Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland was down to 20 patients as of Wednesday, April 30, with the hospital set to close Friday, May 2, writes Harold Brubaker for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

A baby delivery was the last action taken by its emergency department staff, which ceased operating Wednesday.  Mother and baby were quickly transferred to another hospital.

Finding new locations for the remaining 20 patients has been more difficult, and many have likely been sent home.

“They typically don’t have insurance, and they have complicated acuity diagnosis, and they’re difficult to place,” said Paul Rundell, Prospect Medical Holding’s chief restructuring officer.

Crozer’s other hospital, Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, was down to 30 patients who were moved by the end of last week.

Taylor Hospital is now closed.

Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, which operates Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, took in eight transfers from Crozer in the last week.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System took in 24 Crozer transfers since April 20, distributed among five of its six hospitals.

Main Line Health’s hospitals received 14 transfers from Crozer.

Since the Crozer closings, Riddle Hospital’s emergency department volumes in Media have been up 40 percent, and Main Line ambulance volumes from Chester have doubled.

In other developments, the Lower Chichester Township Board has asked Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to send in the National Guard during the healthcare emergency, writes Taylor Millard for the Delaware Valley Journal.

A letter to the governor from Township Board President Rocco Gaspari Jr. read, “Would you please deploy the Pennsylvania National Guard Medical Units headquartered at Fort Indiantown Gap to staff hospital-type trauma units/emergency rooms … until these crises are resolved?”

Gaspari was also concerned about an ambulance and EMS shortage for the town of 3,400 residents, most over the age of 60.

He also speculated on what would happen if there was a refinery accident or if a child was injured playing sports. The nearest hospitals are now 20 minutes away.

Gaspari said resident lives would be saved if National Guard units were put in Crozer and Taylor hospitals, similar to when the National Guard was stationed at nursing homes and testing sites during the COVID pandemic.

Lower Chichester has already declared a township-wide emergency in response to the Crozer hospital closings.

Radnor Township Board of Commissioners has also declared an emergency over the Crozer closings this week, writes Richard Ilgenfritz for Main Line Times & Suburban.

Commissioners passed a resolution describing the closures as a “significant public health crisis” in Delaware County.

Crozer ambulances that will no longer be in service will have an impact on the northern end of the county, including Radnor, said Radnor Township Manager Bill White.

It means Radnor ambulances will be called into service to areas outside Radnor more frequently.

Police and Radnor’s Community Support Unit could face decreased resources for mental health emergencies, White said.

 “At the end of the day, it’s a further distance for our officers to go, it’s less resources for them to respond to and for them to provide service to our residents in need,” White said.

Find out more details about the closure in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Delaware Valley Journal, and the Main Line Times & Suburban.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on DELCO Today in May 2025.