Latest news with #Crozer-ChesterMedicalCenter
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
After closure of two hospitals in Delco, officials rally to keep private equity out of health care
Located outside of Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa., which recently closed (Capital-Star photo by John Cole) Nearly two weeks after Crozer-Chester Medical Center officially closed its doors, Gov. Josh Shapiro and state lawmakers in Delaware County gathered outside the building to rally support for legislation they believe would help prevent other hospitals from closing across Pennsylvania in the future. 'We are here today because Crozer was a critically important health care system right here in Delaware County, a health care system that has been forced to close its doors and stop serving its patients because of the greed and mismanagement of a private equity firm,' Shapiro said Thursday. Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital are both owned by Prospect Medical Holdings, a California for-profit healthcare company. Both closed their doors in the past month, leaving the fifth most populous county in Pennsylvania with just two hospitals, as the private equity firm filed for bankruptcy. 'I am done letting private equity wreak havoc on our health care system, wreak havoc on our communities, treating our hospitals like a piggy bank that they can drain and then smash on the floor. Those days are over,' Shapiro said. 'The time for action is right now. It is long past time to stand up for our local hospitals and nursing facilities and put in place real safeguards against private equity and for our community.' Peggy Malone, who's president of the Crozer-Chester Nurses Association, described what Prospect did as 'immoral, devastating' but 'legal,' due to current state laws. She noted previously closed Springfield Hospital and Delaware County Memorial Hospital over the past few years as additional examples from Prospect. 'I knew the health system before Prospect Medical came into our lives and created our nightmares. I can tell you, because I was here,' said Malone. 'We let the wolf in the door here in Delaware County, and we can never, ever do that again. The wolf, an out of state private equity-funded company came in and ruthlessly, without hesitation, without shade, ate us all up.' Dr. Max Cooper, who was an ER doctor at Crozer until its recent closing, said that one day after the hospital closed, a male victim was shot in the chest by a gun one block away. Since the hospital was closed, the man died during the 30-minute trip to Lankenau Medical Center in neighboring Montgomery County. Shapiro and lawmakers in Delaware County's delegation on hand for Thursday's press conference say they believe House Bill 1460 and Senate Bill 322, dubbed the Health System Protection Act, would help prevent closures like Crozer from happening in the future. The proposal would stop lease back arrangements, where private equity firms force hospitals to sell off the land the facilities are built on, to then rent back those spaces at what Shapiro called, 'ridiculously high prices.' The legislation would also empower the state Attorney General's Office to review and, if necessary, block or place conditions on sales involving healthcare institutions to for-profit entities, like Prospect. Attorney General Dave Sunday's office told the Capital-Star that they are currently reviewing drafts of this legislation and 'look forward to a robust negotiation process.' 'Attorney General Sunday is a staunch advocate for Pennsylvanians in every part of the Commonwealth to have access to affordable health care,' his office said in a statement. 'This is a stance he will not relent from, and this office will be engaged in any and all matters in which we have authority to promote healthy communities.' Sen. Tim Kearney (D-Delaware), who sponsored the measure, said this is the third legislative session that they have tried to address the issue. It passed the House in a previous session, but it did not make it through both legislative chambers. In recent months, he says he believes the tone of the conversation has recently changed. 'Both parties are now taking it more seriously than ever before,' Kearney said. The proposal in the House is slated to receive a vote in the first week in June. Rep. Lisa Borowski (D-Delaware), who sponsors House legislation calling for reforms, highlighted her personal connection to the recently-shuttered hospital. In addition to working in healthcare for 30 years and being the daughter of a physician and a nurse, she noted that she gave birth to her first son at Crozer Health. As a result of the closure, Borowski pointed out that 2,651 people are now out of a job and hospitals, like Riddle Hospital, six miles away, are being overwhelmed with the excess of people who were previously being treated at the two former facilities owned by Prospect. The state Department of Labor and Industry has been working to connect the workers who lost their jobs in the hospital with employment resources, holding a job fair at Subaru Park earlier this week. The state is also putting forward $1 million to ensure that EMS services remain available in the county following the closures of those hospitals. The Capital-Star is seeking comment from Prospect. While similar legislation to help prevent hospital closures was introduced in previous sessions, there is a difference this time around. Unlike last year, the current bill does not include oversight of nonprofits hospitals by the attorney general's office. Kearney said he would prefer that both hospitals owned by private equity firms and non-profits were included. But, he recognized that the proposal didn't get across the finish line in the previous session with that language and is hoping to get the bill to a point where enough lawmakers vote in support of the reforms. 