MUSC Health Completes Purchase of Carolinas Hospital System Hospitals in Florence and Marion
by Ardie Arvidson
MUSC Health/Florence Medical Center is official.
The announcement on Friday in Florence was met with applause that echoed throughout the lobby of the hospital. Hospital officials, doctors and staff were joined by government officials and community leaders for the announcement.
“You join the MUSC family today,” said Dr. Patrick J. Cawley, MUSC Health chief executive officer and vice president for Health Affairs. “It is a great time for MUSC Health.”
The Medical University of South Carolina Hospital Authority (MUSC Health) completed the purchase of four South Carolina hospitals from subsidiaries of Community Health Systems Inc. on Friday, including Carolinas Hospital System hospitals in Florence and Marion.
Cawley said a lot of planning has gone into this venture. He said it has been an “all-out sprint since Thanksgiving” to make it happen, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Dr. Eddie Floyd, chairman of the Carolinas Hospital System’s board, thanked MUSC Health for having the “foresight to purchase Carolinas.”
“I know we did the right thing, and God Bless MUSC,” he said.
After the announcement, Jean Leatherman, a member of the Carolinas board, said MUSC brings credibility and academic excellence to the hospital. She said this decision to become part of MUSC Health will take the hospital into the future.
The hospital now has access to telehealth urgent care, which was announced on Friday, and this is a beneficial alliance for the community, Leatherman said.
The purchase of four South Carolina hospitals, including the two Pee Dee facilities – now Florence Medical Center and Marion Medical Center – represents the first time MUSC Health has acquired other hospitals.
“We felt if we were going to deliver on our mission, we had to get outside of Charleston,” Cawley said.
He said the medical schools’s mission is “to improve the lives of South Carolinians through patient care, education and research.”
The Medical University of South Carolina and Florence Medical Center will be “changing what’s possible together” as they join together.
Cawley said one way MUSC Health is doing that is through its telehealth network. It has more than 80 telehealth programs up and running in the state.
Cawley said patients today are demanding high-quality care, high liability and lower cost. He said people can now stay at home and get the quality of care they demand. They can access telehealth health care from phones and computers and at home.
He announced that MUSC Health will be bringing its telehealth virtual urgent care to MUSC Health/Florence Medical Center.
Cawley said one way MUSC Health is doing that is through its telehealth network. It has more than 80 telehealth programs up and running in the state.
Cawley said patients today are demanding high-quality care, high liability and lower cost. He said people can now stay at home and get the quality of care they demand. They can access telehealth health care from phones and computers and at home.
He announced that MUSC Health will be bringing its telehealth virtual urgent care to MUSC Health/Florence Medical Center.
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