Prisma’s purchase of former Doctors Care centers could reshuffle urgent care in West Ashley and Mount Pleasant

Dozens of the urgent care centers that South Carolina patients knew as Doctors Care are about to change hands again, and some of the Charleston-area locations may not survive the switch in their current form.

Greenville-based Prisma Health announced Sept. 24 that it had agreed to buy 36 urgent care centers across the state from Novant Health. The deal was expected to close Nov. 1, and the value was not disclosed, SCBIZ reported. The centers will operate as Prisma Health Urgent Care.

In the Charleston area, the purchase would leave Prisma with two urgent care centers in West Ashley and two in Mount Pleasant, The Post and Courier reported Oct. 4. Prisma did not list the centers changing hands in its announcement, SCBIZ reported.

As of Oct. 23, Prisma’s urgent care website put the number of centers joining it at 24, not 36. The site says those centers are expected to begin operating under the Prisma name on Nov. 2, though another page on the site gives Nov. 1. It does not explain the difference from the September announcement, and it does not list the transitioning centers, so it is not clear whether the West Ashley and Mount Pleasant sites the newspaper described are among the 24.

Prisma got here first

Prisma is not new to the Charleston urgent care market. Its urgent care website lists three centers it already runs in the area: one at 1798 Ashley River Road in West Ashley, near the Westwood Plaza shopping center; one at 1101 Greythorne Drive in Mount Pleasant, near Mount Pleasant Hospital; and one at 140 St. James Ave. in Goose Creek.

The Post and Courier described the West Ashley location as new. Before the Novant deal, Prisma had 31 urgent care centers statewide, the newspaper reported.

Now Prisma has to decide what to do where its sites sit close together. Prisma will evaluate the Charleston-area centers and others over the next couple of months, the Post and Courier reported. Clarence Sevillian, Prisma’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, told the newspaper that “some may be consolidated if they are in very close proximity to an existing location.” Those locations could instead become primary care or specialty clinics, he told the newspaper.

Prisma’s website says the “vast majority” of centers will stay where they are and that “a small number may transition to a nearby center.” Prisma has said its goal is to keep the urgent care workers, and that those affected by any consolidation will be offered jobs at nearby centers.

The deal brings about 500 employees to Prisma, SCBIZ reported. A Prisma spokeswoman, Tammie Epps, told the Post and Courier that no termination notices had been sent to any employees.

“Access to timely, high-quality care is essential to the health of our communities,” Dr. Jonathan Gleason, Prisma’s executive vice president and chief clinical officer, said in the announcement.

Novant changes course

Novant has owned the centers for less than two years. It got them when it bought UCI Medical Affiliates from BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina in November 2024, the Post and Courier reported. That purchase included 52 Doctors Care urgent care centers and 20 Progressive Physical Therapy clinics, according to Novant.

Novant now says patient needs are changing. In a statement reported by the Post and Courier, it said it is “transitioning away from traditional urgent care locations” and expanding its virtual care to around-the-clock service.

Physical therapy services at some of the locations were not part of the Prisma deal, and the newspaper reported that the future of those services and their employees was unclear. Prisma’s announcement did not address the rest of the urgent care centers Novant bought in 2024.

Novant’s Charleston-area hospital, East Cooper Medical Center in Mount Pleasant, is not part of the sale.

Why Prisma wants more

Sevillian framed the purchase as a way to reach patients who need quick care close to home.

“When we think about timely care, when we think about high-quality care overall, it’s essential to the communities we serve,” he told the Post and Courier. He said the move is “trying to bring care closer to the patient’s home as well.”

Prisma also pointed to a rise in patients without insurance. South Carolina’s uninsured rate edged up from 11.1% in 2023 to 11.2% in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures cited by the newspaper, and Sevillian told the newspaper that Prisma is seeing a 2% increase in the uninsured compared with the year before. Nearly 17% of people in South Carolina lack a primary care provider, the Post and Courier reported.

Urgent care is also a door into Prisma’s larger network. The system said patients at the acquired centers will be able to get referrals to its primary care doctors, specialists and hospitals.

What patients will notice

Walk-in and virtual visits, X-rays, lab work and respiratory testing will continue at the transitioning centers, according to Prisma.

The most visible change may come first. Sevillian told the Post and Courier that patients will see changes “on Day One.”

“You’ll start to see the signage and all of those things that reflect that,” he said.

Prisma’s website lists separate billing contacts for visits before and after Nov. 2.