The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control approved a certificate of need for the program last week. Lexington announced plans for an open-heart program in 2004, but the department denied the request after it was contested by two local hospitals — Providence Hospital and Palmetto Health, both in Columbia, S.C.
Lexington and Providence, however, reached a deal where Providence would close one of its heart units so that Lexington could open a unit without adding to the number of total heart units in the area. In return, Lexington agreed to drop its content of Providence’s plans to expand its Northeast Richland facility and pay Providence $15 million, according to the report.
Lexington currently performs emergency angioplasties, and the new program will allow patients to stay at the facility for open-heart procedures instead of being transferred to other facilities.
The program is expected to take at least a year to fully develop and open, according to the report.
Read The State’s report on Lexington Medical Center’s open heart program.
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