On Monday, August 3, 2009, UHS-Pruitt Corporation announced that Bamberg County Nursing Center, an 88-bed skilled nursing facility, will join its family of providers. Bamberg County Nursing Center is located at 509 North Street, Bamberg. UHS-Pruitt Corporation’s affiliate will begin operation today and will rename the location to UniHealth Post-Acute Care of Bamberg.

UHS-Pruitt Corporation is a southeast regionally based organization engaged in providing an industry-leading holistic model of health care to meet the spectrum of long-term and ancillary needs to the communities it serves. With over 135 service locations, the organization touches the lives of more than 20,000 patients, residents and clients daily through the commitment to caring of more than 12,000 employees.

Neil L. Pruitt, UHS-Pruitt Chairman and CEO, stated, “We are very excited with this opportunity to expand our offering of long-term care health services in Bamberg County.” Services include skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, pharmacies, home care and home health agencies, consultative services, rehabilitation programs, nutritional programs, medical supply locations, hospice agencies, adult day care programs, commercial insurance care management programs and community care programs.

“We are pleased that UHS-Pruitt invested in Bamberg County and will ensure the future of our long-term nursing care delivery system,” said Lou-Ann Carter, Chair, Bamberg County Hospital Board of Trustees.

“We are looking forward to a smooth transition as UHS-Pruitt takes over the daily operations of this nursing center,” said Rose Dobson-Elliott, Bamberg County Administrator.

Mr. Pruitt expressed his dedication to making certain that the nursing home will seek to become a fully active member of the health care community and the community at-large. “We will tailor our programs to the needs of Bamberg County,” continued Mr. Pruitt. “A scholarship program will be established to help fund the books and tuition of aspiring nurses, and we will encourage our partners (employees) to participate in community activities.”

According to Mr. Pruitt, the current employees should experience only modest change as they become “partners” in the UHS-Pruitt family. All will be asked to continue in their current jobs and their years of employment with the hospital will be recognized.

There will be, however, noticeable changes to the nursing home building. “We expect to make a substantial investment in the building over the next several years. Although the basic building is sound, we believe it would benefit from a fairly extensive refurbishing program,” remarked Mr. Pruitt.

UHS-Pruitt Corporation is known throughout the Southeast for assisting providers in delivering high quality care through its proactive performance improvement programs, which include on-site visits and continuing education programs.