Inside eerie abandoned hospital in small town where everything is left untouched
Spine-chilling images that seem to be taken out of a horror movie are found in an abandoned hospital where all the facilities and equipment have been left untouched for years.
Barnwell County Hospital in South Carolina, US, operated from 1955 until 2016 when financial struggles forced the managing company to shut it down.
When it opened, it was considered a state-of-the-art establishment, as it was equipped with modern features such as air-conditioning, piped-in oxygen, and an audio-visual nurse-to-patient call system.
The hospital had 43 beds and was built in conjunction with a 10-bed nursing home for a cost of $815,000.
Interestingly, the hospital's first recorded delivery was that of sextuplets born to a dog, even before the hospital's official opening.
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An abandoned gurney in the hallway (mediadrumimages/LelandKent)They were born in the hospital's storage building, and officials reported at the time that all six puppies were doing well.
The hospital's first floor used to house an emergency room, operating room, urology laboratory, X-ray laboratory, coloured nursery, kitchen, and employee cafeteria.
On the upper floor, there was a solarium for patient relaxation and a white nursery. The hospital's first patient was admitted on June 3, 1955.
A surgery room with surgical lighting still hanging (mediadrumimages/LelandKent)Pictures of the facilities today were captured by Leland Kent, an urban explorer who goes by the online name Abandoned Southeast.
One of the images depicts an operating theatre with surgical lights, while another displays the exterior of a hospital in Barnwell, South Carolina, which appears to be in decent shape.
Another photograph reveals several abandoned x-ray machines, potentially leaving behind thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
An abandoned X-ray machine (mediadrumimages/LelandKent)Within the first year, the hospital admitted over 1,100 patients, had more than 2,000 outpatients, and more than 200 babies were born.
Barnwell County Hospital was the only hospital in the county and had the only X-ray machine in Barnwell. Local doctors would send patients to the hospital for routine X-rays.
By the early 2000s, the hospital began to struggle financially. Despite opportunities to reduce overhead costs by combining services, hospital administration overlooked its shortcomings.
A sketch of the planned Barnwell County Hospital, when it was designed in 1954 (The State: South Carolina’s Larg)A decade later, financial troubles became inevitable.
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In 2011, the Barnwell County Council replaced its hospital board with itself and approved a contract with Healthcare Management Partners (HMP) to coordinate the restructuring of the hospital's debt. The facility filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
The council appointed themselves to the BCHB after the then-current board would not vote to send the hospital into bankruptcy.
The exterior of the abandoned hospital (mediadrumimages/LelandKent)In its place, HMP wanted to build a 70-bed acute care regional hospital.
New multi-speciality ambulatory primary care centres were also proposed to be located on or near each of the three existing campuses, but the plans didn't work out.
The Atlanta-based Resurgence Management Company LLC purchased the Barnwell County Hospital in 2013 and later renamed it Southern Palmetto Hospital.
But in January 2016, the institution announced it would cease operations due to financial unsustainability.
An X-ray room at the hospital (mediadrumimages/LelandKent)In a statement, it said that "maintaining a full-service hospital for the current demand from the acute and emergency patients is not sustainable."
Apparently, the hospital had been operating at a loss despite efforts to improve its efficiency.
In fact, it said it lost $2.5million (£2million) from operations because of a low patient census and uncompensated care.
The closure came as a shock to many within the small town who depended on the hospital.
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