Crozer Health is a four-hospital system in Delaware County. (Kenny Cooper/WHYY News)
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After months of deliberation over the continuation of behavioral health services, Delaware County has reached a settlement with Crozer Health and its parent company, Prospect Medical Holdings, to keep its facilities open.
“This will ensure that critical behavioral health services will be provided uninterrupted and that our residents will continue to have access to the high-quality care that Crozer Health has provided to Delaware County for years,” Delco Council Chairperson Dr. Monica Taylor said in a joint written statement with the hospital system.
Delaware County sued the hospital system back in May for planning to close the mental and behavioral health units at Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Delaware County Memorial Hospital.
The county asked the court for immediate relief, however, Crozer responded to the lawsuit by agreeing to keep the wards open temporarily while the parties negotiated.
Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kelly D. Eckel approved the agreement on Wednesday, meaning the county has withdrawn its petition and Crozer has agreed to continue offering mental and behavioral health services uninterrupted.
Additionally, the company has agreed to comply with Delco Council’s emergency ordinance requiring hospital ownership to give written notice to the county health department no fewer than 180 days before the date of a unit or hospital closure.
Delco Council passed the ordinance in April in response to turmoil within the four-hospital system, following months of unit and ward closures at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Delaware County Memorial Hospital, Taylor Hospital, and Springfield Hospital.
While the most recent agreement is a step toward stability, it does not include the restoration of other shuttered services and units within the hospitals.
As the community waits on word for an update on the potential sale of Crozer to Wilmington-based ChristianaCare, county officials said in the statement that they are working to expand behavioral health and mental health providers and “pursuing all options to ensure that residents have the care they need.”