Last checked: October 17, 2026. Why did Crozer hospital close? This independent guide explains. It is not affiliated with Crozer Health, Prospect Medical Holdings or any hospital.
Prospect Medical Holdings or any hospital.
Why did Crozer hospital close? In short, its owner ran out of money and could not find anyone to take it over. Prospect Medical Holdings, the California for-profit company that bought Crozer in 2016, filed for bankruptcy in January 2025, and when the last buyer talks fell apart in April, it shut Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital. Crozer-Chester discharged its last patients on May 2, 2025.
Behind that short answer sits a longer story about debt, years of cuts and several failed rescues. This page explains it step by step. For what has happened on the site since, see our latest Crozer update.
In an emergency, call 911. None of the former Crozer hospitals has an emergency room today.
Did Crozer hospital close? Yes, all four of them
Crozer Health once ran four hospitals in Delaware County. Each one closed on a different schedule.
| Hospital | What happened | When |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware County Memorial Hospital, Drexel Hill | Emergency department and remaining hospital services shut under a 2022 restructuring plan | Late 2022 |
| Springfield Hospital | Moved toward outpatient-only care under the same 2022 plan; later closed and sold | 2022 onward |
| Taylor Hospital, Ridley Park | Stopped taking ambulances, then moved out its last patients | April 2025 |
| Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Upland | Stopped taking ambulances April 23, emergency department closed April 30, last patients out | May 2, 2025 |
The 2022 changes were announced in September of that year. Crozer said at the time that outpatient services made up 60% of its revenue and pointed to “post-pandemic” pressures, PhillyVoice reported. Our page on Delaware County Memorial Hospital covers that closure in detail.
Why did Crozer hospital close? Five reasons
1. Prospect took on heavy debt soon after buying Crozer
Prospect acquired Crozer in 2016 in a deal valued at $300 million. Two years later, the company borrowed $1.12 billion to pay off debt and paid a $457 million dividend to its owners: the private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners and executives Sam Lee and David Topper, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Over its eight years in charge, Prospect closed two Crozer hospitals, cut services and laid off staff in several rounds.
That debt is the reason most officials give. When the closure was announced, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office said the damage caused by Leonard Green “was too much to overcome,” Becker’s Hospital Review reported.
2. The hospitals kept losing money
Prospect told the bankruptcy court that the hospitals had to close because they lost too much money. In a January 2025 email to staff, a Prospect executive blamed the lingering effects of COVID-19, inflation, a major cyberattack and more claim denials from health plans, WHYY reported. Even in the final week, Prospect’s chief restructuring officer said the patients still in the building were mostly uninsured, with complicated diagnoses, and “difficult to place.”
3. Every attempt to sell the system failed
ChristianaCare walked away from talks to buy Crozer in 2022. In August 2024, CHA Partners signed a nonbinding letter of intent to buy the system and return it to nonprofit status, but that deal collapsed by late October. A court-approved plan had required a sale to a nonprofit within 270 days, and that window closed on October 28, 2024. Our Crozer sale guide explains who eventually bought the empty buildings.
4. Bankruptcy and a short-lived rescue
The state sued Prospect on October 28, 2024, accusing it of mismanagement and “corporate looting,” and asked a judge to appoint a receiver. Prospect called the move “hasty, ill-considered, and completely unnecessary,” according to WHYY. Then, in January 2025, Prospect filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (here is what Prospect’s bankruptcy meant for Crozer).
After that, about $40 million from the state, Delaware County and the Foundation for Delaware County kept the hospitals open under the oversight of FTI Consulting. The foundation alone gave $20 million. Meanwhile, talks with a possible nonprofit owner stalled over how much liability the new owner would take on, and Prospect rejected a Penn Medicine offer to take over two outpatient leases for a $5 million donation.
5. No buyer was left in April 2025
On April 18, 2025, Prospect learned that no prospective buyer would go forward, and FTI’s court-appointed receivership ended that day. Three days later, Prospect filed its closure notice. The Attorney General’s office had already told Prospect that no one was willing to take over the hospitals.
When did Crozer hospital close? The final weeks
The end came quickly once the money ran out. Here is the sequence, using dates from the Inquirer, Becker’s and Delaware County.
- March 6, 2025: Delaware County announced that Prospect planned to close Crozer-Chester and Taylor, with money in place only through March 14. Emergency funding then kept them open a few more weeks.
- April 18: The last sale talks ended and the receivership was over.
- April 21: Prospect filed notice that it would close both hospitals and lay off 2,651 workers. The county declared an emergency.
- April 23: Both emergency departments stopped accepting ambulances.
- Late April: Taylor moved out its last patients.
- April 30: Crozer-Chester’s emergency department closed.
- May 2, 2025: Crozer-Chester’s last patients left and the hospital ceased operations.
Our Crozer closure timeline puts these dates next to the earlier closures and the court rulings.
Who is to blame for the Crozer closure?
It depends on who you ask. State officials and county council members put the blame on Prospect and its private equity backers. Council Vice Chair Richard Womack called the closures the result of greed and incompetence. In contrast, Prospect pointed to what it had put in: more than $200 million in capital spending, over $657 million in charity and uncompensated care, and $200 million in pension contributions. Prospect also cited the pandemic and insurer denials. The Attorney General’s office said it would pursue the state’s financial claims through the bankruptcy case.
What the closure meant for Delaware County
The losses went well beyond one building. Crozer-Chester housed a trauma center, a burn unit and a stroke center, and more than a dozen towns, including Chester and Upper Darby, relied on Crozer for ambulance service. In the days after the closure began, Riddle Hospital’s emergency department volume rose 40% and ambulance traffic from Chester doubled, Main Line Health told the Inquirer.
If you used Crozer, our guide to open hospitals and ERs in Delaware County shows where to go now, and our page on hospital care for Chester residents covers the closest options from the city.
What happens now
The Crozer-Chester campus was sold in January 2026 to Chariot Allaire Partners for $10 million, and the owners say they want to bring back primary care first and a smaller hospital later. Nothing has reopened yet. Your old Crozer records are a separate matter: they can be destroyed after March 2, 2027, so read our guide to getting your Crozer medical records before then.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Crozer hospital close?
Its owner, Prospect Medical Holdings, was in bankruptcy, the hospitals were losing money, and every effort to sell them failed. Officials blame years of debt taken on under Prospect and its private equity owner.
When did Crozer hospital close?
Crozer-Chester Medical Center closed on May 2, 2025, after its emergency department shut on April 30. Taylor Hospital closed in late April 2025.
Did all of Crozer close?
Yes, all four hospitals closed. ChristianaCare took over five former Crozer outpatient sites.
Who owned Crozer when it closed?
Prospect Medical Holdings, a California for-profit company backed by Leonard Green & Partners, owned Crozer from 2016 until the closure.
Is Crozer reopening?
The new owners of the Crozer-Chester campus plan a phased reopening, starting with primary care. As of October 17, 2026, they have not named an operator or set a date.
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.
Open ERs in Delaware County · Crozer medical records · All guides