Crozer’s Delaware County Memorial Hospital will lose more services by the end of May

Crozer Health, which has struck a preliminary deal to be acquired by Delaware’s largest health system, plans to “temporarily suspend” intensive care and surgical services at Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill by the end of May, according to an internal announcement Thursday.

Outpatient services at the 133-bed hospital will be suspended on April 5, but the emergency department and other inpatient units will remain open.

“Due to ongoing staffing issues across the industry impacted by COVID, we need to take these actions and reallocate resources to other locations,” the announcement said.

Crozer, which employs about 4,000 and is among Delaware County’s largest employers, said in a statement Friday that it “will continue to reassess our operations and will make any additional modifications that are in the best interest of our patients, staff, and the community we serve.”

Inpatient surgeries will be moved to Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park.

» READ MORE: Crozer Health layoffs went far deeper than initially reported

Delaware County Memorial has 14 beds in its intensive care unit, according to the state data from 2020.

The changes add to a string of cutbacks at Crozer, which has struggled financially and last month reached a preliminary agreement to be acquired by ChristianaCare, Delaware’s largest system. Terms were not disclosed.

In January, Crozer, which is owned by Prospect Medical Holdings Inc., closed the maternity ward, with 17 OB/GYN beds, at Delaware County Memorial and suspended all inpatient services at Springfield Hospital. On short notice, Crozer closed the 10-bed hospice unit at Taylor on Feb. 11.

Prospect, a for-profit based in Los Angeles that was long controlled by the private equity firm Leonard Green, hired Morgan Stanley in October to sell Crozer and other East Coast hospitals.

Last month, not long before announcing the preliminary deal with ChristianaCare, Crozer dismissed about 100 employees, including the CEO and the executive suite, with the exception of the chief nursing officer.

The changes at Delaware County add to the turmoil in Southeastern Pennsylvania’s health-care sector, which recently has seen the closure of Jennersville and Brandywine Hospitals, plus the announcement this week that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs might close its facilities in Caln, near Coatesville, and in University City.