ChristianaCare, in partnership with a healthcare company, announced plans to open two micro-hospitals in Delaware County, PA.
The partnership with Emerus Holdings Inc. comes as ChristianaCare continues work on a neighborhood hospital at the former Jennersville Hospital site in neighboring southern Chester County, PA. ChristianaCare is based in Wilmington.
“We are excited to bring this new model of care to our neighbors in Delaware County,” said Janice Nevin, ChristianaCare CEO. “ChristianaCare is reimagining health care with a focus on delivering the right care, in the right place and time, with the right healthcare team involved for every patient. Neighborhood hospitals will enable us to provide access to high-quality care in a way that is sustainable and right-sized to meet the needs of local communities. Our goal is to make access to health care easy and convenient for our Delco and Chester County neighbors.”
Each neighborhood hospital will operate 24/7 with about ten inpatient beds and a full-service emergency department. The emergency departments will treat common emergency care needs such as falls, injuries, heart attacks, and strokes.
The hospitals will also provide diagnostic capabilities, including ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), X-ray, and laboratory services. In addition to on-site staff, the hospitals will tap into ChristianaCare’s network of specialists and support services — such as neurology and cardiology — through virtual visits. ChristianaCare also has medical airlift capabilities.
ChristianaCare will add a health and wellness center with outpatient services at each location. These services will be developed based on community needs and could include primary care, outpatient diagnostics, and other specialty services.
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Specific locations for the Delaware County neighborhood hospitals have not yet been finalized and will be announced at a later date. All three of the neighborhood hospitals are planned to open in 2025, with the West Grove location expected to open first.
Emerus Holdings Inc. is a developer of micro-hospitals and currently serves as a partner in the operation of 42 acute-care facilities across the country.
“The neighborhood hospitals will provide an innovative approach to care by putting the care patients need closer to where they live.“We are proud to partner with ChristianaCare, one of the nation’s leading healthcare systems,” said Emerus CEO Vic Schmerbeck. “We’re excited to help bring sustainable, compassionate, high-quality health care that will meet the needs of Pennsylvanians now and in the future.”
ChristianaCare has been providing healthcare services to the residents of southeastern Pennsylvania for many years. ChristianaCare offers primary care in three practices that are located in Jennersville, West Grove, and Kennett Square.
In addition, Concord Health Center in Chadds Ford provides services, including primary care, women’s health, sports medicine, and behavioral health.
ChristianaCare operates three hospitals in Delaware and northeastern Maryland and a satellite healthcare emergency center in Middletown. Other activities include physician practices, urgent care centers in partnership with GoHealth, and an at-home health service.
Last year, ChristianaCare and the financially challenged Delaware County hospital system Crozier Heath ended merger discussions. Issues reportedly included converting Crozier from profit to nonprofit status and leasing related to the for-profit owner of Crozier.
