April 15, 2026
Molly McVety/PhillyVoice
Chariot Equities founder Yoel Pollack, far right, discusses the future of the shuttered Crozer-Chester Medical Center during a town hall held at Widener University on Tuesday. It will reopen with increased focus on outpatient services, he says.
The former Crozer-Chester Medical Center is slated to be renovated into a facility that prioritizes outpatient services, with primary care becoming available within six to nine months, its new owners said Tuesday.
Chariot Allaire Partners, which acquired the Upland hospital in January, said the renovation project will take two to three years to compete. The inpatient hospital will reopen at one-tenth of its former size, and it will be run by a nonprofit health care provider. But for Delaware County residents who have dealt with the loss of health care services at the site, questions remain about the breadth of care the revamped facility will provide.
Yoel Polack, Chariot Equities' founder, addressed dozens of Delco residents during a town hall Tuesday at Widener University in Chester, detailing the multi-phased approach the company is taking to redevelop the hospital's 64-acre campus.
Polack founded Chariot Equities for the purpose of transforming Crozer-Chester Medical Center, which the company purchased for $10 million in a partnership with New Jersey-based Allaire Health Services.
The first phase of the project focuses on the 424-bed hospital. The company envisions "right-sizing" the 750,000-square-foot inpatient center and shifting its focus to outpatient care. Phase two adds complimentary services like behavioral health and academic services to the west and north areas of the campus. Specific construction timelines have not been finalized.
"The problem with this facility is size, size and size," Polack said. "You could meet the same emergency services demand you need in a tenth of (Crozer-Chester's) size. The cost to operate is way too high, and it also doesn't meet the way medical care is done today."
Chariot Allaire has been in talks with multiple regional hospital systems that residents "trust and know" to operate the main campus, and studies are underway to determine the area's specific health care needs, Polack said. The company did not respond to requests for comment about the health systems it has engaged in talks.
Though much about the site's future remains unknown, the ownership team confirmed that it has established a partnership with the Independence Blue Cross Foundation to support the opening of a primary care practice.
The Delaware County community has been forced to grapple with reduced access to nearby health care services since Crozer Health's parent company, Prospect Medical Holdings, ceased operations last May after months of bankruptcy hearings.
Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park closed, and more than 2,600 employees were laid off. ChristianaCare has acquired five of Crozer's outpatient facilities. Taylor Hospital and Springfield Hospital, which Crozer shut down in 2022, have been purchased by an ambulance company.
Sue Marcello, who worked as a patient secretary at Crozer-Chester for 12 years until the shutdown, attended the town hall with a notebook in hand and with hopes of hearing updates about the site's future. She has been working in dining services at a nearby college.
"I wanted to hear what the new owners have to say and I'm impressed that (Chariot Allaire) is asking for our input," she said. "Something needs to be done as far as opening the facility ... (Maybe) that they're going to reopen starting with the ER and progress from there."
Some attendees expressed skepticism about the viability of Chariot Allaire's plan and had concerns about the future of emergency services in Delco. Kyra Morales, a mental health therapist and social worker at Chester Community Coalition, said the plan to increase outpatient services while decreasing the footprint of the campus raises red flags.
"With us being on an interstate (highway), being a hotspot area for traumas with relation to community violence and having lots of needs for our seniors … what would it look like to operate at a tenth of the size?" Morales said.
Arthur Klein, chief health care advisor for Chariot Allaire, said the partners are evaluating whether emergency care is viable from a provider's perspective. It will depend on the partner that takes over operations, he said, suggesting that increased focus on urgent and preventive care will lead to less demand for traditional emergency services.
"Whether the number of hospital beds is 90, 80 or 100, we will work to make sure the necessary services have to be there," he said. "While we have a sustainable number of hospital beds here, the overall shrinkage in the size of a usable campus is very important."
Paul Woolf, who served as chairman of the Department of Medicine at Crozer-Chester Medical Center from 1990-2010, said the state of medical care in the county has been a "disaster" for residents and expressed concern about the specialty services that the former hospital provided.
"The question is will the hospital be the right size or are they going to shoehorn the hospital (into) something too small?" he said. "I know how the system worked. We had a world-class system. … Pediatrics, geriatrics, OB — all need to be here and need to be integrated. That requires a certain number of beds. … I guess we'll have to see."
