Lexington Medical Center celebrates 50 years of care in the Midlands
Lexington Medical Center is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. On behalf of the 7,000 employees in the hospital network, thank you for allowing us to care for you and your families over the past 50 years. It’s been our privilege to provide quality health services that meet the needs of our community.
Ever since our hospital opened, our focus has been on taking care of our friends, families and neighbors right here in the Midlands.
In 1966, voters approved a referendum for the hospital, creating the biggest development project ever in Lexington County. A gracious donation of more than 22 acres of land from the Hulon family provided the site in West Columbia.
On Jan. 6, 1971, Lexington County Hospital, as it was first called, opened a four-story building a fraction of the size of the hospital today. There were 125 beds and 250 employees.
Over the years, Lexington Medical Center emerged as a leader in health care. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the hospital pioneered community medical centers throughout Lexington County, created the Lexington Medical Center Foundation, began operating a skilled nursing facility and Alzheimer’s care center, and established a physician network with a variety of medical specialties.
In the early 2000s, we added a new tower to our campus along with medical office buildings.
In 2012, Lexington Medical Center began providing a full range of heart services including open heart surgery and therapeutic cardiac catheterizations. Since then, Lexington Medical Center has established our heart program as a national leader in cardiac care, earning a three-star rating – the highest rating possible – from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and becoming one of only 30 hospitals in the United States to receive a HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence recognition from the American College of Cardiology.
In 2019, Lexington Medical Center completed the largest hospital expansion in South Carolina history when we opened our new patient care tower.
In its 50-year history, Lexington Medical Center has had only four CEOs: George Rentz, Ken Shull, Mike Biediger and Tod Augsburger. Each of these leaders has helped to maintain and nurture an unparalleled employee culture of outstanding work, dedication and the most compassionate care.
Today, Lexington Medical Center has 557 beds, four community medical centers, 70 physician practices and more than 7,000 employees. The network also has an occupational health center and the largest skilled nursing facility in the Carolinas. We operate one of the busiest emergency departments in South Carolina, treating nearly 90,000 patients each year. The hospital delivers approximately 4,000 babies each year and performs more than 27,000 surgeries. And our physician practices see more than 1,000,000 office visits per year.
This past year, we faced one of our greatest challenges – taking care of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. We appreciate all the support we’ve received as we continue to work to keep our staff, patients and community healthy and safe.
As the only locally owned, independent hospital in the Midlands, Lexington Medical Center looks forward to meeting your health care needs now and in the years to come. Caring is timeless.