Dobbs Equity Partners, LLC (“Dobbs”) has announced the location of the new Regional Hospital to be built for Barnwell and Bamberg counties. Dobbs affiliate, SC Regional Health System, LLC (“RHS”) has acquired options to purchase land in Bamberg County on Highway 78, near the intersection of Ghents Branch Road. The location is two miles from the Barnwell county line. RHS has consulted with officials of both counties, leading hospital consultants and officials from other recently constructed South Carolina hospitals to determine the location. Based on logistical data accumulated over the last several months, the planned site will be closest to largest number of people from both counties. The selected site is easily reachable for Barnwell county residents by driving along highway 78 or highway 70. Bamberg county residents will likely travel along highway 78 to reach the new hospital site. The new hospital is planned to be completed in approximately three and a half years.

In general, residents of the counties will see a reduction in driving times to the new Regional Hospital location as compared to the closest hospital today. Likewise, those residents that must drive a longer distance to the new Regional Hospital will generally only see an increase in driving times of less than ten minutes. Since the new Regional Hospital will be located on a federal highway, driving times should be reduced due to higher traveling speeds and fewer traffic signals.

The Barnwell County Hospital is planned to remain open for at least three years after its purchase by RHS has been completed and will be the headquarters for the health system 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 health system.

• General Surgery
• Urology
• Medical Cardiology
• Ophthalmology
• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Orthopedics and Orthopedic Surgery
• Inpatient and Outpatient Services
• Emergency Medicine

Currently, the Barnwell and Bamberg county hospitals remain open and are proceeding through the Chapter 9 bankruptcy process. As soon as the bankruptcy process is completed, RHS will assume ownership of the hospitals and begin implementation of its business plan, which includes construction of the new regional hospital and opening Multi-specialty Ambulatory Care Centers in both Barnwell and Bamberg counties.