Location of new hospital continues to be explored
News Release
Dobbs Equity Partners
LLC (“Dobbs”) received final
approval for development of a
Regional Health System
(“RHS”) from the Barnwell
and Bamberg County Councils
on September 13, 2011. The
RHS is planned to include
Multi Specialty Ambulatory
Care Centers in each of
Barnwell and Bamberg
counties as well as a new
“State-of-the-Art” Regional
Hospital to serve the
populations of both
communities. The Regional
Hospital is planned to be
opened within 3 ½ years of the
completion of the sale of the
Barnwell and Bamberg county
hospitals. The Barnwell
County Hospital will serve as
the headquarters location of the
RHS while the new hospital is
being constructed.
Residents of both Barnwell
and Bamberg counties have
been concerned about the
location of the Regional
Hospital. There has been a
great deal of confusion about
the new hospital location due to
several parties being involved
in the discussions of the
healthcare system, including at
various times, Allendale county
and Healthcare Management
Partners LLP, who served as all
three counties hospital
administrators earlier this year.
Dobbs has been working
with the county councils and
the counties’ healthcare task
force for more than a year to
develop the RHS. “Although
we have done a lot of work on
the hospital location, there is
still much more work to be
done prior to settling on a
specific site” said Rick Greene,
Executive Vice President of
Dobbs Equity Partners, LLC.
“We plan to continue meeting
with local physicians,
community leaders, and
businesses to insure the
Regional Hospital is located in
the most convenient area for
the majority of both counties’
populations. The west side of
Denmark, SC remains among
the locations being
considered.”
“There has been a lot of
misinformation in the
communities and media about
the hospital location” said Mr.
Greene. “It’s unfortunate so
much has been said about just
one of several potential
locations that was selected
early in the process. We have a
lot more work to do prior to
choosing a final site, including
consulting with as many of the
citizens of both counties as
possible.”
The new hospital is
planned to include private
rooms for inpatient care,
multiple surgery suites, a full
service emergency department,
a labor and delivery department
where newborns will be
delivered, as well as many
other services not currently
being offered in the local
hospitals today. In addition,
multi-specialty physician office
centers are planned that should
bring new specialist physicians
into the community to see
patients locally. Currently, the
majority of county residents are
traveling hours to see a
specialist.
About Dobbs Equity Partners, LLC
Dobbs Equity Partners, LLC, (www.dobbsequity.com) is a
private, family-owned business
that makes private equity
investments in existing and
start-up operating companies. It
seeks to partner with talented
operators with significant
experience in their fields to
acquire or start-up businesses
with significant growth
potential. Dobbs Equity
Partners, LLC is not a
traditional private equity fund
in that it invests family assets
and does not seek to raise
capital from outside parties.
Dobbs is currently an investor
in Strategic Behavioral Health,
LLC, which owns and manages
behavioral healthcare facilities.
Previously, the Dobbs family
owned Three River Holdings,
Inc., which operated Unison
Health Plans, a large Medicaid
HMO with operations in many
states, including South
Carolina.
County Councils provide final approval for development of Regional Health System
News Release
The Barnwell and Bamberg
County Councils gave final
approval for the development of
a Regional Health System
(“RHS”) during separate
meetings last night in their
respective counties. This
approval took place during the
third and final reading on the
Asset Purchase Agreement and
Development Agreement with
Dobbs Equity Partners, LLC
(“Dobbs”) that will result in an
affiliate of Dobbs purchasing the
Barnwell County Hospital and
Bamberg County Hospital. Both
county hospitals will complete
Chapter 9 bankruptcy filings in
order to enable the hospitals to
reorganize their debts. In
addition, the RHS includes plans
to open Multi Specialty
Ambulatory Care Centers in
each county to provide a myriad
of healthcare services not
currently being offered in the
region as well as construct a
“State-of-the-Art” Regional
Hospital to serve the
communities.
“We are extremely pleased
with the vision shown by the
Barnwell and Bamberg County
Councils in providing final
approval of the RHS” said John
H. Dobbs, Jr., President and
Chief Executive Officer of
Dobbs Equity Partners, LLC.
“We are hopeful the sale process
will be completed quickly and
we can begin implementing our
plan to provide the highest
quality healthcare services to the
local communities.”
The Barnwell County
Hospital is planned to remain
open for at least three years after
its purchase by Dobbs has been
completed and will be the
headquarters for the RHS until
the new hospital opens.
The new hospital is planned
to include private rooms for
inpatient care, multiple surgery
suites, a full service emergency
department, a labor and delivery
department where newborns will
be delivered, as well as many
other services not currently being
offered in the local hospitals
today. In addition,
multi-specialty physician office
centers are planned that should
bring new specialist physicians
into the community to see
patients locally. Currently, the
majority of county residents are
traveling hours to see a
specialist.
Dobbs has been working
with industry-leading, healthcare
professionals for several months
to determine the healthcare needs
of the community and design
facilities and programs to best
meet those needs. The following
is a preliminary list of the
services and specialties that are
planned to be offered within the
RHS:
• General Surgery
• Urology
• Medical Cardiology
• Ophthalmology
• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Orthopedics and Orthopedic Surgery
• Inpatient and Outpatient Services
• Emergency Medicine
|
