The maternity unit and neonatal intensive care units at Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill are closing for good on Friday, Jan. 21, reports Siafa Lews for CBS Philly.

The shutdown will mean patients will have to travel 12 miles to Crozer-Chester Medical Center for maternity care — a 30-minute car ride and a 50-minute public transit commute.

“A large portion of our community relies on public transportation for them to get around. And unfortunately, Crozer is not very convenient for that,” labor room nurse Jessica Yashin said.

The closure also means that dozens of labor and delivery nurses will be out of work.

The decision was made by Crozer Health’s parent company, Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical,

Crozer Health said the consolidation decision was made “to maintain staffing and services,” and “to be able to continue providing the highest quality care.”

Crozer Health is exploring transportation options for patients who may have trouble getting to the Crozer-Chester Medical Center.

“It’s money. To merge the unit over to Crozer, to merge what they can of the staff so they don’t have to run two separate units,” labor room nurse Lisa Sullivan said.

Read more about Delaware County Memorial Hospital at CBS Philly.