Crozer Health closure begins: Patients transferred via helicopter, ambulance
Crozer Health begins plan to close down: Everything you need to know
With Crozer Health officially set to shut down, here's what to know about when each hospital is expected to close and how many people it will impact.
UPLAND, Pa. - On Tuesday night, the unthinkable started to happen.
After more than 100 years serving the community, Crozer Chester Medical Center in Upland has begun shutting down.
What we know:
FOX 29 cameras were outside the emergency room where patients where at least a half dozen patents were seen being transported away from the hospital by helicopter or ambulance.
The patient transfers came just hours after a bankruptcy judge in Texas approved the closure plan of Crozer Medical Center and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park within the next week.
"What are the people in this city and surrounding city going to do without this hospital? Said Sandra Tongs of Chester. Her husband was brought to Crozer 5 days ago for a cardiac condition. She’s not sure where he’ll be tomorrow.
What they're saying:
"I don’t know what we are going to do. Whether he is coming home tomorrow, whether he’ll go to a rehab, we don't know. No one seems to know," said Tongs.
"This is a bad result, but it’s just the one that we’re stuck with," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stacey Jernigan.
According to the 17 page closure plan, Crozer’s emergency departments will start diverting ambulances Wednesday morning but walk-ins may be accepted until next week.
As for employees, layoffs of the system’s 2,600 employees are expected to begin Friday.
Crozer Health closure: Nurses, doctors, workers rally to keep their jobs after closure announcement
Nurses, doctors, and health care workers rallied together to fight for their jobs and patients after Prospect Medical Holdings announced Crozer Health will begin its plan to close.
Attorneys for Crozer Health’s owner, the bankrupt Prospect Medical Holdings, told a judge it would cost $20-$30 million dollars to shutter the system.
Employees were told not to talk to the media about the closure, although one 15-year Crozer employee who asked not to be identified tells FOX 29 he has no idea what’s next.
"I’ll try to find another job. It’s the only thing I could do. Put my applications in and my resumes. I’ve been looking already," he said.
It’s estimated 80,000 people go to Crozer emergency rooms throughout the year.
What's next:
Now, local and state officials are trying to prepare other healthcare providers, like Main Line Health and Penn Medicine, to take on additional patients.
There are other details that also have to be addressed, like removing blue hospital directional signage from highways.
Delaware County went from six hospitals two years ago and is now down to just two.
Ridley Township Board of Commissioners issued a disaster emergency declaration starting Wednesday morning at 8 a.m..
It read the closure "threatened to endanger the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the Township of Ridley."
Delaware County Council Chair Dr. Monica Taylor says residents who depend on Crozer or Taylor hospitals should have another plan.
"There are lives at stake here. When you think about a heart attack or stroke or gunshot victim when seconds and minutes matter. Our community they are going to have to go 30 to 40 minutes to get to a different level of care" said Dr.Taylor.
What you can do:
Prospect Medical Holdings has established a dedicated call center to handle questions related to the hospital closure, including patient transfers and care.
The telephone number is: 888-801-2338.
Residents can also call the Delaware County Health Department's Wellness Line at 484-276-2100.
The Source: The information in this story is from Delco officials and Crozer Health faculty members.