Charleston, S.C.-based MUSC Health University Medical Center has laid off an unspecified number of employees from its Midlands hospitals, and division President Terry Gunn resigned after the Columbia, S.C.-area facilities missed budget expectations by $40 million in the first six months of the fiscal year, The Post and Courier reported March 30.
At least three people at MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center in Camden, S.C., have lost their jobs, including the hospital's executive director, according to the report. The system did not say how many employees were affected in the Columbia area.
MUSC spent $75 million in 2021 to purchase the four Midlands health centers that were previously owned by Brentwood, Tenn.-based Lifepoint Health, according to the report. The facilities include two Providence Health-branded hospitals in Columbia, Kershaw Health and an emergency room in Fairfield County.
The health system expected the facilities to be profitable sooner, but its margin fell short in the Columbia area more than any other part of the state where MUSC operates, according to the report.
"It’s really about trying to move forward and reinvest," an MUSC spokesperson told the outlet. "But to reach those goals has required some downsizing."