SC hospital plans to eliminate inpatient services

Bamberg County Hospital is positioning itself to pull the plug on inpatient services and place its primary focus on emergency and outpatient services. The hospital's board of trustees in a special called meeting Tuesday voted to end inpatient care at the facility and shift its focus to ER and outpatient services, including radiology, rehab, X-ray, laboratory and physical and respiratory therapy services. John Hales, hospital administrator, said inpatient services will be phased out within the next two to three months. "For a long time, the inpatient census at the hospital has been slowing down and ... deteriorating," he said. Most of the hospital's business is being generated through its emergency room and other departments, Hales said.