COLUMBIA, S.C. — Prisma Health and Life Point Health say they are dropping their plans to let Prisma acquire several hospitals in the Midlands, including Kershaw Health and the two Providence Hospitals.
The hospital groups announced Friday they were terminating their deal.
Back in March of 2020, just before the pandemic began, Prisma Health announced an agreement to acquire Providence Health, Providence Health Northeast, Kershaw Health, and an emergency room in Fairfield County. Life Point Health owns the two Providence hospitals and Kershaw Health.
Prisma Health said "significant delays and challenges with the Federal Trade Commission and state regulatory authorities have made it prohibitive to move forward."
Prisma Health said they still believe initial vision for the plan was good but they have decided it's in the best interest of the hospitals, their employees, to end the pursuit of the acquisition.
"Moving forward, all of the hospitals remain committed to providing high-quality care across the Midlands, including their respective ongoing leadership in supporting their communities through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," Prisma Health said in a statement.
Kershaw County government has said last year they were "concerned" about the sale of Kershaw Health and were concerned about the potential deal.
Providence Health was founded in 1938, and has been owned by LifePoint since 2016. KershawHealth is even older, having been created in 1913. It joined LifePoint in 2018.