The closure of Upland, Pa.-based Crozer Health's Delaware County Memorial Hospital in suburban Philadelphia last fall has created a ripple effect across the region's healthcare system, CBS News reported April 24.
"Everybody's feeling this," a local EMS chief told CBS. "This really hit hard."
The paramedic told the outlet that nearby emergency rooms are being "slammed" by increased visits and his department's call volumes have increased 25 percent this year.
Bryn Mawr, Pa.-based Main Line Health told CBS that monthly emergency department visits at its hospitals in the area were up by around 14 percent.
Crozer scaled back services at the 168-bed hospital in Drexel Hill, Pa., throughout 2022, with plans to halt all services by late November. The closure was complicated by alleged violations of health regulations, which prompted an order in early November from the state's health department to bar admissions and suspend emergency room services. According to CBS, the facility was also ordered to close because of inadequate staffing.
Crozer also adjusted services at its 25-bed Springfield (Pa.) Hospital, which now only provides outpatient services.
Crozer includes four hospitals. It was acquired by Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings in 2016. Its Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park continue to operate as acute care hospitals.
Prospect Medical Holdings told CBS it had "not been notified by EMS or any state agency that there has been a significant increase in EMS response times or that other local hospitals have been significantly impacted by the closure" of Delaware County Memorial.