'There are, as you can imagine, a lot of fairly powerful interests that are at work here, including the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), who opposed the bill last year,' Kearney said. However, Kearney said they've been working 'very hard to get to a point where we can get them to neutral,' on this proposal. Shapiro also echoed a similar tone, noting that the General Assembly is divided between Democrats and Republicans. He would prefer to have a more broad version of the measure, but recognizes compromise may be needed. 'I want to have a strong bill, a bill that protects communities from the kind of profit seeking motives that we saw here in Delaware County, but I'm never going to let perfect be the enemy of possible,' Shapiro said. Shapiro and other lawmakers talked at-length about wanting to hold Prospect 'accountable' for closing multiple hospitals. 'We know who did this. Prospect did this, plain and simple, and they didn't have to do this,' Shapiro said. 'They stripped so much money out of this health system that they can no longer even make payroll to great nurses and doctors and medical staff and others who poured their heart and soul into this hospital.' 'But the thing is that money didn't just vanish into thin air, that money that they sucked out of this institution is lining the pockets of those executives at Prospect,' he added. 'Their ill-gotten gains deserve greater scrutiny.' Over the last seven months, Shapiro said that the state put up than $15 million to try and keep the hospital open. The Attorney General's Office is fighting Prospect in bankruptcy court. State Rep. Leanne Krueger (D-Delaware) asked them 'to do everything they can, to claw back the money that we have invested into this system and to hopefully open a criminal investigation, so these guys are truly held accountable.' When asked if he believes criminal charges should be filed against Prospect, Shapiro said that it's a question for the attorney general's office. A spokesman for Sunday did not respond to a question about a criminal investigation. Following the closing of Crozer, there are 13 hospitals in Pennsylvania that are still owned by private equity firms, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP). 'I'm concerned about the quality of care in those communities. I'm concerned about our rural hospitals, especially, that are teetering on the edge, those owned by private equity, and even some that aren't particularly with the Medicaid cuts that are being contemplated in Washington,' Shapiro told reporters. 'So, I'm very very worried about that.' Shapiro said that legislation couldn't go back and undo a transaction that legally took place, so the private equity firms would still own those hospitals, if those proposals were enacted into law. However, he said it remains to be seen whether or not the attorney general gets additional authority as part of this legislation to manage healthcare institutions that are currently owned by private equity. Shortly following the end of the press conference, a car attempted to pull into the hospital parking lot with what appeared to be a medical emergency involving a baby, who was seen by medical professionals on-site. Peggy Malone, president of the Crozer-Chester Nurses Association, told reporters following that incident it was an example of why the hospital needs to remain open. 'Not one child should ever die because those bastards closed our hospital,' Malone said, visibly upset. 'They never cared about the people in this community. But, we do, and this is why we've been fighting so hard and somebody has to open our ER now.' Malone said since their hospital isn't open, the baby would have to be treated at the closest hospital, about 30 minutes away. 'If that child had died today, the devastation that would have caused that entire family, it's unbearable, and this can't happen,' Malone said. 'It has to stop now, get our ER open, now.' 'There's no reason that that ER is closed. Get Prospect out of here. Hold them accountable, and open our ER now,' she said, which was followed by applause for others also standing by. Malone said there are units and floors that could be opened to treat these emergencies and said Prospect is in the way of that happening. 'Get us in there. We will take care of this, but there are units in there that can be restored,' Malone said. 'You could keep us up and going. It might be smaller. It might not look like this, but get us open,' she added. 'No baby should die.'
