With Crozer Health closing, nearby hospitals prepare for more patients

Hospitals in the Philadelphia suburbs are planning to see more patients with the imminent closure of Crozer Health.

Shelly Buck, president of Riddle Memorial Hospital, says the facility is preparing for more patient volume with the closure of Crozer Health.

After efforts to find another organization to take over the system proved futile, Prospect Medical Holdings said this week that it has no alternative but to begin the closure of Crozer, which is based in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Crozer operates two hospitals - Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital - and other clinics and outpatient sites.

Crozer had been ailing financially for years, and the system shut down two other hospitals in recent years. When Prospect Medical Holdings filed for bankruptcy in January, hospitals began developing contingency plans for seeing more patients.

Riddle Memorial Hospital, part of Main Line Health, is also based in Delaware County. Shelly Buck, president of Riddle Memorial Hospital, tells Chief Healthcare Executive® that she expects to see more patients coming from Crozer Health, although it’s difficult to predict the volume.

“We're expecting to be impacted primarily in our emergency department,” Buck says. “And of course, you know, as patients come in and they need to be admitted, we'll see admissions through our ED but also for OB-GYN services. We expect there to be an impact there as well.”

• Read more: How Crozer Health's closure impacts a Pennsylvania county

Riddle Memorial Hospital is in the midst of an expansion project, and initially planned to knock down the east wing of the hospital when the new pavilion opened. But now that wing can be used to handle additional patients.

“We have three floors actually ready for patient care on that wing so we can absorb some more volume,” Buck says. “We're just not sure how people will travel and where they will go.”

Riddle Memorial has already been working to help pregnant patients, and Buck acknowledges the situation is distressing to patients who already had their birthing plans in place.

“That's a very uncomfortable and scary situation,” Buck says. “So every person that comes our way, we're getting them connected with an obstetrician … We have space here for patients to come and deliver their babies. And again, we're working very closely with the OB-GYN physicians.”

Buck says the hospital is aiming to reduce the stress on patients who may be rattled by having to deliver their babies in a different setting than they expected.

“We work with their midwives to help the moms feel comfortable,” she says. “We've been receiving quite a few pregnant persons, pregnant moms from the Crozer area for some time now. So this isn't something that just started. We've been getting moms coming over because of the threat of closure, the uncertainty.”

Riddle Memorial is already seeing some staff from Crozer Health seeking jobs, including physicians, nurses, EMTs, and paramedics. Some applications began arriving in January, when Crozer filed for bankruptcy, but now more people are seeking positions.

“They are all seeking employment, and they're knocking on our door here at Main Line Health, as well as some of the other healthcare systems in the region,” Buck says.

Penn Medicine in Philadelphia is also preparing for the possibility of seeing additional patients.

“Our doors are open to patients and to the dedicated Crozer employees, and our health system remains committed to the Delaware County community and to working alongside local providers, community leaders, and policymakers to preserve health care in the region,” a Penn Medicine spokesman said via email.

Penn Medicine said it has been engaged in efforts to preserve vital healthcare services at Crozer Health and protect some jobs. Penn Medicine made an offer of $5 million to support Crozer’s operations and acquire assets associated with Crozer’s Broomall and Brinton Lake outpatient facilities, including the transfer of leases for the facilities. Penn Medicine said the proposal would have allowed patients to continue to receive primary care and specialists such as cardiologists and oncologists. But Penn said Crozer rejected the offer last week.

“We are deeply disappointed by this decision, which will have negative impacts for patients and displace many talented health care professionals at a time when health care needs in the community are only increasing,” Penn Medicine’s spokesperson said via email.

Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, part of Trinity Health, is also based in Delaware County and has been planning for increased volume, and the hospital is already seeing more patients in the emergency department, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports.

Other hospitals in the region have had time to prepare for the possibility of Crozer Health shutting down. Buck says Main Line has been preparing for at least the possibility of additional volume since 2022, when Crozer closed Delaware County Memorial Hospital and Springfield Hospital.

“We've been preparing, if you will, for that last shoe to drop,” Buck says. “We didn't want it. We were advocating, supporting, hoping that this would not happen, because it's quite devastating to the community, to everybody that's impacted and involved. But we also recognize that we couldn't stand still and not be ready, because we were uncertain. And so we've been living in a state of uncertainty for years now.”