Lake City (S.C.) Community Hospital will close Dec. 16, after 56 years of providing care to the Lake City community, SCNow reported Dec. 12.
In 2019, MUSC leaders signed a letter of intent with Lake City Community Hospital and Kingstree, S.C.-based Williamsburg Regional Hospital to construct, own and operate a new hospital in Cades, S.C.
In the letter, Williamsburg and Lake City Community agreed to transfer operations to MUSC Health Black River. A 2015 flood made Williamsburg Regional unsafe and unusable.
The $50 million MUSC Health Black River Medical Center in Cades is slated to open in January.
"Our hospital has always maintained a focus on delivering the best care available to our patients and families," Lake City Chair Scotty Campbell said in the 2019 MUSC news release. "To extend that focus, we must recognize the added value that MUSC Health brings to the equation. Collaborating on a new hospital to serve our friends and neighbors is the most logical, productive and fiscally responsible solution possible."
MUSC officials had aimed for Lake City to remain open longer to prevent care gaps. However, the hospital's financial situation forced an early closure, according to SCNow.
Nearly 80 percent of Williamsburg and Lake City employees will join the new Cades location.