Delaware County helps former Crozer Health patients to get medical records

The summer outreach series, Navigating Our Healthcare System for Seniors, will be held throughout June and July at different senior centers in the region. The program also provides information on insurance options, immunizations, tick and mosquito remediation and more.

During a recent event at the Good Neighbor Senior Center in Sharon Hill, health department staff set up mini workstations in a large, multipurpose room.

Staff members helped Roberts-Gibbs, who is in her late 70s, look up at least 10 years of medical records on a laptop.

The support was refreshing, Roberts-Gibbs said, after her experience in trying to get her medical records on her own. She said she filled out two request forms provided by Crozer Health in early May to have her records mailed to her home in Sharon Hill.

“And we’re in the middle of June and I have yet to hear anything from them,” Roberts-Gibbs said.

But after attending the health department event, she walked away with digital and paper copies of medical documents. It’s one less thing she has to do before starting her search for a new primary care provider.

“I have to call my insurance company and start getting a list, but this is really helpful,” she said.

The Crozer Health website directs people to a document that states patients can access their medical records through the health system’s Health+Link online portal. People can also submit a request for documents to be mailed home.

The document also includes a list of other health care systems and providers in the area as well as a link to urgent care centers in Delaware County.

A lot of people still found the Crozer Health closure a confusing and difficult situation to navigate, said Dr. Gifty Akomea Key, population health division administrator at the health department.

“The closing just made it so evident how important it is for us to be our own advocate and have our own information,” she said.