Closing Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill has overwhelmed the area’s health care system, said first responders in a CBS News report.

“Everybody’s feeling this,” said EMS chief for Haverford Township Jim McCans. “This really hit hard.”

CBS News is investigating private equity’s role in the collapse of hospitals serving America’s most vulnerable.

Part of its investigation is looking at Prospect Medical Holdings in Los Angeles, owner of DCMH and other Crozer Health facilities.

The hospital was shut down when Prospect didn’t adequately staff it.

Now, nearby emergency rooms are overflowing. McCans said his department’s call volume is up about 25 percent, taking patients to hospitals further away.  

Prospect promised to expand the Crozer healthcare system when it acquired the nonprofit Crozer-Keystone Health System in 2016.

But two of Crozer’s four hospitals have closed.  

Prospect Medical Holdings said neither EMS nor state agencies have told them about an increase in EMS response times or that other local hospitals have been significantly impacted by the DCMH closure.

Main Line Health, owner of many nearby hospitals, reports a 14 percent jump in emergency room visits between January 2022, when Prospect started cutting hospital services, and January 2023.

Read more detail regarding private equity’s impacts on hospitals at CBS News.