ChristianaCare is poised to increase its footprint in a major way.
The health system announced Friday it has signed a letter of intent to buy Crozer Health from Prospect Medical Holdings – marking a major move into Pennsylvania.
The deal would add Crozer-Chester Medical Center and its nearly 500 beds to ChristianaCare – along with Delaware County Memorial Hospital and its 215 beds.
Springfield Hospital in Springfield, PA and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park are also part of the deal.
But ChristianaCare president and CEO Dr. Janice Nevin says they are also interested in other Crozer assets.
“They have a strong commitment to primary care, to behavioral health. They have a graduate medical education training program. They are the regional center of excellence for burn care," said Nevin. "And as we look at the potential for this relationship, it is really looking across the entire system in terms of building access and value for people.”
No terms of the deal were announced, but ChristianaCare hopes to finalize the deal in the second quarter of this year and potentially close on it in second half of 2022.
Nevin says when the move is completed, it will offer the kind of growth ChristianaCare seeks.
“Our growth has really been focused on what is that continuum of care that needs to be built in order to allow people to get more of what they need close to home, in the community," said Nevin. "And then when they do need acute care, we want to be able to deliver the very best.”
“The pandemic has demonstrated the vital importance of working together to meet the clinical needs of the communities we serve,” said Crozer Health CEO Kevin Spiegel in a statement . “We are excited by the potential to join these two great organizations so that we can continue to provide the high-quality, accessible care that our communities – Delaware County and beyond – rely on.”
ChristianaCare currently operates 3 hospitals – including Christiana Hospital and Wilmington Hospital – with nearly 13 hundred beds and is among Delaware’s largest employers with about 13,000 employees.
The move to buy Crozer comes on the heels of ChristianaCare's purchase of Union Hospital in Cecil County, Maryland in 2020.
