DREXEL HILL, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Community leaders and politicians joined employees of Delaware County Memorial Hospital for a small rally to call on Crozer Health to reconsider plans to close the emergency department and transition the building into a behavioral health facility.
Brigid McDermott has worked at the hospital for 33 years, and is currently a nurse in the emergency room. She says employees were blindsided by last week’s announcement by Crozer that the hospital would cease normal operations in 60 days to make way for more than 100 beds offering crisis care, rehab and detox, and inpatient acute psychiatric care.
“We’ve always been like one big, happy family,” McDermott said. We thought they were going to reopen the ICU, and next thing you know, they’re closing us. So the staff is heartbroken.”
Nurse Allen Bruno says he grew up near the hospital and has worked in the ER for the past 13 years.
“Sometimes you’ll see friends and family that you’ve had 20 years go come through this ER, and you’re happy to take care of them,” Bruno said, “but it’s sad to see that everything is closing down.”
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Lisa Faraglia worked for the hospital for 28 years, and is currently an Upper Darby councilwoman, on the borough’s public safety committee. She says the closure will have a significant impact on the community.
“We are far away from any kind of hospital — Bryn Mawr, Lankenau, we’re 20 minutes away,” Faraglia said
“With over 82,000 residents that live in Upper Darby, we need a hospital here. We need our nurses. We need our doctors. We need our ER. We need our operating room.”
Faraglia is also on the borough’s public safety committee. She says, while she understands the need for more behavioral health beds, she worries about putting it there.
“I’m concerned about putting this facility with psychiatric treatment right between two schools: Upper Darby High School and [Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School.].”
Crozer says the changes to their network across Delaware County will provide better access to all patients, while addressing the changing nature of health care.