MUSC Health calls pending Midlands hospital deal ‘transformative’ for South Carolina
The final price tag has yet to be set, but on Friday the Medical University of South Carolina’s board of trustees agreed to buy two hospitals that will lead to a continued statewide expansion of the Charleston-based health system.
The 16-member board discussed the proposal in a special-called meeting in Columbia that began at 9 a.m. By the afternoon, it was decided that the state’s second-largest health system would proceed with its plans to acquire Providence Hospital in Columbia and KershawHealth Medical Center in Camden.
The vote was unanimous.
As part of the deal, MUSC Health will acquire Providence Hospital on Forest Drive, Providence Northeast near Farrow Road and I-77, KershawHealth in Camden and an emergency room in Fairfield County.
All are now owned by Lifepoint Health of Tennessee. KershawHealth has been an affiliate of MUSC Health since 2015.
In a statement issued shortly after the hours-long meeting, MUSC Health celebrated the decision to move forward with the purchase.
Patrick J. Cawley, the CEO of MUSC Health and vice president for health affairs for the medical university, said the acquisition could be “transformative” for the Midlands and the state.
“Incorporating them into our regional hospital network is another step toward fulfilling MUSC’s charge: to provide the right care in the right place at the right time to every patient and family that we encounter,” Cawley said.
There is one final hurdle to make the deal official.
The next step in this sale is for the Legislature’s State Fiscal and Accountability Authority to approve the decision. That vote will happen Tuesday, according to House budget chief Murrell Smith, R-Sumter.
Costs will be discussed during that Tuesday meeting, according to MUSC spokeswoman Heather Woolwine.
Woolwine said MUSC Health plans to keep current employees who are in good standing at the three respective hospitals and respective medical practices and facilities. As part of that process, MUSC team members will be meeting with administrators at the facilities to determine staffing and needs.
Dr. David J. Cole, the president of MUSC, called it an “exciting day” for both the health system and South Carolina, saying it will allow MUSC to “establish a larger footprint in rural and underserved counties.“
“As the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, we understand that we have a responsibility to enable better access to complex, high-end care while working to facilitate the best-quality local care possible,” Cole said. “This acquisition will broaden our ability to serve greater numbers of patients, families and communities and that is a reason to celebrate.”
Terry Gunn, market chief executive officer of Providence Health and KershawHealth, said the acquisition is rooted in a goal of providing care to patients in the communities where they live.
“Our objective is and has always been positioning our facilities for success so that we can fulfill our purpose of delivering high-quality care close to home,” Gunn said in the statement.
MUSC Health is the second-largest health care system in South Carolina and was the first medical school to open in the South when it opened as a small physician school in 1824.
In 2019, the public, nonprofit health system expanded across the state by buying four community hospitals in Lancaster, Florence, Marion and Chester.
MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $3.4 billion. It is one of the largest employers in the Charleston area, second only to aerospace giant Boeing.
This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 1:06 PM.
