum in medical services for low-income people in the area. Residents and activists have been battling the closure of the 171-year-old institution. They say the private equity executive Joel Freedman, whose firm Paladin Healthcare bought Hahnemann hospital last year, is seeking to use bankruptcy proceedings to sell the property for development as luxury condos and hotels.

Bernie Sanders, who rallied with local residents earlier this month, decried the “culture of corporate greed” responsible for the closure. Sanders said that his Medicare for All plan would include a fund so local governments can purchase hospitals in financial distress.