A proposed state bill would give communities six months to prepare should a hospital be closed, writes Peter Hall for Tioga Publishing.

Legislation introduced in the state House by Delaware County State Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Luzerne, and state Sen. Carolyn Comitta, D-Chester would double the required notice of a hospital closure, which now only requires 90 days.

Hospital owners would be required to hold public hearings, perform health equity impact assessments and provide data on alternate providers.

A closure plan would have to be submitted to the state attorney general’s office or local health authority.

When Crozer Health slashed services last year at two of its hospitals, Delaware County residents faced longer drives, and longer waits for emergency care, and it made crucial maternal care harder to access, increasing emergency and preterm births, Rep. O’Mara said.

It’s something that’s happened more than a dozen times across Pennsylvania in the last five years.

“When someone needs emergency care, every second counts, even a one-minute increase in travel time during the life or death situation can increase mortality rates,” O’Mara said last Wednesday. 

Hospital shutdowns and cuts are occurring during mergers and acquisitions of hospitals by for-profit healthcare networks.  

Read more about this new legislation to help with hospital closings at Tioga Publishing.

See the press conference announcing the new legislation.