 Prior to the merger, the Medical College of Pennsylvania had been the first medical school to be purchased by a hospital (Pittsburgh's Allegheny General Hospital).The new university and other hospitals all were units of the Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation (AHERF).On July 21, 1998, Allegheny University of the Health Sciences became the first US medical school to declare bankruptcy with a deficit of $25–35 million as part of the financial collapse of the parent organization, which had run up a deficit under the policy of rapid expansion led by its president Sherif S. Abdelhak claimed to be $1.3 billion.