Funding to keep Crozer Health's Pennsylvania hospitals afloat may only last two weeks, attorneys say
A day after officials said new funding would keep Crozer Health's facilities open four to six weeks, an attorney for the company that owns the hospital said the money would run out far sooner.
The shortening of that window of time increases the sense of urgency for the Delaware County health system facing down closure as its parent company, Prospect Medical Holdings, files for bankruptcy. The system includes Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Taylor Hospital and other facilities.
Attorneys for Prospect appeared in bankruptcy court in Texas last week and warned that the entire system could be shut down. Then, on Sunday, Attorney General Dave Sunday and The Foundation for Delaware County announced a commitment of "essential funding" that would keep Crozer afloat.
CBS News Philadelphia virtually attended another bankruptcy hearing on Tuesday.
Prospect's attorney and one from Sunday's office discussed the several hours of work to reach the essential funding deal.
The Prospect attorney said "everyone in the room on Sunday was overwhelmingly committed to continue doing health care in Delaware County."
The judge said she breathed a sigh of relief, but she had questions about the possibility of getting a long-term deal done. Every attorney answered that hard work is happening behind the scenes.
"We were all looking for a hero in this, sounds like we have a few heroes," Chief Judge Stacey Jernigan said. "Thanks and kudos to everyone who is working hard to find a long-term solution to avoid an abrupt closure."
But now the question: what happens after two weeks?
Pennsylvania government sources say the amount of money put up by the foundation covers a single payroll cycle. A foundation attorney says his side is committed to a long-term fix as well.
"We would not have been part of a short-term solution if there wasn't a prospect of a long-term solution ... our purpose is to serve health care in Delaware County. We are engaged," an attorney for the foundation told the judge.
Lawmakers say negotiations have been underway with other regional health care providers to come in and rescue the Crozer Health system. But sources say the system's financial condition makes that idea unattractive for the other health care entities in the region.
"All of the hospitals around us will feel the pain if Crozer closes, especially if it's a disorderly closure, which is what we've been trying to prevent," said state Rep. Leanne Krueger, whose district includes Crozer-Chester. "So in the meantime, we've been expecting this could happen for quite a while because this isn't the first time Prospect has threatened a closure, they have been doing this for months."
Workers rallied outside Crozer-Chester Medical Center Tuesday afternoon, calling for a long-term plan to keep the hospital open. More than 3,000 jobs hang in the balance.
Last month, the system was removed from Prospect Medical Holdings and placed into receivership. Delaware County and Pennsylvania provided $20 million at that time to keep the system running. Most of that money is gone.
Another hearing in Texas bankruptcy court is scheduled for March 26.
A spokesperson for Main Line Health, which operates hospitals and and other health facilities around the region, said patients are coming to its locations "in increasing numbers" because of the instability in the Crozer system.
