Delaware

Crozer Health in Delaware County to close, leaving patients and employees in limbo

Published

8 months ago

April 21, 2025

Crozer Health in Delaware County to close, leaving patients and employees in limbo

FTI Consulting, which was tasked with shepherding the distressed health system’s finances, issued a statement thanking employees, patients and parties who offered solutions.

“As Court-appointed receiver, we are disappointed an alternative resolution and sale could not be reached,” the receivership said.

Crozer began transitioning operations in an attempt to sustain itself in recent weeks in accordance with FTI’s service line transition plan. Main Line Health raised its hand to absorb Crozer’s OB-GYN services. Taylor moved to axe home care and hospice units as early as June.

“The ‘FTI plan’ was one of recovery and exploration of a possible sale, not closure,” the receivership said.

A bankruptcy hearing related to the closure notices is set for Tuesday afternoon.

‘Disappointed’ Pa. officials seek ‘to hold Prospect accountable’

Representatives from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General were heavily involved in sale negotiations. In a statement, spokesperson Brett Hambright said the office was “deeply disappointed” by the closure news.

In the end, office leaders said the “damage inflicted” by Prospect’s former owner, private-equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, “who prioritized their own wealth over the well-being of a community, was too much to overcome.”

The attorney general’s office pledged to continue working through the bankruptcy process to recoup money owed to the Commonwealth “to the greatest extent possible in order to hold Prospect accountable for actions that caused this closure.“

Gov. Josh Shapiro accused Prospect of pillaging the hospitals “for their own personal gain” and committed to working alongside the attorney general in the bankruptcy case.

“And we must ensure this never happens again by passing legislation to get private equity out of the health care business in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said in a statement.

Crozer is integral to shaping the county’s history and economy. The Delaware County Legislative Delegation said in a statement that they’re “furious.”

“Delaware County legislators, Governor Shapiro’s office, and The Office of the Attorney General have been working night and day for months to stop the hemorrhaging Prospect’s dealings created while finding bridge funding to keep Crozer open under new ownership,” the lawmakers said.

Pennsylvania and Delaware County put up a combined $20 million in taxpayer money in February to give the receiver enough cash to keep Crozer running for at least 30 days.

Prospect first signaled the possible closure of the hospitals when money for payroll ran dry in March. A $7 million cash infusion from the Foundation for Delaware County avoided closure at the time. A civil lawsuit nearly blocked the flow of more cash, but the community nonprofit eventually OK’d another $13 million for hospital payroll and overhead.

Bankruptcy attorneys for Prospect asked for more help for Crozer in April before U.S. bankruptcy Judge Stacey G. C. Jernigan of the Northern District of Texas, requesting another $9 million to prolong negotiations. Penn Medicine and Delaware County answered the call, although they came up $3 million short of Prospect’s request.

Negotiations between Prospect and the unnamed consortium of buyers have been underway ever since. Crozer CEO Tony Esposito stepped down Friday. Greg Williams, president of Prospect’s East Coast operations, assumed Esposito’s role in the interim.

“At a time when the federal government is planning massive cuts to Medicaid and Medicare and when most hospital systems are already in the red due to below-cost reimbursement from those public-payor programs, bailing out Crozer became a problem without a solution,” the delegation said.

Foundation for Delaware County President Frances Sheehan said in a statement that the closure of two more hospitals “will significantly reduce emergency healthcare options.”

“Our maternal health team has been working closely with County Council President Dr. Monica Taylor and healthcare leaders for months,” Sheehan said. “We are grateful to Riddle Hospital, Nemours, and CHOP for planning for a significant increase in births and pediatric care, and to all our region’s health systems for partnering with the Delaware County Health Department to coordinate and implement an emergency plan that our citizens will need now that Crozer Health is closing.”

Editor’s note: The Foundation for Delaware County is a WHYY supporter. WHYY News produces independent, fact-based news content for audiences in Greater Philadelphia, Delaware and South Jersey.

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Delaware

Delaware state police trooper killed in active shooter incident at DMV facility; suspect also dead

Published

2 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Delaware state police trooper killed in active shooter incident at DMV facility; suspect also dead

This story originally appeared on 6abc.

