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Dorchester County facility converts former detention center into primary, occupational health clinic

ST. GEORGE, S.C. (WCSC) — Dorchester County marked the opening of a new health care facility in St. George Monday, converting a former women’s detention center into a more than 6,300-square-foot health clinic.

Agencies that teamed up to make the clinic happen held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility that offers primary and occupational health services to residents of the small rural community and the surrounding region.

The building, which previously housed a women’s detention center, now contains seven exam rooms.

“It’s an incredible transformation,” David Chinnis, Dorchester County council chairman, said.

Alka Kohli, chief medical officer for MUSC Physicians, said the change carries significance beyond the physical space.

“To see those doors and to see those rooms where we will now provide care, is such a difference from what it was,” Kohli said.

Three organizations will operate from the location: MUSC Health, the South Carolina Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Dorchester Drug and Alcohol Commission.

The clinic will offer by-appointment, in-person and virtual visits for annual wellness physicals, vaccinations, nutritional and dietary support, sick and injury visits, chronic condition management, lab testing and more.

Chinnis said the facility is intended to keep residents from traveling long distances for care.

“They’re not driving to the north area to the doctor’s office. They can stay here in St. George and it doesn’t take an hour to get there,” Chinnis said.

Kohli said having care providers embedded in the community is central to the facility’s mission.

“It becomes much more meaningful when you have care providers that live in the community, because it is also about building trust in healthcare. When you come in and you see someone who lives in your community that is now your healthcare provider and is helping you put together the pieces, that takes healthcare to a whole different level,” Kohli said.

The clinic was made possible through a $1 million USDA grant and approximately $2.5 million in ARPA funding. Additional support came from nearly $200,000 from the Southeast Crescent Region Commission and just over $700,000 from Sen. Lindsey Graham, designated for a mobile MRI unit and X-ray equipment.

Strategic planning for the facility began in 2017. A second phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2027.

The clinic is scheduled to open on March 2.

Patients who would like to schedule an appointment or learn more can click here or call 843-985-4690.

DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — A building that once served as a women’s detention center in St. George is now set to serve a very different purpose – healthcare.

Dorchester County leaders and The Medical University of South Carolina Health cut the ribbon on a new primary care facility Monday morning, unveiling a renovated space that converts former jail cells into exam rooms. The transformation is part of a broader effort to expand healthcare access in rural Dorchester County and reduce the need for residents to travel long distances for basic medical care.

“When you walk in there today, you see a number of exam rooms. When they began this process, they were cells — now they’re exam rooms," said David Chinnis, the chairman of the Dorchester County Council. "It’s an incredible transformation."

READ MORE | "New MUSC pavilion opens in Wando as health care tries to keep pace with growth."

County leaders say expanding healthcare options in western Dorchester County has been a long-term priority. For years, many residents in St. George and surrounding communities have had to drive outside the area to see a doctor.

“Folks were driving to North Charleston, they were driving to Orangeburg for healthcare,” Chinnis said, adding that the county initially tried to recruit emergency care providers to the area but received “zero feedback” through formal requests for proposals.

The newly renovated, 6,300-square-foot facility includes seven exam rooms and will offer primary care services such as wellness visits, chronic condition management, telehealth appointments and occupational health services.

MUSC leaders say bringing those services closer to home can make a significant difference for rural patients.

“When you need health care, you need it right then, and sometimes that travel makes it really, really hard to get timely care,” said Dr. Alka Kohli, chief medical officer for MUSC Physicians. “Having something in your own community allows us to provide that right at home.”

Kohli said the clinic is focused not only on treating illness, but also on prevention — helping patients manage their health before small issues become major problems.

“In addition to primary care, we have the ability [for] annual well checks and telehealth chronic care management and occupational health,” Kohli said.

County leaders say the project came together through a combination of federal and local funding. Chinnis said the county used approximately $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, along with a $1 million USDA grant, to renovate the building rather than construct a new one. Additional state and federal funding will help outfit the facility and support future phases, including expanded imaging services.

