Crozer Health officials confirmed that the maternity unit at Delaware County Memorial Hospital will close within two and a half weeks.
A statement issued by Crozer Health representatives read, “After careful consideration, Crozer Health will be aligning inpatient women’s and children’s services and moving the inpatient OB unit at Delaware County Memorial Hospital to Crozer-Chester Medical Center in nearby Upland, Pa. effective Jan. 21, 2022.”
Information on the number of employees impacted and whether they would be laid off or transitioned to other locations within the Crozer Health system were not readily available.
As of that date, only two hospitals in Delaware County – Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Riddle Hospital in Middletown – will be providing inpatient maternity services.
On the health system’s website, it states that more than 1,800 babies are typically born at Delaware County Memorial Hospital each year.
Crozer officials said the move is a way to ensure top care.
“To be able to continue providing the highest quality care and maintain staffing and services for our community, labor and delivery, maternal fetal medicine, and NICU services at Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill will transition to Crozer-Chester Medical Center, where patients will continue to receive excellent women’s and children’s inpatient care,” the statement read.
They added that outpatient services will continue to be offered at the Drexel Hill facility.
“Outpatient women’s and children’s services – including offices for obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics – will remain at Delaware County Memorial Hospital, ensuring patients will still receive care close to where they live and work,” the statement continued.
The medical system is also evaluating how to support those who may have transportation needs.
“Crozer Health is exploring transportation options for patients who may struggle with reliable transportation,” the statement said.
Delaware County Memorial Hospital was established in 1927 as a full-service inpatient hospital to provide care for residents in the northern and eastern parts of Delaware County.
Annually, this 133- bed hospital admits more than 10,000 patients, treats more than 36,000 Emergency Department patients and completes more than 5,800 surgiers.
In 2015, executives of the former Crozer-Keystone Health System signed a letter of intent to enter into a partnership with the for-profit Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc.
At the time, Crozer-Keystone Health System, now Crozer Health, was a not-for-profit system. It had become the largest health system in Delaware County in 1990 when Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Keystone Health System, which operated Delaware County Memorial Hospital, merged.
Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. is a health care services company that owns and operates 13 in-patient hospitals as well as 40 clinics and out-patient centers. Based in Los Angeles, Calif., Prospect manages health care services for approximately 270,000 members enrolled in its networks of more than 8,900 primary care physicians and specialists.
In April 2020, Crozer closed all of the units at Springfield Hospital, except for the Emergency Department.
