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Yeadon declares disaster emergency after Crozer Hospital System closure
Summary
Mayor Loretta Evans declared a disaster emergency after Prospect Medical Holdings announced the closure of the Crozer Hospital System; Yeadon Borough Council unanimously ratified the declaration to make the borough eligible for federal assistance if available.
Yeadon Mayor Loretta Evans declared a disaster emergency April 23 after Prospect Medical Holdings notified the public it would close the Crozer Hospital System and terminate emergency medical services, and the Yeadon Borough Council unanimously ratified the declaration.
The declaration, read into the record by Mayor Evans, said in part that the closure “threatens or causes substantial harm, hardship, and suffering to persons and property and threatens to endanger the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the Borough of Yeadon.” The mayor cited provisions of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Services Code (35 Pa.C.S. § 7501) as authority for the declaration.
Council members said the step is intended to preserve options for the borough and surrounding communities. The council’s roll-call vote was unanimous in favor; present members recorded as voting yes were Council President Latoya Monroe, Vice President Liana Roque-Cloud, Councilor Antoinette Truhart, Councilor Nicole Beatty, Councilor Michael Trent and Councilor Jesse Peetz. The council noted that, if federal assistance becomes available because of the declaration, the borough would be eligible to request or receive that aid.
Prospect Medical Holdings announced the planned closure effective 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 23; the mayor and council characterized the closure as a regional disruption to emergency medical services and hospital access. The emergency declaration is time-limited and was described at the meeting as a mechanism to enable emergency management measures and potential external funding; the declaration does not itself create new service contracts or specify federal funding amounts.
Council members and staff said the declaration had been coordinated with other Eastern Delaware County local officials who raised similar concerns about diverted patient traffic to Mercy Fitzgerald and other nearby hospitals. The council ratified the mayor’s declaration during the legislative session and asked solicitor staff to include the formal declaration text in the meeting record.
