The last-ditch deal between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Prospect — a for-profit system that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January — averts potential hospital and other care facility closures.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stacey Jernigan said Prospect —which plans to sell 10 of its 16 hospitals — has “dire liquidity” problems and the deal is a temporary solution to keep the Crozer hospitals open while the health system finds new owners, according to Bloomberg.
For more than a year, the state has worked to preserve Crozer, which serves a low-income area with limited access to care in Delaware County. Prospect previously closed two Crozer hospitals in Springfield and Drexel Hill, Pa. Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park remain fully operational.
Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses & Allied Professionals, a union representing more than 1,000 Crozer nurses, techs, medical professionals and paramedics supported the appointment of FTI Consulting as a receiver.
“We are glad that Prospect is no longer in a decision-making position,” PASNAP said in a Feb. 6 statement shared with Becker’s. “We look forward to working with the receiver to both restore the Crozer Health system for the citizens of Delaware County and to protect the health system employees who have worked tirelessly, through the pandemic and after, to provide excellent care for our patients as a for-profit, out-of-state company prioritized financial returns over patient care and systematically dismantled our hospital system, piece by piece.”
Prospect did not respond to Becker’s request for comment.
“Crozer Health looks forward to working constructively with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and FTI Consulting to ensure that our communities continue to receive uninterrupted access to the critical health services they require,” Crozer CEO Anthony Esposito said in a statement. “As always, we remain focused on providing high-quality and personalized care to our patients, and will continue to uphold that commitment throughout this process.”