Palmetto Health Baptist

Story

Palmetto Health Baptist Columbia is a 489-bed acute-care facility located at the intersection of Taylor and Marion Streets in Downtown Columbia, South Carolina. The hospital was established in 1914 as South Carolina Baptist Hospital by the South Carolina Baptist Convention after the widow of Dr. Augustus B. Knowlton, a prominent Columbia physician, asked the church to purchase the hospital, at that time a 70-bed facility on Marion St., that she and her husband started. Over the years, the hospital expanded and grew as additional services were offered. In 1998, Baptist Medical Center merged with Richland Memorial Hospital to form Palmetto Health. It is owned and operated by Palmetto Health, the largest not-for profit hospital operator in South Carolina.