Worry and fear are growing amid the impending closure of Crozer Health and the impacted ambulance service.
"All I envision is members of my community, could be me, my family members, dying on the way to getting care," said Chester resident Zulene Mayfield.
MORE | Crozer Health hospital emergency rooms stop accepting patients
A panel with several agencies took questions at City Hall. There were two tables at the back of the room covered in resources and information.
"A lot of people are worried about switching providers -- where do they go if they're having trouble with transportation to try to find healthcare that's further than they're used to. There's people who are worried about their prescriptions. It runs the gamut," said Delaware County Health Department Director Lora Werner.
Some in attendance, like Mayfield, who chairs the community group, Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living, felt the effort fell short.
"It truly is a waste of my time because what they're doing in there, they could put a table out and left all them leaflets out honestly, but because it's the Delaware County Health Department, I anticipated more, I expected more," Mayfield said.
"I came here to hear or to formulate a plan, and they know what we need, and this is the best you can do is come and hand us out some leaflets?" Mayfield added.
RELATED | Crozer Health to shut down, and operations could cease by early May
Single mom Corretta Kinder is worried for herself, her 13-year-old son, and her grandparents in their 90s.
"My concern is if something was to happen to them in the middle of the night or we don't get down there in time, Crozers right here, where they going at?" said Kinder, a Chester native, now residing in Upper Darby.
City Health Commissioner, Dr. Kristin Motley, briefly became emotional while speaking to the crowd.
From pediatric asthma to stroke, heart disease and cancer rates, she's concerned the city's unique healthcare needs won't be adequately met.
"We will literally die trying to get to a hospital that's a half hour away," Dr. Motley said.
"Chester cannot sustain without an acute care facility. We live in a community where the environment is literally killing us. There's a lot of industry here, there's a lot of pollution here, so to have us live in an environment that is killing us and to take out the the hospital and the health system ... I cannot imagine that," she added.
Dr. Motley said Thursday night's meeting was a good start, but more needs to be done.
"That's necessary, but it does not replace acute care, and that's what we need," she said.
Crozer Health is set to close on May 2.
Emergency rooms at Crozer Chester and Taylor Hospitals stopped accepting patients on Wednesday, April 23.