Crozer Closure

Delco elected officials unveiled a bill on Thursday that would prohibit for-profit entities from owning or managing hospitals in Pennsylvania.

Hospitals in Delaware, Chester, and even Montgomery counties are feeling the ripple effects of Crozer Health service shutdowns and Tower Health closures.

Crozer’s troubles go back to a business deal that was initiated in 2019 — one that Pennsylvania officials were warned about, but had little power to stop.

Crozer has promised officials it will temporarily stop the closure of the behavioral health services at Delaware County Memorial and Crozer-Chester as a gesture of good faith.

Health care workers rallied alongside elected officials and community members just outside Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland.

Crozer Health, the four-hospital system in Delaware County, has been shrouded in controversy over the past two weeks — and local legislators are not happy.

In June, Delaware County Memorial Hospital and Crozer Chester Medical Center will lose several key behavioral, mental health, and substance abuse services.

The ordinance would require ownership to give the county a 180-day notice if they wanted to close a ward or hospital.

The four-hospital system in Delaware County has been reaching out to municipalities, threatening to shut off emergency medical services within 90 days unless they pay up.

Negotiations between the two entities will continue until a “definitive agreement” is reached. A deal could close in the second half of this year.

Hospital parent Crozer Health says patients looking for care will be directed to other emergency departments and urgent care centers.

The inpatient obstetrics unit, which includes labor and delivery, NICU, and maternal fetal medicine, will move to Crozer-Chester Medical Center.