Crozer CEO to step down amid potential shutdown of Pennsylvania health system
Amid a potential shutdown, the CEO of the Crozer Health system in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, is stepping down. In an email to employees on Monday, Crozer CEO Tony Esposito announced that he will step down on Friday after five and a half years as the CEO.
"It has been an honor to serve alongside this talented team, and I want to thank each of you for the dedication that you bring to caring for our patients and the Delaware County community day in and day out," Esposito wrote in the email in part.
According to the email provided to CBS News Philadelphia, Greg Williams, the current president of Prospect Medical Holdings' East Coast operations, will assume the role of interim CEO to replace Esposito. Prospect Medical Holdings, which filed for bankruptcy in January, is the parent company of Crozer.
"Greg brings over three decades of leadership experience, with deep expertise in financial and operational management across complex, multi-state teaching healthcare systems," Esposito wrote in the email. "His leadership and oversight will be invaluable to Crozer Health during this pivotal time as we remain in active discussions with the Pennsylvania Attorney General and other parties to find a sustainable path forward to allow Crozer Health to continue to operate and provide our patients with the critical care they require."
The Crozer Health system in Delco is on life support. Last week, Crozer avoided a closure but only secured enough funding to keep the health system open for 7 to 10 days.
With help from the Pennsylvania attorney general, Penn Medicine came forward with a proposal in which it will contribute $5 million and acquire lease interests at two Crozer campuses — Brinton Lake and Broomall — and some medical equipment and furniture, a lawyer for Prospect said. Delaware County is also providing $1 million, but the total money raised last week was short of $9 million.
Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Crozer Health is "critically important" for Delaware County and the Philadelphia region.
"The commonwealth has invested millions and millions of dollars to keep Crozer operating while we can come up with a long-term solution," Shapiro said. "Now is the time for that. I know that regional health care leaders have been coming together to try and put forth ideas on how they can help manage the future of Crozer."
Crozer has received a total of $40 million in stopgap funding since February. County officials are trying to form a consortium of nonprofits to take over the system, but sources say the operation is an unattractive purchase because it currently loses millions of dollars each year.
The Crozer system employs about 3,000 people and cares for thousands of patients.
