Crozer closure: Delco residents fear dwindling healthcare access as hospitals prepare to close
Crozer closure: Community meeting regarding healthcare access does little to alleviate fears
The Delaware County Health Department hosted a community meeting to help ease fears and offer support, but residents were not assured of anything as Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital prepare to close.
CHESTER, Pa. - As Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital prepare to close their doors, Delaware County residents are fearful about their future access to healthcare. The Delaware County Health Department held a community meeting Thursday, in the hope of alleviating fears.
What we know:
The community gathered for a panel hosted by the Delaware County Health Department Thursday night to ease fears about the impending closure of Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital and offer support.
The health department is trying to offer in-person help and guidance, handing out an informational flyer, but many residents are still feeling frustrated and scared about losing their hospitals.
What they're saying:
"I’m not at ease right now. My spirit is not at ease. I don’t believe they’re gonna allow this to happen," resident Corretta Kinder said.
Kinder was one of dozens of people who turned out for a panel discussion at Chester City Hall. The health department offered resources and tried to answer questions as Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital are just days away from closing after their owner, Prospect Medical Holdings, filed for bankruptcy.
Kinder is worried about her 93-year-old and 97-year-old grandparents, "My concern is if something is to happen in the middle of the night and we don't get there in time. Crozer is right here. Where they gonna go at?"
Brown Williams has lived in Chester for 60 years. He’s on a ventilator, "Saw doctor yesterday at Crozer. Didn't know if they'd see me."
"Did they?" asked FOX 29’s Dawn Timmeney.
"Yeah," he replied.
"Where will you go now?" Timmeney asked.
"Don't know," he answered.
Dig deeper:
The director of the health department says they are trying to offer the community a helping hand, but admits she’s concerned about longer ambulance transport times to the only two remaining area hospitals – Riddle Hospital in Media and Mercy Fitzgerald in Darby.
"I am worried about people with underlying treatment and need to continue their care in a critical way," Lora Werner, Delaware County Health Department Director, said.
Chester’s health commissioner became emotional about the loss of the only city hospital, vowing to advocate for another option.
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"We have a high pediatric death rate, we have off-the-chart cancer rate, heart disease, stroke, because we live in a community where the environment is literally killing us," Dr. Kristen Motley stated.
Zulene Mayfield is with Chester Residents Concerned for Quality of Life and says the meeting was a waste of her time, "More has to be done. All I envision, are members of my community, me, my family, dying on the way to get care, and that is a scary proposition."