Group gathers to talk about continued impact of health care closures in Chester

CHESTER, Pa. (WPVI) — A Delaware County community is still dealing with the closure of a major health care system in the area.

Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital both shut down last May after their owner went bankrupt.

The group, One Pennsylvania, gathered in Chester Saturday to talk about the continued impact.

Residents echoed the need for emergency medical services in the area, saying that the hospital shutdown has left people having to travel to Delaware or Philadelphia for care.

“I am feeling for my counterparts, my neighbors, when they are having strokes and heart attacks and they can’t find any care for more than 20 minutes away,” says Dawn Pierce, of Chester. “A clinic that stays open until 5 p.m. isn’t doing it, because most things happen after dark.”

Right now, the city of Chester is using a contracted ambulance service.

That contract is set to expire in April, but Mayor Stefan Roots says the city has the funds to keep that service going.

The mayor says he is also closely following the recent purchase of the Crozer hospital site, and recently met with the new owner.