Crozer Health’s surgical residency program lost accreditation, but will not immediately close

Crozer-Chester Medical Center’s surgical residency program will remain open — at least for now.

The program lost its accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the national group that regulates such training programs for new physicians, on Monday. ACGME said Crozer must shut down the program by Friday.

The organization withdrew the accreditation “under special circumstances,” but did not offer more detail.

Crozer has since reached a deal with ACGME to keep the program open until ACGME provides more information about the organization’s concerns and Crozer has a chance to appeal, said Lori Bookbinder, a Crozer spokesperson.

» READ MORE: Crozer Health’s residency program in general surgery lost its accreditation, will close Friday

ACGME is expected to send a letter detailing problems within 60 days, according to a Friday morning email to staff from Crozer Health CEO Tony Esposito.

“There will be no interruption in our Surgery Residency Program at this time,” Esposito said.

Susan Holub, a spokesperson for the ACGME, confirmed that the status of Crozer’s program has been updated to “withdrawal of accreditation under special circumstances, under appeal.”

Crozer, owned by Prospect Medical Holdings Inc., a Los Angeles for-profit company, has struggled in recent years with financial and patient safety issues.

The general surgery program at Crozer-Chester has slots for 15 physicians every year. The program lasts five years.

Esposito said he does not know why ACGME withdrew accreditation for the residency program.

“We needed to close the program and orphan the residents within four days, without a reason or mechanism to appeal,” Esposito said. “This unprecedented action would have caused significant hardship to our residents and to Crozer Health.”

ACGME withdraws the accreditation of programs “under special circumstances,” which it says can be the result of “a catastrophic loss of resources, including faculty members, facilities, or funding” or “egregious noncompliance with accreditation requirements.”

Bryan Carmody, a nephrologist at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Va., who writes analysis on physician training programs, said on X: “There’s nothing good that leads to this type of action.”

Crozer will be responsible for finding new training sites for its surgery residents if the program closes, Holub of the ACGME said earlier this week.

Esposito said he thinks the hospital’s appeal will be successful.

“I’m confident that we will be able to continue training the next generation of surgeons for years to come,” the CEO said.