CBS News
15-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Watch live: Gov. Josh Shapiro to speak about private equity after Crozer Health hospital closures
In the wake of the closures of Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, state leaders are pushing to limit private equity companies' influence on health care in the state. The two hospitals closed in recent weeks after their owner, Prospect Medical Holdings, declared bankruptcy. Multiple infusions of cash from the state, county and local health systems kept the hospitals open a little longer, but ultimately, Crozer-Chester's last day open was May 2, and Taylor Hospital closed April 26. Prospect was the focus of a CBS News investigation detailing how private equity investors siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars from community hospitals. The company was controlled from 2010 to 2021 by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, which held a majority stake. Gov. Josh Shapiro will speak at a news conference about private equity in health care in the wake of the hospital closures. The press conference is set to begin between 10:45 and 11 a.m. You can watch live in the player above, on CBS Philadelphia's YouTube channel, or wherever else CBS News Philadelphia is streaming. In the news conference, the Democratic governor may address bills in the state legislature, including the House's Health System Protection Act, which would allow the Pennsylvania Attorney General and Department of Health to review transactions to purchase hospitals before they go through. The bill from Democratic Rep. Lisa Borowski, who represents Delco, would also prohibit leaseback agreements by private equity firms, a subject of a suit filed last year by former Attorney General Michelle Henry. The suit alleged Prospect sold its hospital properties and then began paying $35 million in rent to Medical Properties Trust. Leaseback transactions "pad investor dividends while burdening patients, employees, their families, and the broader community," Henry's office said in 2024. Prospect had called the suit "hasty" and "completely unnecessary." This is a developing story and will be updated.
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Bankrupt healthcare giant closing two hospitals in Pennsylvania
Two hospitals in Pennsylvania are closing, in a devastating outcome for the local community. Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital will shut after parent company Prospect Medical Holdings filed for bankruptcy in January. The healthcare giant has been trying to hammer out a deal with a potential buyer for months to avoid full closure of the facilities, but with no luck. After months of uncertainty, employees received emails on Monday letting them know that the hospitals would close and more than 2,600 people would be laid off. Despite last-minute cash influxes in recent months, Prospect said it had made the 'extremely difficult decision' and would begin moving patients as soon as Wednesday. Some services already began moving out of the hospitals earlier this month. The hospitals will then cease elective inpatient admissions and trauma, surgical, obstetrics and gynecology, burn, behavioral health, oncology, and outpatient services. Patients with complex needs will then be moved to other facilities. Paul Rundell, Prospect's chief restructuring officer, said in a statement: 'We've worked tirelessly with the Pennsylvania Attorney General and other parties to do everything possible to prevent this outcome. 'Unfortunately, we were unable to reach a viable alternative.' He added that the focus remains on seamlessly transitioning patients to other health facilities so that they can continue to receive the critical, uninterrupted care they require, and supporting employees as they look for other work. Prospect already closed nearby Delaware County Memorial Hospital and Springfield Hospital in 2022. Once Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital close, the 577,000 residents of Delaware County will only have two inpatient community hospitals. Pennsylvania state senator Tim Kearney expressed his devastation at the closures. It is a 'devastating and disgraceful blow to our communities, our health care workers, and every patient who has ever relied on our local hospital system,' he said. Following the announcement, Delaware Country declared a seven-day disaster emergency to help provide immediate support to those impacted, CBS News reported. Governor Shapiro said on Monday: 'Prospect Medical Holdings, the for-profit owner of Crozer Health, pillaged these hospitals for their own gain – and today, we see the result of their greed and mismanagement with the announced closure and loss of critical health care services for the people of Delaware County.' Prospect is not the only major hospital chain which has filed for bankruptcy in recent years. Landmark, which operates six specialty hospitals across Florida, Missouri and Georgia, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. It is not yet known whether Landmark plans to close any hospitals as part of its bankruptcy proceedings, or if facilities will continue to operate as normal. Problems at Landmark also came less than a year after the collapse of Steward Health Care, a major hospital system backed by private equity. The Steward bankruptcy drew government scrutiny and prompted debate about the regulation of private-equity-owned hospitals whose failure could lead to devastating consequences for local communities.
