Article Summary –
Peggy Malone and other healthcare workers are facing job losses due to the closure of Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital, which will leave Delaware County with only two hospitals for over half a million residents. Prospect Medical Holdings, which owns Crozer Health, decided to close the hospitals after filing for bankruptcy, rejecting a $5 million offer from Penn Medicine to continue searching for a buyer, despite having previously received over $36 million from the state and community foundations to keep them operational. Critics, including Gov. Josh Shapiro and former state Attorney General Michelle Henry, have accused Prospect of prioritizing profits over patient care, leading to the deterioration of services and potential risks to patients’ lives, as evidenced by lawsuits and community protests against the company’s management practices.
For nearly four decades, Peggy Malone has devoted her career to assisting patients with mental health crises at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, near Philadelphia. This week, the psychiatric nurse finds herself unemployed, and her patients lose a vital hospital, key for lifesaving mental health medication and support.
On April 22, a federal judge approved Prospect Medical Holdings’ plan to shut the hospital. The California-based private equity firm, owning Crozer Health, filed for bankruptcy in January. On April 21, the company moved to close Crozer Health.
Crozer Health runs Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Delaware County’s last trauma center, and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, both closing by May 2. Four outpatient facilities in suburban Philadelphia will remain open until sold.
“Without these resources and medication adjustments, we’ll see suicides and violence,” said Malone on April 22, with healthcare workers and lawmakers protesting outside Crozer-Chester Medical Center. Malone, the Crozer-Chester Nurses Association president, organized the protest.
Staff and lawmakers paint a dire picture of Delaware County’s health care future. With Crozer-Chester and Taylor Health closing, two hospitals remain for over half a million residents.
Travel distances for health care will increase, likely causing more fatalities due to delayed lifesaving treatment, officials said.
“I can’t believe these companies shut doors and strip away the only resources, sometimes the only family these patients have,” Malone told the crowd.
‘Greed and mismanagement’
Event speakers hoped for a last-minute buyer to rescue the hospitals, but it didn’t happen.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration, Delaware County, and its Community Foundation invested over $36 million to keep Crozer Health running as Prospect Medical Holdings sought a buyer. The company rejected a $5 million offer from Penn Medicine, opting to close, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian.
Prospect Medical Holdings declined to comment.
Crozer Health, with roots back to the 1800s, began laying off its 2,651 employees on April 25, according to a state notice. Admissions stopped on April 28, according to Crozer’s website.
Prospect previously closed two state hospitals, Delaware County Memorial and Springfield, in 2022. Elected officials, including Gov. Shapiro, and community members criticized Prospect’s closures, citing private equity damaging the health care system.
“Prospect Medical Holdings exploited these hospitals for profit, resulting in closures and crucial service losses for Delaware County residents,” Shapiro said.
“Our administration has worked tirelessly, alongside state and local governments, committing millions to support Crozer and its staff without taxpayer enrichment for Prospect,” Shapiro added. “We remain dedicated to helping affected workers and patients harmed by Prospect’s actions.”
After Prospect acquired Crozer Health nine years ago, staff noted management issues and service decline, similar to other Prospect-run hospitals, as reported by ProPublica. Prospect cut services and redirected funds to private investors, according to a lawsuit filed by former Attorney General Michelle Henry in October 2024.
“We are suing a company that promised affordable healthcare but engaged in neglectful practices putting lives at risk,” Henry said in a press release. “Our action aims to prevent further closures forcing patients to travel long distances for emergency care.”
‘Where do they go? They die.’
Crozer Health employees warned of Prospect Medical Holdings’ intentions years ago, Malone stated.
“This for-profit company, Prospect Medical, has been stripping us of resources for nine years,” she said. “They’ve achieved their goal of siphoning every penny from our community.”
“Our patients have nowhere to go now,” Malone said. “They’ve found beds for everyone today, but where do they go tomorrow? When the crisis center and ER are gone, they die. Who’ll tell a mother her child died from an asthma attack because care wasn’t available nearby?”
“Our patients will die, that’s certain,” said Melanie McKendry, a patient advocate and lead medical assistant at Crozer-Chester. “Closing us will disrupt chemotherapy. Patients mid-treatment are suddenly told they have ten days to find new care.”
Dr. Max Cooper, an emergency physician, shared a patient’s story who survived a heart attack thanks to Crozer-Chester’s facility. Without access to the Upland hospital, the patient would’ve died, he said.
“When he arrived, his heart stopped, but our cardiologist revived him in our cath lab,” Cooper noted. “A 15-minute drive to another hospital would have resulted in his death during transport.”
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