The Foundation for Delaware County and Delaware County has filed a petition in Delaware County Common Pleas Court asking for an emergency injunction to stop Crozer Health’s planned closing of Delaware County Memorial Hospital.

A hearing has been scheduled for Friday, Oct. 7, by Judge Barry C. Dozer to consider the emergency injunction request.

The Foundation for Delaware County, a philanthropic nonprofit organization, actually has legal standing in the case.

The Foundation was reared from the sale of the nonprofit Crozer-Keystone Health System.  It became a separate nonprofit on July 1, 2016 when Crozer-Keystone was sold to the for-profit company Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. and became Crozer Health.

The terms of the 2016 Asset Purchase Agreement state that Prospect be committed to providing acute care services at its four hospitals for 10 years, until June 30, 2026, according to a release from The Foundation for Delaware County.

It is the position of the Foundation and Delaware County officials that the hospital closure is not in accordance with the terms of the agreement signed by Prospect and that it would damage the public health of county residents.

“Closing Delaware County Memorial would be catastrophic for our residents that have depended on its services for generations,” said Delaware County Council Chair Dr. Monica Taylor.

Closing the 100-year-old hospital would also mean the loss of more than 300 high-quality jobs, Dr. Taylor said.

The county remains committed to ensuring the public health needs of its residents “over the financial considerations of a for-profit corporation,” Dr. Taylor said.

Prospect’s closure plan would create a public health emergency subjecting Delaware County residents to “seriously degraded health services”, especially in eastern Delaware County and Upper Darby, a Delaware County Council statement reads.

“Should the scheduled hearing result in an issued injunction, the foundation and the County look forward to the opportunity to meet with Prospect officials to determine the best utilization of DCMH for the health and well-being of the citizens of the County,” the Foundation release adds..