A hospital in Marlboro County will close later this month after McLeod Health made an announcement about the facility in late March, officials say.
Marlboro Park Hospital will stop admitting patients April 25 and transfer any patients remaining in the facility that day to Chesterfield General Hospital, said Wendy Wagner, Director of Marketing and Business Development for Marlboro Park Hospital and Chesterfield General Hospital.
Marlboro Park Hospital Emergency Room will close effective midnight, April 30, 2015 and go on diversionary status, Wagner added.
McLeod Health announced on March 31 that it signed a letter of intent relating to both facilities, Chesterfield General Hospital in Cheraw and Marlboro Park in Bennettsville, South Carolina.
The McLeod Health announcement on March 31 mentioned that Chesterfield General would stay open, but did not mention plans for Marlboro Park.
Employees were informed of positions at both at Chesterfield and at the McLeod Campus and McLeod held a job fair in Bennettsville, Wagner said.
Hospital services will be transferred to Chesterfield General Hospital, and the building will be maintained by a few personnel, she added.
Just 15 miles separates both Marlboro Park Hospital and Chesterfield General Hospital.
Last April, Community Health Systems announced they would not renew the lease of both hospitals, which is set to expire this April.
Medical Properties Trust currently owns both hospitals.
Through May 1, 2015, the hospitals will continue to be operated by MC Healthcare/Alecto.
The fate of South Carolina’s rural hospitals has long hung in the balance.
SCHealthdata.org reports Marlboro Park Hospital lost nearly $11 million in 2013 and Chesterfield General raked in a little over $182,000 the same year.