Prospect Medical Holdings filed motion for ‘expedited closure’ of Crozer Health’s hospitals
The bankruptcy motion for the closure of the Delco facilities did not set a closure date but said Prospect cannot fund operations beyond March 14.
Prospect Medical Holdings asked a bankruptcy judge in Dallas to approve an expedited closure of Delaware County’s Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Taylor Hospital, and other facilities in a court filing late Thursday.
A hearing on the proposed closure is scheduled for Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in Dallas.
The filing by the California for-profit firm said that “allowing the Pennsylvania hospitals to continue to operate beyond March 14, 2025, without outside funding threatens to accelerate the financial deterioration of [Prospect], jeopardizing the stability of their remaining hospitals and overall operations.”
Prospect has proposed moving rapidly after a closing date is approved. It plans to effectively shut down four days before the actual closing date, so it has time to discharge remaining hospital patients or transfer them to other hospitals, the closure motion said.
Already, $20 million from Pennsylvania and Delaware County has kept the facilities open for the last few weeks under the management of an outside consultant picked by state officials, who have been working to preserve jobs for Crozer’s 3,200 employees and health-care services in an area that doesn’t have other easily accessible options.
At a hearing Thursday, the bankruptcy judge overseeing Prospect’s case ordered a meeting to see if more money can be found to forestall the immediate shutdown. That meeting is planned Sunday at noon in Harrisburg.
Pennsylvania requires a 60-day notice for hospital closures, but sometimes hospital do not last that long during bankruptcy. When Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia closed in 2019, it happened in stages in the month or so after the bankruptcy filing of its owner.
Crozer is Delaware County’s largest health-care system. It operates a trauma center, as well as a burn unit, and provides maternity services and behavioral health care. The next closest hospitals are Main Line Health’s Riddle Hospital near Media and Trinity Health Fitzgerald Mercy in Darby, both nearly 10 miles away by car.