Prisma Health to add three hospitals with acquisition of KershawHealth, Providence Health

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Prisma Health announced the acquisition of two other medical groups on Thursday.

KershawHealth and Providence Health will soon be under the Prima Health-Midlands umbrella, based on a signed agreement between Prisma and LifePoint Health.

This means Prisma will operate three more hospitals: Providence Health and Providence Health Northeast, KershawHealth, and a freestanding emergency room in Fairfield County.

Some are calling the change transformative for health care in South Carolina.

“This proposed acquisition would provide new opportunities to enhance clinical quality and improve access to affordable care for patients in the Midlands and beyond,” Gov. Henry McMaster said.

KershawHealth serves patients in Camden, Elgin, Lugoff and Kershaw. Providence Health serves the Columbia area.

“Being part of a regional system allows us to offer our patients access to a wider array of services and explore new ways to improve the health and well-being of people of all ages,” Terry Gunn, FACHE, Market Chief Executive Officer for KershawHealth and Providence Health, said.

The acquisition is not yet finalized. It still has to go through legal and regulatory requirements.

Officials at Lexington Medical Center issued a statement against the acquisition:

“As the only locally-owned, independent hospital in the Midlands, Lexington Medical Center has provided quality health services that meet the needs of our community for nearly 50 years. Prisma Health’s potential acquisition of Providence Health and KershawHealth raises concerns because, as they become a larger corporate conglomerate, a monopoly if you will, we believe it will adversely affect access, quality and care for patients and families across the Midlands.”

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