Delaware County risks a public health crisis as its largest health care system, Crozer Health, continues to decline due to financial mismanagement, local politicians warned Monday.
Lawmakers and community stakeholders gathered outside the Delaware County Courthouse in media to express their frustration and fear over the weekend’s move by Crozer’s for-profit owner, Prospect Medical Holdings, to file for bankruptcy.
“It’s not just a financial issue. It is also a public health crisis,” said state Sen. Tim Kearney, a Democrat. “Prospect Medical Holdings systematically reduces its facilities’ resources, puts profits over patient care, and leaves its communities to suffer the consequences.”
The bankruptcy filing has been long anticipated, and Prospect hospitals – including Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park – are expected to remain in operation during the bankruptcy.
Public officials meeting on Monday will likely have no influence on how Texas’s bankruptcy proceeds.
In press release issued on SaturdayProspect CEO Von Crockett said the bankruptcy filing was “an important step forward in our long-standing commitment to best serve the interests of our patients, physicians, employees and communities.”
Prospect’s move puts on hold a petition filed by Pennsylvania’s attorney general asking a Delaware County court to hand over state control of the financially struggling health care system. Government officials say the hospitals are part of a crucial safety net for low-income communities in the area.
Crozer operates the only Level 1 trauma center in Delaware County, as well as a burn unit, and provides maternity and behavioral health services.
If Crozer-Chester Hospital were to close, the closest hospitals would be Riddle in Media and Mercy Fitzgerald in Darby, both nearly 10 miles away.
» READ MORE: What’s happened at Crozer Health since Prospect acquired it in 2016
Stakeholders at the press conference expressed concern that the bankruptcy announcement would further worsen the already dire situation at Crozer.
Hospitals have experienced significant cuts in services and staff, are increasingly reliant on support from other health care systems, and are routinely cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for safety issues related to staffing shortages and broken equipment.
In November, for example, the health department cited Crozer for turning away patients suffering from a major heart attack because there weren’t enough cardiac nurses on duty. In early December, the emergency departments at Crozer and Taylor hospitals were closed for several hours due to equipment failure.
Nurses say they are taking on extra patients when the hospital is understaffed and struggling to find basic supplies.
“This bankruptcy puts the most vulnerable patients, families and health care workers in our community in an increasingly precarious position,” said Monica Taylor, president of the Delaware County Council.
State legislators representing the area vowed to continue the fight to preserve Crozer.
“We won’t just leave it like that. We will keep fighting,” said state Rep. Carol Kazeem, whose district includes the city of Chester. “Because here in Delaware County, we don’t take any bullshit.”
They are planning too revive and support the proposed law that would be it ban for-profit companiesas does Prospect, from Pennsylvania hospital owners or operators.
Legislation has stalled in previous legislative sessions. Taylor said she hopes Prospect’s bankruptcy will be a “wake-up call” for the General Assembly to take action.
“Health care is a public good, not a commodity to be traded for financial gain,” she said.
Inquirer writer Harold Brubaker contributed to this article.
