Crozer Closure

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education stripped Crozer Health of its certification — dealing another blow to the struggling hospital system.

The move comes as Crozer hospitals have continued to shutter critical services and lay off health care workers.

A spokesperson for Crozer Health said it is working to address the issue and expects the vehicles to be “returned to service over the course of two weeks.”

Influenced by the impact of Crozer Health’s struggles, one of the bills includes a prohibition on for-profit hospitals.

Nurses and other medical professionals held an informational picket at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, criticizing hospital ownership.

The move comes after a series of closures within the Crozer Health and Tower Health systems.

The four-hospital system in Delaware County is in worsening financial shape and has been struggling to pay its bills and contractors.

Prospect’s inability to pay its bills has previously caused delays in vital supplies and the loss of a police officer, who was permanently stationed outside a medical center.

The judge is ordering Crozer Health and its parent company to suspend “any actions materially altering the present operation” of DCMH while the court looks over the case.

The Foundation for Delaware County is taking Crozer and its parent company, Prospect Medical Holdings, to court over their plan to shut down Delaware County Memorial Hospital.

The company plans to transition DCMH into a behavioral health hospital that offers detox and inpatient services. Springfield Hospital will become an ambulatory surgery center.

Prospect Medical Holdings, the parent company of the four-hospital system, wants to receive a management fee from Crozer Health after the nonprofit conversion.

Crozer is planning to return to nonprofit status as it seeks to evaluate the services that it offers at its hospitals.

The agreement does not include the restoration of other shuttered services and units within the hospitals.

The settlement stems from a 2018 dispute over property tax assessments. Chester is also on the hook — and it couldn’t come at a worse time.