Important Update on Crozer Chester Hospital
Rep. Leanne Krueger October 29, 2024
Oct. 29, 2024
I know that so many of you are closely following the news about our efforts to save Crozer Chester Hospital and the rest of the Crozer Health System, so I’m writing to share a major development that happened in the last 24 hours. This afternoon I joined Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, members of the state House and Senate, members of Delaware County Council, and the Delaware County District Attorney and Sheriff at a press conference in front of the Delaware County Courthouse steps. Last night Attorney General Henry filed a lawsuit in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas to hold Prospect Medical accountable (Prospect is the California-based hedge fund owner of the Crozer Health System). This new lawsuit highlights years of the company’s mismanagement and neglect of Crozer Health System, which has resulted in closures of facilities and shattered a network of care for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians. The lawsuit also seeks a preliminary injunction to save existing healthcare service lines and the appointment of a receiver to take control of the Crozer Health System for the immediate future to avoid additional closures and cuts to services.
The background: the Attorney General’s complaint centers on Prospect’s failure to follow the Asset Purchase Agreement that was approved by the court in 2016, which required that Prospect continue to provide care at all four Delaware County hospitals for at least 10 years. As a for-profit entity that acquired a nonprofit system, that Asset Purchase Agreement was legally binding, and Prospect is being sued because they broke their end of the deal. Over the past eight years, Prospect has closed two of our hospitals (Delaware County Memorial Hospital and Springfield Hospital), shut down the operating room at Taylor Hospital, and recently they have been threatening to close essential services at Crozer Chester Hospital as well. Delaware County families who rely on these hospitals have been devastated by these closures and we are fighting back against any future cuts. Nurses, doctors, and medical staff at these hospitals have continued to work hard to treat their patients in a very challenging work environment.
I was heartened by the fact that Dr. Patrick J. Brennan, the chief medical officer and senior vice president of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, was there at the press conference. Dr. Patrick J. Brennan already serves on the Board of Health for the Delaware County Health Department and moving forward, UPenn Health System will play an advisory role to the receiver who will run the system. UPenn Health System is a well-known healthcare provider in this region and having them at the table makes me feel more secure. The hope is to get the system into the hands of a reputable nonprofit healthcare provider as soon as possible, but first we need court action to help clean up Prospect’s mess.
As a next step, the court will have to take up the case and make a decision on the injunction and the receiver. The Attorney General is pushing for this to happen as quickly as possible. While Prospect had previously signed a letter of intent with CHA Partners to purchase the system, that deal fell through this week and this litigation is the next step.
You can read the press release from the Attorney General’s office here, including links to the full legal complaint, the injunction and the receivership motion.
You can read my full remarks from the press conference here.
I will continue to keep you updated through my weekly e-newsletter as the situation unfolds. I’m grateful to all of you who have called, emailed, and met with me to share your personal stories of being a patient or a staff person at one of the Crozer Health hospitals. I will always have your back.