Calls for Criminal Investigation of Prospect Medical Holdings and Resources for those Affected by Crozer Health Layoffs
Rep. Leanne Krueger April 29, 2025 | 4:45 PM
It has been over a week since Prospect Medical Holdings announced the closure of Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital, which is devastating for Delaware County.
The next hearing in bankruptcy court in Texas is tomorrow, April 30 at 2:30 p.m. You can watch the hearing online at https://us-courts.webex.com/meet/jerniga (just make sure you mute your microphone because previous hearings have been disrupted by viewers with their microphones on). In advance of tomorrow’s hearing, my colleagues and I have asked the Attorney General to open a criminal investigation into Prospect’s current and former owners, including those who benefited from $457 million in dividends paid after Prospect sold Crozer’s real estate in 2019. We have also asked him to petition Judge Stacey Jernigan to require Prospect to pay for ambulance coverage at Crozer-Chester Medical Center for sixteen weeks post-closing and petition her to claw back the $40 million that has been invested since Prospect declared bankruptcy in January in an effort to prevent a closure.
We are using every possible channel to get accountability for Prospect and what they did to our health care system. A number of neighbors have reached out to ask if a class action lawsuit by patients or employees would be viable. Unfortunately, the fact that Prospect filed for bankruptcy protects them and makes it hard to sue them for anything else. There were apparently a number of lawsuits filed when Hahnemann Hospital closed after declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in 2019 but none of them came to fruition.
The closure process is underway after the Judge told Prospect they could proceed with their plan at last Tuesday’s hearing. The emergency rooms for Taylor and Crozer hospitals were put on diversion last Wednesday and Taylor Hospital closed completely on Friday. We expect Crozer’s emergency room to close tomorrow, Wednesday, April 30 and the hospital to close entirely on Friday, May 2.
Please know that after May 2nd you can still call 911 for emergencies. Other hospitals in our area, such as Mercy Fitzgerald and Riddle, have been preparing for the overflow when Crozer no longer serves our community. My colleagues and I have been working closely with Delaware County Council on an emergency plan for EMS coverage that will go into effect on May 3. I will have more information on the EMS plan later this week.
Delaware County has created a dedicated website with updates about the Crozer Health System closure that is updated daily. This is the best place to get the most recent updates for community members: Prospect Medical Bankruptcy Update - Delaware County Health Department - Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
If you’ve been affected by the Crozer and Taylor layoffs, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s Rapid Response Team is hosting meetings online to connect you with career resources like job search assistance, filing for unemployment benefits, and health insurance information. Each meeting is 90 minutes long and you can sign up at Crozer Former Employees | Pennsylvania CareerLink® Delaware County. The dates and times of the meeting are below:
- April 30, 2025:
- 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
- 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
- May 1, 2025:
- 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
- 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
- May 2, 2025:
- May 7, 2025:
- 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
- 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
- May 8, 2025:
- 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
- 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
- May 9, 2025:
PA CareerLink and the Rapid Response Team will also host an in-person job fair on Tuesday, May 13 at Subaru Park. You can also text healthjobs to 888777 to get job search-related updates from Delaware County.
Delaware County has created a dedicated webpage for former employees to sign up for services at: https://pacareerlinkdelco.org/crozer-former-employees/.