The Foundation for Delaware County, after unsuccessfully trying to save the bankrupt Crozer Health system with an infusion of $20 million, is now asking the public to give to help Crozer Health patients impacted by the health system’s closing.
The appeal comes during the two-day online giving drive, Delco Gives, May 8 and 9, which is hoping to raise $2 million for more than 300 nonprofits this year, writes Harold Brubaker for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Included among the nonprofit participants are Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby and Riddle Hospital in Media. Both are coping with an influx of former Crozer patients.
Donors can choose recipients at www.delcogives.org.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for folks to turn their attention from anxiety about the bigger issues that dominate the news to support local nonprofits that desperately need funding and more visibility, especially in these uncertain times,” foundation president Frances M. Sheehan said.
Main Line Health reports Riddle’s emergency department volumes have been up 40 percent since the closures. Also, ambulance volumes have doubled in Chester.
Find out more about Delco Gives in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The closing of Crozer Health was also on the minds of state lawmakers and health experts who met in Harrisburg this week to discuss the crisis facing Pennsylvania’s hospitals.
A hearing was called by the State Senate Institutional Sustainability and Innovation Committee, hosted by chairman Frank Farry, writes Hilary Danailova for City & State.
Dr. Mark Rubino, president of Allegheny Health Network, said there was a “perfect storm of financial instability” for the state’s health systems due to regulatory burdens, low reimbursement rates, workforce shortages, and rising costs.
“We are in crisis management,” said state Sen. Timothy Kearney, a Democrat from Delaware County.
Referencing Crozer, he added: “Our county has lost its largest employer … The surrounding hospitals are being overwhelmed …. Multiple municipalities in the county have declared a state of emergency … It’s ugly. It’s tragic. And it can be prevented from happening in other communities in the commonwealth.”
The problem of for-profit private equity firms taking over and closing community hospitals is a symptom of a larger problem beyond corporate greed, Kearney said.
Low insurance reimbursement rates create downward spirals for health systems of delayed maintenance, disinvestment and eventual insolvency, he said.
Solutions include higher reimbursement rates from state programs like Medicaid and Medicare, a stable regulatory environment that facilitates long-range planning, and bipartisan legislation for a grant program encouraging health workers to practice in rural communities.
Find out more about the healthcare crisis in City & State.
