Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill is staying open thanks to a Chester County judge, writes Harold Brubaker for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Court of Common Pleas Senior Judge Robert J. Shenkin ordered Crozer Health and its owner, Prospect Medical Holdings, to stay the efforts to close the hospital and turn it into a behavioral health facility. 

The ruling is a response to a petition submitted by the Foundation for Delaware County for an emergency preliminary injunction that would block plans to eliminate the emergency department at Upper Darby hospital and the few remaining acute-care services. 

The foundation represents the interests of Crozer-Keystone Health System’s former owner, which has to provide its consent before any of the hospitals it used to own are sold. This provision from the sales agreement is still in effect. 

As part of his ruling, Shenkin also ordered Crozer and Prospect officials to meet in person to discuss plans for the hospital and to report immediately if the foundation provided its consent. 

Shenkin is handling the case since a Delaware County Court of Common Pleas judge is on the foundation’s board. 

Read more about the issue in The Philadelphia Inquirer.