Crozer Health hospitals in Pennsylvania are closing, Prospect Medical Holdings says
Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, will close after months of uncertainty, according to Prospect Medical Holdings, the parent company of Crozer Health.
A federal bankruptcy judge in Texas authorized Prospect's plan to close Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Taylor Hospital and an unspecified number of outpatient facilities and practices across Delaware County.
"The road in front of us is now clear with what we have to do," Judge Stacey Jernigan said during Tuesday's hearing. "I just hate the widespread consequences here. I lose sleep over this case. Unfortunately, it looks like the only option before us is closure."
Thousands of employees who work for Crozer Health received emails Monday morning stating that the system will be shutting down despite efforts to find a buyer to assume ownership of the Crozer Health system.
When are Crozer Health hospitals closing?
Prospect Medical Holdings filed a motion Monday to close Crozer Health and outpatient facilities in the United States Bankruptcy Court in Northern Texas. The California-based Prospect expects the full closure of the hospitals to be complete within 30 days.
Prospect said it made the "extremely difficult decision to begin winding down operations" across Crozer Health. The emails notifying thousands of employees of layoffs were sent in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988.
The WARN Act is a federal law that requires any employer with 100 or more employees to notify employees, unions and local government officials before any closing or mass layoff.
According to the motion filed in court, patients will begin being diverted from the emergency department starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, and the hospitals will cease inpatient admissions.
A spokesperson said the ambulatory surgery and imaging centers at Brinton Lake, Broomall, Haverford and Media will stay open.
"PMH recognizes the impact this action will have on patients as well as team members. We've worked tirelessly with the Pennsylvania Attorney General and other parties to do everything possible to prevent this outcome," a Prospect spokesperson said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we were unable to reach a viable alternative. At this time, the focus at Crozer Health remains on seamlessly transitioning patients to other health facilities so that they can continue to receive the critical, uninterrupted care they require, and to support Crozer Health team members as they seek to identify other employment opportunities."
A federal bankruptcy judge approved Prospect's plan to close the health system Tuesday.
Prospect closed two other hospitals, Delaware County Memorial Hospital and Springfield Hospital, in 2022.
What happens now?
Monday's news comes after months of state officials and regional health systems in the area fighting to prevent Crozer Health's closure. Pennsylvania state Sen. Tim Kearney said the commonwealth, county and the Foundation for Delaware County spent $40 million to keep the Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park open, but there's no money left.
Nearby hospitals like ChristianaCare Wilmington Hospital in Delaware, Riddle Hospital in Media and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in University City are preparing to absorb Crozer Health's patients.
"Main Line Health is prepared to care for the patients impacted by the announced Crozer Health closing," a Main Line Health spokesperson said in a statement, adding the health system is awaiting closure plans from Prospect.
In a statement, a Penn Medicine spokesperson said Prospect rejected a $5 million offer last week to support Crozer Health and buy "certain assets associated with Crozer's Broomall and Brinton Lake outpatient facilities."
"Our offer also included the transfer of leases for these facilities," the statement said. "This plan would have allowed uninterrupted operations for patients to receive both primary care and care by specialists, including oncologists, cardiologists and orthopedics, while retaining doctors, nurses and staff, and ensured thousands of already-scheduled appointments could proceed.
"We are deeply disappointed by this decision, which will have negative impacts for patients and displace many talented health care professionals at a time when health care needs in the community are only increasing. Our doors are open to patients and to the dedicated Crozer employees, and our health system remains committed to the Delaware County community and to working alongside local providers, community leaders, and policymakers to preserve health care in the region."
Kearney said Prospect's decision to close Crozer Health is a "devastating and disgraceful blow to our communities, our health care workers, and every patient who has ever relied on our local hospital system."
"Prospect is willfully closing Crozer Health after state and local officials, regional health systems and philanthropic partners exhausted their ability and financial resources to salvage the hospital system," Kearney said in a statement. "Yet again, Prospect decided to put profits over patients by putting Crozer's assets up for auction."
Following Prospect's announcement, Delaware County declared a seven-day disaster emergency to help provide immediate support to those impacted in the county.
"Delaware County is also in the process of filing an objection to Prospect's closure motion, which is deeply inadequate and does not comply with local law," the county wrote in a press release.
Last week, Ridley Park declared an emergency in the event of a shutdown.
With Crozer Health closing, Delaware County will have just two emergency rooms for the 576,000 people who call the county home: Riddle Hospital in Middletown Township and Mercy-Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby.
"Where do they go?"
Peggy Malone, the president of the Crozer-Chester Nurses Association, called the closure of the two hospitals "sickening," echoing the sentiment many others shared with CBS News Philadelphia on Monday. Many believe the closure will be devastating, with health care workers losing their jobs and patients having to travel farther to receive critical health care.
"It makes us so angry and so sick to our stomachs that nothing changes today," Malone said. "Where are these people going to go? And maybe the surrounding hospitals will take the patients we have. But we have been saying this all along. Where do they go tomorrow? Where do they go next week?"
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro placed blame directly on Prospect for the closure of the Crozer Health system, saying the decision was the result of "greed and mismanagement."
"Prospect caused this crisis, and they must be held accountable for their reckless actions that have led to today's announcement," Shapiro said in a statement. "Their conduct and mismanagement must be fully reviewed in the bankruptcy legal process to hold them to account under the law, and we must ensure this never happens again by passing legislation to get private equity out of the health care business in Pennsylvania, as I proposed in my budget address earlier this year."
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General said it's "deeply disappointed" by Prospect's decision.
"Along with the governor's office and other state and local leaders, we worked tirelessly to avoid this outcome. Unfortunately, the damage inflicted by Leonard Green & Partners — the private equity owners of Prospect — who prioritized their own wealth over the wellbeing of a community, was too much to overcome," the attorney general's office said in a statement.
"The heroic Crozer staff, who continued to provide top-quality care and services throughout this process, deserved a better outcome. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of our office, that resolution proved out of reach," the statement continued. "We will continue to work through the bankruptcy process to pursue the commonwealth's financial claims to the greatest extent possible in order to hold Prospect accountable for actions that caused this closure."
Call center for people impacted by Crozer Health closure
Prospect has established a dedicated call center to handle inquiries related to the hospital transition, including requests regarding patient transfers and care. The email address is CrozerPAInquiries@omniagnt.com, and the telephone number is: 888-801-2338.
Delco residents are encouraged to seek additional assistance through the Delaware County Health Department's Wellness Line at 484-276-2100.
Closure of Crozer Health system will impact nearby businesses
Businesses like Dolan's Bar in Ridley Park see a significant boost in business from the employees at Taylor Hospital on Chester Pike.
In March, CBS News Philadelphia reported that the potential closure of the health system was "nerve-wracking" for the nearby businesses.
PJ Dolan, the owner of Dolan's Bar, said that staff members visit his business frequently and that the closure will have a ripple effect on the community.
"It's sad and it's horrible for the town," Dolan said. "The problem is that the companies don't think about anybody in the community, and all they can think about is the bottom dollar."