Delaware state police say a trooper was killed in what officials said was an active shooter situation at a DMV facility in New Castle on Tuesday afternoon.

The suspect in this incident is also dead, Gov. Matt Meyer said.

State police said they are “are continuing to assess additional injuries.” There is no official word yet on the exact number of people injured.

Police say the active shooter incident is now over.

The incident happened around 2 p.m. at the facility on Hessler Boulevard.

No further details have been made available.

Police are asking residents to avoid the area.

Stay with Action News and 6abc.com as this story develops.

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Delaware

2 hurt after car crashes into building in Talleyville, Delaware

Published

14 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

2 hurt after car crashes into building in Talleyville, Delaware

Two people were hurt after a car crashed into a building in Talleyville, Delaware, Monday morning.

The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. along the 100 block of Brandywine Boulevard. Police said a woman was driving a light-colored vehicle when she somehow lost control and crashed through the first floor of a realty company.

A fire station is located across the street from where the crash occurred. Firefighters responded in less than a minute and the driver as well as another person were both taken to the hospital. Investigators told NBC10 both victims suffered minor injuries and are expected to be OK.

Crews removed the vehicle and boarded up the damaged building. They continue to investigate the cause of the crash.

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Delaware

Delaware-based dark money group ‘Alabama Patients First’ unleashes TV, digital attack on Blue Cross Blue Shield

Published

1 day ago

December 22, 2025

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Delaware-based dark money group ‘Alabama Patients First’ unleashes TV, digital attack on Blue Cross Blue Shield

A brand-new, out-of-state dark-money group launched an attack on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama over the past week, and has already invested over $320,000 in negative television advertising alone.

During some of this weekend’s largest SEC football matchups, including Alabama vs. Oklahoma, the group ran a shock-style message that is now being pushed to Alabama voters more aggressively than any political campaign could afford to spend on television at this point in the 2026 election cycle.

According to business filings, “Alabama Patients First LLC” was formed in Delaware on December 11. The state is known for its Teflon business privacy laws. LLCs are not required to publicly list their ownership or members, making it an ideal vehicle for dark money to reach its target.

Since its formation, the group has been busy in Alabama.

Using a “Paid for by Alabama Patients First” disclaimer, the group aired television advertisements, launched a website, and directed SMS marketing campaigns directly to voters, igniting a costly media attack against the state’s leading insurer.

“They make a killing off telling you ‘No.’ Blue Cross Blue Shield: ‘No.’ That’s Blue Cross “B*******,” the ad says.

A station-by-station breakdown of the Alabama Patients First TV buy across multiple Montgomery-area outlets, including WSFA, WAKA, WCOV-TV, WNCF, and others, totals $226,071.

The group also spent $102,000 across Birmingham, Huntsville, and Dothan media markets.

The buy spans six weekends, ranging from its first airing on December 14, with a much smaller spend scheduled after January 1, to a wind-down on January 18, 2026.

By comparison, in the Montgomery media market, the group spent $211,633 in December and just $14,438 in January.

In total, the out-of-state group has spent at least $328,071 on pushing the TV spot to Alabama residents.

Alabama Patients First’s TV spend isn’t the whole tab, either. The professional fees required to deploy such an operation likely reach into the millions – and the timing is striking.

The attack on Alabama began the same week that Jackson Hospital and Clinic, Inc. initiated a high-visibility litigation campaign against BCBS of Alabama.

Jackson Hospital and its lender, Atlanta-based Jackson Investment Group, are on the clock for a December 31, 2025 bankruptcy court deadline to secure $100 million in public funding, which would help satisfy a debtor-in-possession (DIP) agreement the two signed earlier this year.

Yellowhammer News requested information from officials at Jackson Investment Group, Jackson Healthcare, and Jackson Hospital to confirm or deny a connection between the hospital’s lending relationship and the creation of Alabama Patients First.

At the time of publication, those requests went unanswered.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama did respond to the negative ad blitz in a statement on Monday afternoon.

“The ads are an intentional misrepresentation of how we do business,” Sophie Martin, Director of Corporate Communications for BCBS of Alabama, said.
“Based on the timing of the ads, we believe they are nothing more than an improper attempt by Jackson’s investor-lender to improperly influence litigation.”