ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) - A hospital that serves part of rural South Carolina said it lost more than $8 million last fiscal year in large part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg said that loss from July 2019 to June 2020 should be covered by COVID-19 aid expected to be doled out over the next several years, The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg reported.
The pandemic hurt the hospital system’s finances both through fewer visits to clinics and specialists as patients worried about getting the virus and with extra costs in protecting people and workers from being infected and paying contract workers, officials said.
“The COVID pandemic has been a challenge for all of America’s hospitals and the RMC is no exception,” interim CEO and President Kirk Wilson said. “Thankfully, hospitals like the RMC were provided important relief to offset the impact of COVID-19 through the CARES Act of 2020.”
The hospital system’s revenues were about $217 million and its expenses were just under $240 million.
The non-profit hospital system has practices in Orangeburg, Calhoun and Bamberg counties and is jointly owned by Orangeburg and Calhoun counties.
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