Glimmer Of Hope That 2 Shuttered Chester County Hospitals Can Reopen After Judge's Ruling
CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) -- There is a glimmer of hope that two hospitals recently shut down in Chester County could reopen. On Tuesday, a judge ordered Tower Health to restart the process of selling both Brandywine and Jennersville hospitals.
Chester County Court of Common Pleas Judge Edward Griffith ruled that Tower Health has to maintain the two closed hospitals in their current condition and has given Canyon Atlantic Partners 90 days to figure out how they and Tower can complete the sale of the hospitals.
"It really is a big victory for patients and for access to care in southern and western Chester County," Chester County Medical Society Executive Director David McKeighan said.
Back in December, Tower Health unilaterally canceled the sale agreement with Canyon Atlantic Partners.
In a statement at the time, Tower said that Canyon neither showed the necessary regulatory and operational preparedness nor validated its financial ability to complete this transaction and operate these hospitals.
Griffith found that those compliance benchmarks were nowhere to be found in the sale agreement.
Thus, his ruling and hope that the two Chester County hospitals can reopen.
"My hope is that we're aiming to have a smooth transition and that the kinds of services and the delivery of health care can be something they appreciate again," Rep. Dan Williams said.
Reopening a hospital once it's been closed is both very costly and rare, but those involved seem aware of this reality.
"I think this is a proud day in our community," said Vanessa Briggs with the Alliance of Health Care.
Tower Health has issued a statement that reads: "We are reviewing the judge's ruling and will not have any additional comment until that process is complete."
Tower Health could appeal the judge's decision, which would drag this out further and may make reopening the hospitals even more difficult.