Williamson said Spartanburg Regional believes employees and patients will benefit from the Mary Black acquisition.
He added: "If Spartanburg hadn’t step in, then what level of services was Mary Black capable of providing?” Rather, he said Spartanburg Regional’s purchase of Mary Black “maybe brings a little more security to that area." “Hospitals are still competing with physician practices,” Ames said. In Greenville, Palmetto Health of Columbia merged with Greenville Health System to become Prisma Health. “You’re seeing a rapid consolidation of healthcare providers,” he said.Ĭharleston-based Medical University of South Carolina recently purchased hospital systems with a total of 827 beds from Community Health Systems in Chester, Florence, Lancaster and Marion Larger systems can negotiate lower prices for equipment and with insurance companies, resulting in cost savings. Hospital Association, said hospital systems across the country are consolidating.
“We intend and expect to continue to fill those vacancies, bringing even more jobs to the area and providing for better patient care and experience.”Īt least some people are concerned that the larger health system creates a monopoly that will limit patient choice and could result in higher costs due to lack of competition.įormer Spartanburg County Councilwoman Jane Hall told members of the Spartanburg County Legislative Delegation recently that patients will have fewer choices with one health system instead of two. “Many positions at Mary Black had been vacant for some time prior to our purchase of these two facilities,” she said. She said there are currently open staff positions at Spartanburg Medical Center-Mary Black Campus in Spartanburg and Cherokee Medical Center in Gaffney. Williamson added that several former Mary Black employees who previously worked at Spartanburg Regional left on good terms and were eligible for rehire. “Only nine people who applied for employment from Mary Black were not hired - one person failed a drug test, one had falsified their background and seven had previously been terminated by SRHS and were not eligible for rehire.” “All Mary Black employees who applied for employment were hired unless they failed to pass a drug and background test or had previously been determined to be ineligible for rehire at SRHS,” Williamson said in her response to the newspaper's FOIA request. In all, Spartanburg Regional hired 40 Mary Black physicians and 26 nurse practitioners or physician assistants, and 1,216 employees from Mary Black are now affiliated with Spartanburg Regional, she said. Williamson said the staff members at those Mary Black practices were retained and have similar roles with Spartanburg Regional.įurther, she said no physicians or staff employed by Spartanburg Regional at the time of the acquisition lost their job as a result of the purchase. “Two of these physicians were cardiologists and two were obstetricians/gynecologists … associated with Mary Black Physicians Group-Cardiology and Mary Black Physicians Group-OB/Gyn.” “These physicians did not apply for employment with SRHS,” she said. Williamson confirmed that Spartanburg Regional did not assume the contracts of four physicians, including Cherry. Cherry said he applied for privileges at Spartanburg Medical Center but was turned down. The Mary Black Cardiology office closed, leaving Dr.
Not everyone at Mary Black was brought on board in the acquisition. Regional now manages six hospitals in Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties.
Combined, the two healthcare systems under the Spartanburg Regional umbrella have more than 400 physicians, 100 doctor offices and nearly 9,000 employees. Spartanburg Regional paid $70 million to Community Health Services of Franklin, Tennessee, for the Mary Black Health System, including the 207-bed hospital in Spartanburg and 125-bed facility Gaffney, as well as Mary Black’s physician offices and outpatient services. “The acquisition will result in the need for additional positions in Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties.” “The Mary Black acquisition has already brought approximately 77 additional jobs to our local community,” Spartanburg Regional spokeswoman Maria Williamson said in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Herald-Journal. Concerns that many employees lost their jobs when Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System acquired Mary Black Health System in January are unfounded, Spartanburg Regional officials say.įurther, hospital officials reject claims that the larger system now represents a monopoly on healthcare that will result in higher costs and fewer patient choices.
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