CBS News
22-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Watch live: Crozer Health workers to demand Pennsylvania hospitals stay open after Prospect announces closure
One day after Prospect Medical Holdings announced the closure of the Crozer Health system in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, health care workers will hold a news conference today to demand that the hospitals remain open while a new owner is found. You can watch the news conference at noon in the video player above or on our CBS News Philadelphia YouTube channel . On Monday, California-based Prospect filed a motion to close the final two hospitals it owns — Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital — as well as an unknown number of outpatient facilities and practices across Delaware County, within 30 days in the United States Bankruptcy Court in Northern Texas. An emergency closure hearing before a federal judge is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. The motion filed Monday will have to be approved by the judge. Propect expects the full closure of Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park to be complete within 30 days. Thousands of employees in the Crozer Health system received emails Monday morning notifying them of the shutdown. According to the motion filed in court, Crozer Health would begin diverting patients from its emergency departments starting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, while the hospitals would cease inpatient admissions. Patients will be discharged or transferred to other hospitals for further care. Three thousand people would be out of work if the bankruptcy judge approves the plan. A spokesperson for Prospect said the ambulatory surgery and imaging centers at Brinton Lake, Broomall, Haverford and Media would stay open. "PMH recognizes the impact this action will have on patients as well as team members. We've worked tirelessly with the Pennsylvania Attorney General and other parties to do everything possible to prevent this outcome," a Prospect spokesperson said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we were unable to reach a viable alternative. At this time, the focus at Crozer Health remains on seamlessly transitioning patients to other health facilities so that they can continue to receive the critical, uninterrupted care they require, and to support Crozer Health team members as they seek to identify other employment opportunities." Last week, the University of Pennsylvania announced a $5 million donation to extend negotiations for the sale of the system. However, in a letter from the receiver to hospital employees, it was stated that Prospect was informed that the Penn donation would no longer be available to allow for such an extension of time. In 2022, Prospect closed the other two hospitals it owned in Delco, Delaware County Memorial Hospital and Springfield Hospital . With Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital set to close, Delaware County will have only two emergency rooms remaining: Riddle Hospital in Middletown Township and Mercy-Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby. Nearby hospitals like Riddle Hospital, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in University City and ChristianaCare Wilmington Hospital in Delaware are preparing to absorb patients from Crozer Health. "Main Line Health is prepared to care for the patients impacted by the announced Crozer Health closing," a Main Line Health spokesperson said in a statement. Following Prospect's announcement on Monday, Delaware County declared a seven-day disaster emergency to provide immediate support to those affected in the county. Prospect has established a dedicated call center to handle inquiries related to the hospital transition, including requests regarding patient transfers and care. The email address is CrozerPAInquiries@ and the telephone number is: 888-801-2338. Residents are encouraged to seek additional assistance through the Delaware County Health Department's Wellness Line at 484-276-2100. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Commentary: Hospital closures and buyouts are on the rise. Pa. must act to prevent disaster.
