A year after Crozer-Chester Medical Center went dark, the shuttered Upland campus may be inching back to life.
Chariot Equities’ plan to revive the hospital is gaining traction, with a Philadelphia-area health system now in a due-diligence period to potentially become the lead healthcare provider on the campus, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
The name of that health system is staying under wraps for now. Dr. Arthur Klein, Chariot’s chief healthcare adviser, declined to identify it because of a confidentiality agreement, but he said there is “forward movement” as talks continue with other regional systems.
Penn Medicine, for its part, isn’t tipping its hand.
CEO Kevin B. Mahoney declined to say whether Penn is involved, though he said the system remains interested in restoring healthcare access in lower Delaware County. ChristianaCare said it is not in active talks with Chariot.
The path to this point started in January, when Chariot, a New York real estate investment firm, partnered with Allaire Health Services to buy Crozer-Chester for $10 million.
Chariot plans to reopen the 64-acre campus in phases as a smaller, “right-sized” healthcare hub, with roughly 80 inpatient beds rather than the 424 Crozer-Chester staffed before closing.
Primary care is expected to be among the first services restored, with Chariot in talks involving Neumann and Widener universities and ChesPenn Health Services of Chester.
The company is also weighing burn services, maternal fetal medicine, EMS coordination, and physician-group partnerships, all aimed at prioritizing community needs.
Emergency response is a particular focus.
“We are meeting with their leaders to understand what they are up to and make sure we have our hands around those EMS needs,” said Yoel Polack, founder of Chariot Equities.
Read the complete story in the Philadelphia Business Journal for a closer look at the talks, the timeline, and what Crozer-Chester’s comeback could look like.
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