Coble treated at Columbia heart hospital

Doctors at the Providence heart hospital were treating former Columbia Mayor Bob Coble after he complained of feeling ill much of the day Wednesday, an associate said.

Coble was alert and in good spirits, with family and friends by his side, said Kevin Floyd, communications manager with the Nexsen Pruet law firm, where Coble works.

John Sowards, the firm’s chairman, said Coble was on the State House grounds, where he was “feeling poorly in the morning at some committee hearings, and that did not get better.” As the day went on, the former mayor, now a lobbyist, checked in with State House healthcare staff. They summoned an ambulance around 2 p.m. as a precaution, Sowards said.

An assistant said Coble was talking to Senate security staff as he was being taken from the capitol complex on a stretcher.

Mayor Steve Benjamin issued a statement that said, in part: “Bob Coble is probably the most beloved local official this city has had in a generation, and I know he can feel our prayers at his back.”

Members of the House paused for a moment of prayer.

Coble, who served as mayor from 1990 to 2010, is being treated at the first Columbia hospital to do open-heart surgery, in 1974. Since then, Providence Heart & Vascular Institute has consistently won awards for its heart care.

The former mayor, known as “Mayor Bob” during his two decades at City Hall, turns 61 later this month. His tenure was marked by an affable approach to politics that recognized the importance of neighborhood groups and inclusiveness. He began a massive redevelopment of downtown and the city’s riverfront, driven by taxpayer dollars to prime the pump.

Nexsen Pruet made public his hospitalization with a news release at about 4:30 p.m. that Sowards said was approved by the Coble family.

This story was originally published April 15, 2015 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Coble treated at Columbia heart hospital."