The Crozer-Chester Nurses Association and local lawmakers picket outside Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa., last May, to protest actions by the hospital's owner, the for-profit chain Prospect Medical Holdings. Private equity firms have been buying up hospitals in recent years; cutbacks and closures sometimes follow. (Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Professionals) Hospital closures, buyouts, and service closures continue to rise in Pennsylvania, part of a troubling statewide trend. As the latest examples, Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Delaware County is in real danger of closing entirely, despite efforts by many stakeholders to keep it open, and UPMC Cole in Potter County recently closed its Labor and Delivery department. These closures have serious consequences for communities. Crozer-Chester is a critical safety net facility in a densely populated and low-income area of Delaware County. Its closure would have dire implications for local access to emergency services, trauma care, psychiatric care, maternity care, neonatal care, and more. Hospitals in the surrounding area would face increased demand that they would struggle to meet. Wait times would grow, and ultimately, local residents would be unable to access lifesaving care when they need it most. Likewise, UPMC Cole's shuttering of maternity care services will mean pregnant women in a rural part of Pennsylvania will travel longer distances to receive appropriate care, potentially putting their lives in danger. These disastrous scenarios are not unique. In the past 20 years, the rate of hospital closures and shuttering of core services in Pennsylvania has been rising at an alarming rate. Across the state, 32 hospitals have closed completely, and another 25 have shuttered core services like emergency care or maternity care since 2004. Some communities have lost their only hospital; some no longer have a reliable local emergency room. In rural Pennsylvania, an entire seven-county area now lacks any hospital-based maternity care. Hospital closures rarely come out of nowhere. An analysis conducted by PHAN last year found that 90% of hospital closures are preceded by a merger or acquisition that eventually leads to financial distress. This is how Crozer-Chester found itself in danger of closing. Prospect Medical Holdings, a California-based private equity firm, purchased Crozer Health in 2016, overextended itself financially over time while paying generous dividends to its investors, and eventually filed for bankruptcy this January, leaving a catastrophe in its wake. Private equity firms aren't the only culprit. Non-profit hospital system UPMC has grown over time by acquiring smaller health systems and individual hospitals. In 2017, they acquired Sunbury Community Hospital and Lock Haven Hospital, telling the local communities that, 'bringing these hospitals into our family allows us to reinvest in both facilities to improve access, enhance care and grow existing services.' Contrary to what they said, Susquehanna Sunbury was closed in 2020, and Lock Haven's inpatient services were terminated in 2023. This week, they closed UPMC Cole's Labor and Delivery department. Concerningly, hospital mergers and acquisitions, which often lead to closures over time, are booming across Pennsylvania with 148 transactions taking place since 2004 and more slated to come. When hospital mergers and acquisitions are proposed, promises are almost always made that the transaction will actually make access to healthcare in the local area better, not worse. But those promises are typically not kept. Some mergers and acquisitions turn out to be neutral, or even positive, for the local community, but some end in disaster. That's why it's critically important that communities have more transparency and oversight when hospital mergers and acquisitions are proposed. Fortunately, a solution has been proposed in Harrisburg that would establish much-needed public review and oversight for hospital mergers and acquisitions. A bill passed on a bipartisan basis in the Pennsylvania House and in Committee in the Pennsylvania Senate last session would empower the state Attorney General to gather the facts about all significant proposed hospital mergers and acquisitions, hear from community members about their concerns, evaluate the impact on communities, patients, and access to care, and take legal action to protect communities from the serious negative impacts of hospital consolidation when needed. The legislation would also empower the state Attorney General's Office to track the promises made during an acquisition and take legal action when those promises are not kept. Just after its acquisition of Crozer Health, a spokesperson promised that Prospect would 'increase the ability of Crozer-Keystone facilities to modernize, attract more patients and expand services' and 'maintain critical service lines and expand service offerings in the community to help ensure growth and sustainability.' This statement is typical of the promises made during a merger or acquisition– and far from the truth. In addition to the potential closure of Crozer-Chester, Prospect also closed Delaware County Memorial and Springfield Hospitals in 2023. Pennsylvania can prevent harmful scenarios like the ones Crozer-Chester Medical Center and UPMC Cole are facing. The General Assembly must bring this legislation to the floor before more communities are put at risk of losing access to lifesaving care. Antoinette Kraus is the founding Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN), where she works to expand and protect access to high-quality, equitable, affordable healthcare for all Pennsylvanians.
