Last checked: October 15, 2026. This independent guide to Delaware County Memorial Hospital is not affiliated with Crozer Health, Prospect Medical Holdings or the Upper Darby School District. In an emergency, call 911.
Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill is closed and will not reopen as a hospital. Its emergency room shut on November 7, 2022, and the Upper Darby School District bought the empty campus for $600,000 in August 2025 and plans to knock it down for a new school building. If you need care today, our list of every open hospital and ER in Delaware County shows where to go instead.
Below is what happened to the hospital, what the site is becoming, how to get old records, and the nearest emergency rooms for Drexel Hill and Upper Darby.
Delaware County Memorial Hospital at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Address | 501 N. Lansdowne Ave., Drexel Hill, PA 19026 (Upper Darby Township) |
| Opened | July 1, 1927, as Delaware County Hospital; renamed Delaware County Memorial Hospital in 1959 |
| Health system | Crozer-Keystone (from 1990), later Crozer Health under Prospect Medical Holdings (from 2016) |
| Maternity unit closed | January 2022 |
| ICU closed | May 2022 |
| ER and admissions stopped | November 7, 2022, under a state Department of Health order |
| Current owner | Upper Darby School District (bought August 2025 for $600,000) |
| Status in October 2026 | Empty; asbestos removal and demolition preparation under way |
There is no phone number, patient entrance or open department at the old campus. Phone listings and map pins that still show it as an emergency room are out of date.
What happened to Delaware County Memorial Hospital
The hospital opened in 1927 with 56 beds and grew into a community hospital of about 225 beds. In 1990 it merged with Crozer-Chester Medical Center to form Crozer-Keystone Health System. Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings bought that system in 2016.
Services were cut in stages. Maternity care ended in January 2022, and the intensive care unit closed that May. On September 21, 2022, Crozer announced it would stop acute care at DCMH and turn the building into an inpatient behavioral health center by spring 2023.
The Foundation for Delaware County sued, arguing that Prospect’s purchase agreement required the hospital to stay open until 2026. A county judge granted an injunction in October 2022. It did not hold for long. Radiology technicians and other staff left after the closure announcement, and on November 4 the Pennsylvania Department of Health ordered the emergency department closed for inadequate staffing. The ER shut on Monday, November 7, and admissions stopped, as the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that week. In its final week, the ER was seeing about 55 patients a day.
The behavioral health conversion never happened. The court fight went on without the building: Commonwealth Court threw out the injunction in May 2023, and in January 2025 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed that decision. By then, as WHYY noted, the ruling had almost no practical effect because the hospital had been closed for more than two years and Prospect had filed for bankruptcy that month.
The rest of Crozer followed. Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital closed in spring 2025. Our Crozer closure timeline puts all of the dates in one place.
Where did DCMH patients go?
When the ER closed, nearby hospitals absorbed the patients. The Inquirer’s November 2022 reporting found that Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, about two miles away, saw roughly 20 more ER patients a day. Lankenau Medical Center and Bryn Mawr Hospital each estimated 15 to 30 extra patients a day, and Taylor Hospital saw a 15% to 20% rise. Taylor has since closed too, which is why Mercy Fitzgerald and Lankenau carry much of the load for this part of the county today.
What’s there now: the Upper Darby School District plan
The campus sits next to Upper Darby High School, and the district had wanted the land for more than two years. During Prospect’s bankruptcy, a judge approved the district’s $600,000 purchase, and 6abc reported the deal done on August 20, 2025. The district’s attorney had cited break-ins at the empty building as one reason to move fast. The sale also took the hospital, a medical office building and a parking garage off Prospect’s hands.
In late 2025 the district asked architects to study two options: reuse the buildings, or demolish some or all of them and build a STEAM-focused high school for up to 1,000 students. It chose demolition. Superintendent Daniel McGarry told CBS Philadelphia in July 2026 that the ceiling heights, corridors and exits were built for a hospital and would not work for that many students.
The current plan, as described to CBS, is a career and technical education center that extends Upper Darby High School, with hands-on programs in skilled trades such as welding, plumbing and HVAC, plus health care and STEM. Renderings show room for about 1,000 students.
Demolition timeline
- August 2025: District closes on the purchase.
- January 2026: Board scheduled to pick the design team from its fall 2025 request for qualifications.
- July to August 2026: District seeks bids for asbestos removal; crews begin clearing the building.
- Fall 2026: Officials hoped to start demolition. As of mid-October we have not seen a confirmed start date.
- After demolition: Officials estimate four to five years of construction. No opening date has been announced.
The site has not been completely quiet. A trash fire behind the old hospital sent up heavy smoke in late July 2026; no one was hurt, according to 6abc.
Memorial bricks and keepsakes
Hundreds of engraved memorial bricks still line the old lobby walls, many bought by families to honor relatives who died at the hospital. DELCO.Today reported in July 2026 that the district had logged 39 requests for bricks, tiles and other items, and that a Springfield Township mason is removing them at no cost to families. The district says every requested item will be returned before demolition and is working with the Upper Darby Historical Society to preserve other artifacts. If you are hoping to recover a brick, contact the Upper Darby School District directly and soon; the article did not give a deadline or a dedicated contact.
Delaware County Memorial Hospital medical records
DCMH was part of Crozer Health, and since July 2025 all Crozer record requests have gone through Morgan Records Management. The company’s request page refers only to “Crozer Health” and does not list each former hospital by name, so if you are unsure your DCMH chart is included, the Delaware County Health Department’s Wellness Line (484-276-2100) can help. Our guide on how to request your Crozer medical records walks through the forms.
The deadline matters. According to Delaware County’s Prospect bankruptcy update, the bankruptcy court approved destroying the remaining Crozer records after March 2, 2027, apart from certain imaging studies ChristianaCare can still access. Patients born at DCMH, or who had surgery or long stays there, should request copies now. The old Crozer patient portal is no longer the official route.
Nearest hospitals and ERs for Drexel Hill and Upper Darby
Without DCMH, Upper Darby has no hospital of its own. The closest options are:
- Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, Darby: the nearest full ER, about two miles south. See our Mercy Fitzgerald ER check-in guide.
- Lankenau Medical Center, Wynnewood: Main Line Health’s teaching hospital just over the Montgomery County line.
- Penn Medicine and Philadelphia hospitals: a short drive east along Market Street or Baltimore Avenue.
For Chester and southern Delco, see where Chester residents go for hospital care now. For minor illness, an urgent care center is usually faster and cheaper than an ER, but chest pain, stroke signs, serious injury or trouble breathing call for 911.
Frequently asked questions
Is Delaware County Memorial Hospital still open?
No. The ER and inpatient care ended on November 7, 2022. The building is empty and owned by the Upper Darby School District, which plans to demolish it.
What is the Delaware County Memorial Hospital address?
501 N. Lansdowne Ave., Drexel Hill, PA 19026. Drexel Hill is part of Upper Darby Township, so news reports often place the hospital in Upper Darby.
Did DCMH become a behavioral health hospital?
No. Crozer announced that plan in September 2022, but the state closed the ER before any conversion, and it was never carried out.
What will be built on the site?
The district says a career and technical education center extending Upper Darby High School, sized for about 1,000 students. Construction is expected to take four to five years once demolition starts.
How do I get my birth or treatment records from DCMH?
Request them through Morgan Records Management, the custodian for Crozer Health records, before March 2, 2027. Ask the county Wellness Line if you are not sure your records are covered.
An independent guide. Crozer Health Center Guide is not affiliated with Crozer Health, Prospect Medical, Main Line Health, Trinity Health or any hospital, and nothing here is medical advice. In an emergency, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
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