‘Devastating’: Crozer Health is closing, shutting down two Pennsylvania hospitals

Crozer Health’s roots date back to the Civil War, but the efforts to preserve the Pennsylvania health system have ultimately failed.

Prospect Medical Holdings says it has no alternative but to close Crozer Health, which operates two hospitals in the Philadelphia area: Crozer-Chester Medical Center (above) and Taylor Hospital.

Prospect Medical Holdings, the owner of Crozer Health, said Monday it is moving forward with the closure of the system. Prospect has filed for bankruptcy, with the California-based company saying it had no other choice.

Nonetheless, state lawmakers seethed when the plans to close Crozer were announced. More than 2,600 workers will lose their jobs, NBC10 reports.

The move comes even after Pennsylvania state officials and local officials directed millions of dollars to preserve Crozer Health in hopes of finding a permanent solution. Crozer operates two hospitals - Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital - and other care sites in Delaware County, part of the Philadelphia suburbs. Prospect said a handful of ambulatory and imaging centers will remain open.

“Today, Prospect Medical Holdings made the extremely difficult decision to begin winding down operations across our Crozer Health facilities,” the company said in a statement.

In a court filing, Prospect said the hospitals’ emergency departments would be diverting patients and elective inpatient admissions would end this week, with ambulatory services winding down next week. Prospect is also planning to transfer patients to other facilities.

Prospect thanked state officials for their work to avoid the closure.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to reach a viable alternative,” Prospect said. “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.”

‘Blow to our communities’

Pennsylvania state lawmakers fumed after the announcement of Crozer Health’s closure Monday. The state and Delaware County had approved $20 million to help save Crozer in hopes of finding new ownership, and the Foundation for Delaware County had put up $20 million.

Despite those lifelines, a group of lawmakers from Delaware County said in a joint statement Monday, “There is no more cash or credit that can be tapped to keep Crozer operating.”

The lawmakers condemned Prospect Medical Holdings for closing the system.

“Prospect’s decision to move forward with the closure of the Crozer Health System is a devastating and disgraceful blow to our communities, our healthcare workers, and every patient who has ever relied on our local hospital system,” the lawmakers said.

“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,” they said. “Yet again, Prospect decided to put profits over patients by putting Crozer’s assets up for auction.”

Crozer-Chester Medical Center, a 283-bed teaching hospital, operates a trauma center and a well-regarded burn treatment center. Taylor Hospital is a 107-bed acute care hospital. Combined, the two hospitals receive nearly 80,000 emergency department visits annually.

Crozer’s receiver, FTI Consulting, said in a statement, “We are disappointed an alternative resolution and sale could not be reached,” WPVI-TV reported. FTI referred additional questions to Prospect Medical Holdings.

Crozer Health has scaled back services in recent years, angering many in Delaware County. Crozer closed Delaware County Memorial Hospital in 2022. The system also ended acute care at Springfield Hospital in 2022, shifting to outpatient services on that campus.

‘They don’t have access’

Peggy Malone, a nurse at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, testified at a hearing before Pennsylvania lawmakers in March and warned that the closure of the hospital would be devastating to the community.

“Our patients, and as I have said many times before, they don't have access,” Malone said at the March hearing. “They don't have the ability to go anywhere else. We are close. They walk, they have family members drop them off.”

Joyann Kroser, MD, president of the medical staff of Crozer-Chester and Taylor hospitals, also spoke to lawmakers at that March hearing and described the difficulties clinicians faced in recent years, including shortages of supplies and equipment nearing the end of its lifespan. But she also stressed the commitment of staff and the importance of Crozer.

“The loss of our health system would do unfathomable harm to our patients and to the community,” Krozer said last month.

Delaware County lawmakers also pointed to mounting needs and liabilities at Crozer facilities, which they said contributed to “a nearly impossible situation for any nearby health system to take on without jeopardizing their own financial and patient health.”

The lawmakers also cited the possibility of steep cuts in federal aid as another factor likely making it difficult for another nearby hospital system to acquire Crozer.

“Bailing out Crozer became a problem without a solution,” the lawmakers said.

Prospect Medical Holdings filed for bankruptcy in January, with the company listing debts of more than $400 million.

Pennsylvania lawmakers pointed to Crozer’s closure as another example of private equity’s damaging impact on healthcare and local communities.

“Private equity’s decimation of Crozer is an abomination – the corporate abuse that our hospitals went through should be criminally illegal, and the investors and executives who did this to us should be held accountable,” the state lawmakers said in their joint statement.

Across the state, another hospital in western Pennsylvania will be closing its doors.

Heritage Valley Health System said this month that it is closing Heritage Valley Kennedy, a hospital in the Pittsburgh suburbs. The system cited low patient volume and declining reimbursement from insurance companies. Heritage Valley says it’s “temporarily” closing the hospital and consolidating services at other facilities.