Crozer-Chester Medical Center’s new owner plans town hall at Widener University

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Chariot Equities, the new owner of the Crozer-Chester Medical Center site, will hold a town hall on April 14 at 6 p.m. at Widener University’s Lathem Hall to discuss the facility’s future.

The shuttered hospital and its adjacent 64-acre campus in Upland have been frozen in time since Crozer Health closed in May 2025, upending vital medical care in Pennsylvania’s second-densest county.

“They’ve been in a health care desert for some time now and we want to know what residents of the area want to see in this redevelopment because what was at closure didn’t work for the community and ultimately failed,” said Brittany Crampsie, a spokesperson for Chariot Equities.

Prospect Medical Holdings, Crozer Health’s previous owner, began unloading its real estate during bankruptcy proceedings last summer.

The Upper Darby School District acquired Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill; KQT Aikens Partners purchased Springfield Hospital in Springfield and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park; and Chariot Equities and its partner, Allaire Health Services, bought Crozer-Chester Medical Center in January.

“We want a right-sized health operator there,” Crampsie said. “We want the facilities to be modern, accessible and provide the kind of health care in the style that it needs to be delivered right now.”

Specifics about the plan and estimated cost to resurrect the aging building have not yet been publicly shared. However, Chariot Partners does have a timeline in mind.

“When we announced the purchase of the center a few months ago, our goal was to identify an operator in the first six months and then over the following two and a half, three years work with them to make sure the facility meets their needs and meets the community needs and be fully open for business in three years,” Crampsie said.

Losing Crozer-Chester Medical Center — the flagship hospital of the old system — has been difficult for the surrounding communities in the southern end of Delaware County, especially for the city of Chester and Upland Borough.

Upland Mayor William Dennon and Councilmember Moira Crawford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chester Mayor Stefan Roots told WHYY News that the closure of Crozer-Chester Medical Center has had a domino effect on neighboring health systems, such as Main Line Health.

“Main Line had shared with us that in 2024, the zip code of Chester alone, 19013, was [ranked] No. 16 in emergency room visits across their entire health system,” Roots said. “But in 2025, that jumped to No. 1. And on the same note in 2024, the Chester zip code was [ranked No.] 22 in admissions across the health system, and that jumped to No. 2.”

He said these hospitals need a “release valve.” Roots said he’s excited to see that Chariot Partners is seeking community feedback via the scheduled town hall.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Roots said. “It’s Chariot’s way of introducing themselves to the community and at the same time initiating an opportunity for the community to express what they want to see in health care.”