With Crozer and Taylor hospitals set to close this week, a small Delaware County township is calling a “Code Blue” for local health care.
They want Gov. Josh Shapiro to send in the National Guard.
In a public statement released Wednesday, the Lower Chichester Township Board issued a plea to the Democratic governor.
“PLEASE SEND US THE PENNSYLVANIA NATIONAL GUARD MEDICAL UNITS. RIGHT NOW.” (All caps in original.)
In a letter to Shapiro also released Wednesday, Lower Chichester Township Board President Rocco Gaspari Jr. wrote, “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?”
With the two hospitals losing money and no change in their financial fortunes in sight, Prospect Medical Holdings announced last week that it was closing down the two hospitals. On Saturday, Taylor Hospital closed its doors. Crozer Chester is expected to shut down entirely on Friday.
The result will be a gap in health care, in particular emergency health services, in Delaware County. Gaspari’s letter notes the board recently declared a township-wide emergency in response to the hospital closures. He also raised concerns about a shortage of ambulance and EMS services to transport residents in need of urgent care.
Lower Chichester Township has a population of 3,400, and most of its residents are over age 60.
Lower Chichester Township Board of Commissioners President Rocco Gaspari, Jr.
“People call me and say, ‘Where am I going for dialysis? I used to go to Crozer. … I used to go to Britain Lake. Is that still open?’” Gaspari told Delaware Valley Journal. “I do not have these answers.”
It’s not just elderly residents who have Gaspari worried. He’s also concerned about what could happen if someone is injured at a refinery on the Delaware River or if a child is hurt playing Little League or recreational soccer.
Gaspari argued resident lives will be saved if National Guard units are put in Crozer and Taylor hospitals. He said there will only be two hospitals in the county – both more than 20 minutes away, depending on traffic. Crozer and Taylor hospitals are much closer.
“To lose a trauma center and a burn center in one county, I have to travel now either to the Delaware trauma center in Christiana or Paoli Hospital in Chester County, Wynnewood in Montgomery County, or the city of Philadelphia,” he said. “It’s unheard of.”
Attorneys for Prospect’s debtors, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and Delaware County officials spent weeks attempting to find a buyer for the facilities. The hospitals received $46 million in short-term funding to remain open in March. Another $6 million was chipped in by Penn Medicine and Delaware County to keep the hospital facilities open for another few weeks last month.
No buyer was found.
Gaspari said he has to look out for his constituents, along with travelers who pass through the township on Interstate 95.
“When there’s an accident down there, I have to make sure that the people that are on Interstate 95 hurt, sick or injured, are transported to health care facilities,” Gaspari said. “I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.”
Previous Pennsylvania governors have used the National Guard during health emergencies.
In 2017, National Guard units were sent to the U.S. Virgin Islands to provide medical personnel and equipment following Hurricane Maria.
National Guard units also helped the state respond during the COVID pandemic. That included staffing nursing homes, testing sites, and transporting supplies.
Gaspari hopes Shapiro will take similar action at Crozer and Taylor hospitals
“Why not get involved, governor?” asked Gaspari. “Why not get involved?”
