The closing of Crozer Health last year has caused patient numbers to spike at Riddle and Mercy Fitzgerald Hospitals.
Now the state has released $6 million in additional funding to both hospitals so they can expand their healthcare services to help cover the surge, writes Sarah Gantz for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
About $5 million of that funding had been allocated to Crozer Health under a program that helps hospitals with a large portion of low-income patients on Medicaid.
Riddle Hospital in Media, under the nonprofit Main Line Health, received about $3 million from that allocation, while Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby was given $2 million. Local lawmakers then added another $1 million for Riddle.
“They really have stepped up to fill a big void, and we want to make sure they have the resources they need,” said State Rep. Lisa Borowski, a Delaware County Democrat.
Riddle’s funding will be used to hire more staff.
The hospital has had to supplement its nurses and clinicians with workers from staffing agencies, which charge three to four times the rate paid to staff providers by Main Line Health.
Read comments from a local state representative about the Main Line Health response to the closing of Crozer Health in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
