The Medical University of South Carolina now owns four community hospitals outside the Charleston area, the first time in its history that it has bought other hospitals.

The purchase from Community Health Systems closed Friday. The deal was valued at $176 million, including $39 million in leases MUSC is taking over, The Post and Courier reported. The $137 million balance is being financed through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program.

The hospitals took new names on Friday, according to MUSC. Springs Memorial Hospital in Lancaster is now MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center, and Carolinas Hospital System in Florence is now MUSC Health Florence Medical Center. Carolinas Hospital System-Marion, in Mullins, became MUSC Health Marion Medical Center, and Chester Regional Medical Center became MUSC Health Chester Medical Center.

The Florence hospital is the largest, with 396 beds, followed by Lancaster with 225, Marion with 124 and Chester with 82, Community Health Systems said in announcing the closing. The sale also covers physician clinics and outpatient services tied to the hospitals, the company said.

A bigger network

The purchase raises MUSC’s workforce to more than 16,000 and doubles the number of patient beds in the MUSC Health network, the university said. By comparison, the downtown MUSC Medical Center has 713 beds, The Post and Courier reported in November.

“We could not be more excited about what this symbolizes for the future of health care delivery and connectivity for our state,” MUSC President Dr. David Cole said in MUSC’s announcement.

In a written statement reported by The Post and Courier, Cole thanked the people who worked on the deal. “The commitment and enthusiasm has been exceptional,” he said.

MUSC Health CEO Dr. Patrick Cawley spent Friday visiting all four hospitals to meet the new employees, according to MUSC. The CEOs of the four hospitals are now senior leaders in the MUSC Health system, and MUSC Health has hired a chief medical officer to serve as a liaison between doctors and nurses in Charleston and the new hospitals.

“Our mission is to improve health across the state, and to do that, we need to be present in areas across the state,” said Matt Severance, MUSC Health’s chief of affiliations and network development.

MUSC leaders said the hospitals also mean more potential residency spots for medical students, according to the university. About 60% of MUSC’s revenue already comes from patients who live outside the tri-county area, the university noted, according to The Post and Courier.

How the deal came together

MUSC’s trustees voted unanimously on Nov. 19 to buy the hospitals, at a specially called meeting following a discussion closed to the public, The Post and Courier reported at the time. Almost simultaneously, Community Health Systems announced that it had agreed to sell the four hospitals to the Medical University Hospital Authority, the newspaper reported.

Community Health Systems operated about 115 hospitals in 20 states when the deal was announced, according to the newspaper. With Friday’s closing, it has left the South Carolina market. CEO Wayne Smith recently told investors that proceeds from the sale of dozens of community hospitals across the country are being used to reduce debt and for other purposes, The Post and Courier reported.

The four hospitals sit in counties where lawmakers and hospital administrators have been looking for ways to keep facilities open as rural hospitals close, the newspaper reported. Leaders in those counties have said they hope MUSC will improve care, but they are also worried about losing millions of dollars in tax revenue now that their hospitals are owned by a state agency.

More rural plans

The purchase is the larger of two rural expansion efforts by MUSC, The Post and Courier reported. Last week, MUSC said it plans to invest $50 million to replace two struggling hospitals in Lake City and Kingstree with a single 25-bed critical access medical center in the Pee Dee, according to The Post and Courier. The exact site has not been determined. When the new hospital opens, around late 2022, Lake City Community Hospital and Williamsburg Regional Hospital will close, the newspaper reported.

Workers in the newly purchased hospitals welcomed the change on Friday. Edna McClinton, a rehabilitation technician who has worked at Springs Memorial for more than 30 years, said the sale was one of the best changes she has seen.

“MUSC has such a great name in the Carolinas,” she said in MUSC’s announcement.