Consortium set to form to save Crozer Health system in Delaware County, Pennsylvania
During a bankruptcy hearing on Wednesday, attorneys with Prospect Medical Holdings told a judge that a consortium is set to form that will rescue Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
The news comes a week after a deal to keep the two Delco hospitals open appeared to fall apart.
The bankruptcy judge told lawyers she is aware work is happening around the clock to save the hospitals.
An attorney for Crozer's parent company, Prospect Medical Holdings, said during a hearing in bankruptcy court that "there's ample attention on this and things are progressing in the right direction and we are light years away from where we were a week ago when it seemed the whole thing had fallen apart."
Last week, a board member with the Foundation for Delaware County sued to halt foundation funds from being used in the process to keep the hospitals open, fearing the money would end up in Prospect Medical's pockets.
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After an emergency meeting, an agreement was reached, and the Foundation for Delaware County is providing stopgap funding of $13 million to keep the health system running.
Attorneys said they hope that buys them time to reach an asset purchase agreement, which is essentially a sale of the system to a new operator.
An attorney for Delaware County told the judge that there have been a number of challenges as it navigates getting to a sale.
"The county has two work in two different ways, right? We're trying to help be a facilitator here, but we're also helping to do contingency planning in case we aren't able to save the hospital system," Dr. Monica Taylor, the chair of Delaware County Council, said. "And how do we then also keep service in the areas that no longer have these resources and healthcare systems?"
Taylor said she's "cautiously optimistic" on getting a deal until the doors close.
An attorney for the Prospect said that every step has just been an incredible challenge and "we will overcome these obstacles if overcoming them is at all possible."
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement that state officials remain "steadfast" in their efforts to keep healthcare accessible for people in Delco.
"These next few days will be crucial to finalizing a purchase agreement that sustains Crozer Health as an economic engine for the community and local source for essential care," Sunday wrote in a statement. "I, along with my staff, remain fully engaged working around the clock to reach a deal that maintains this system for the people and families who depend on it for their well-being."
