From starting as a small community hospital in 1971 to becoming the anchor of a modern medical complex today, the hospital’s mission is to provide quality health services that meet the needs of the community.
In 1966, voters approved a referendum for the hospital, creating the biggest development project ever in Lexington County. A gracious donation of more than 22 acres of land from the Hulon family provided the site in West Columbia.
On January 6, 1971, Lexington County Hospital, as it was first called, a four-story building a fraction of the size of the hospital today, opened. There were 125 beds and 250 employees.
Over the years, Lexington Medical Center has emerged as a leader in health care. It grew steadily into a large health care organization with a wide variety of services.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Lexington Medical Center pioneered community medical centers throughout Lexington County, created the Lexington Medical Center Foundation, began operating a skilled nursing facility and Alzheimer’s care center, and established a physician network with a variety of medical specialties.
In the early 2000s, Lexington Medical Center added a new tower to its campus along with medical office buildings.
In 2012, Lexington Medical Center began providing a full range of heart services including open heart surgery and therapeutic cardiac catheterizations. Since then, Lexington Medical Center’s Heart & Vascular Center has established itself as a national leader in cardiac care, earning a three-star rating – the highest rating possible – from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and becoming one of only 30 hospitals in the United States to receive a HeartCARE™ Center National Distinction of Excellence from the American College of Cardiology.
In 2019, Lexington Medical Center completed the largest hospital expansion in South Carolina history when it opened its new patient care tower.
Today, Lexington Medical Center has 557 beds, three community medical centers, 70 physician practices and more than 7,000 employees. The network also has an occupational health center and the largest skilled nursing facility in the Carolinas. Lexington Medical Center operates one of the busiest Emergency departments in South Carolina, treating nearly 90,000 patients each year. The hospital delivers approximately 4,000 babies each year, performs more than 27,000 surgeries and has more than 1,000,000 physician office visits.
Lexington Medical Center has received local and national awards for its outstanding patient care.
As the only locally owned, independent hospital in the Midlands, Lexington Medical Center strives to offer the most outstanding care to our families, friends and neighbors now and in the future.
Leave a comment