Leaders described the clinic as part of a broader regional investment in healthcare infrastructure — not just for St. George, but for surrounding communities as well.

“It’s a Dorchester County project, but it is a regional healthcare facility that’s going to help folks in the entire region,” Chinnis said.

The clinic is expected to open to patients on March 2, 2026.

Saint George SA board chairman Abinet Gebremeskel stated that he is resigning from the post after 24 years amid a crisis at the Ethiopian giants.

The influential figure was at the forefront during the successful years of Saint George in the Ethiopian Premier League, and he will be leaving the club following the establishment of a new 10-man normalization committee put in place to facilitate the transition of the club.

The Addis Ababa club has faced huge financial trouble in recent times, culminating to the point where struggles endured both on and off the pitch. After the financial backing of MIDROC Ethiopia dried up, the Horsemen struggled to live up to their greatness.

Gebremeskel was voted into the new board as chairman for the next four years in October 2025 in what was a contentious General Assembly. Nevertheless, the election was dubbed illegal by some Saint George members, as they sued the board at the Federal First Instance Court in Addis Ababa.

In an official statement, he confirmed that he has decided to resign from the board chairmanship. He stated that after much deliberation with his family, it was the right time to call it quits at the club, but added that he will remain a member of the sport association. He first became the chairman of the club in 2002, but for the past three decades he has been an avid financial backer of the club.

In other news, a 10-man normalization committee will run the club until an elective general assembly is called. The committee consists of four board members, while four are from the opposition camp.

The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF), Addis Ababa Football Federation (AAFF), and Addis Ababa Youth and Sport Bureau facilitated the creation of the normalization committee. AAFF president Haileyesus Fisshea told Pan-Africa Football that the committee will assign its leaders on Tuesday, March 17. Members who have sued the new board have also agreed to stop their legal action against the club, Fisseha added.

Gebremeskel’s connection to the club dates back a long time. His uncle, Gebreselassie Oda, had been Saint George’s chairman during the Monarchy era. After Gebremeskel’s return to Ethiopia in the mid-1990s, he involved himself heavily with the club. He is also credited with bringing Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi to the club during their dominance of the Ethiopian football scene.

It will be the end of an era at both Addis Ababa cross-city rivals Saint George and Ethiopian Coffee, as both sides will get new chairmen. Long-serving Ethiopian Coffee board chairman Lieutenant Fikade Mamo left his position as board chairman last week.

ST. GEORGE, S.C. (WCSC) — A new MUSC facility will bring primary care, mental health services and radiology to rural Dorchester County residents who have been traveling an hour for basic medical care.

The Medical University of South Carolina facility will open at the end of the month, helping expand medical care for underserved communities in St. George and surrounding areas. New federal funding in the amount of $709,000 is covering 50% of the cost, upgrading the original plan to include a permanent X-ray machine and mobile MRI equipment.

“We’re probably serving folks from Orangeburg County, from Colleton County, from Holly Hill that may be able to come closer to St. George to get service,” David Chinnis, the Dorchester County Council chairman said. “So even though this is a Dorchester County project very specifically in the county, the ability for MUSC to serve the region in an area that was greatly underserved with a level of care, not only with MUSC, but with the Department of Mental Health, it’s critical in nature.”

Officials applied during the 2025 cycle for this project and received approval less than a year after breaking ground on the facility.

County officials have worked to address the health care gap since 2016, according to Bryan Haver, Dorchester County’s assistant county administrator.

“Back around 2016, 2017, the county started working on their strategic plan,” Haver said. “County council along with the St. George community heard from the western portion of the county that there was a need to expand health care in the western area of the county and that was built into the strategic plan.”

The facility represents an upgrade from the original plan, which called for mobile equipment only. That permanent X-ray machine will serve residents from surrounding counties who previously drove 45 minutes to an hour for basic imaging services.

The building is also being refitted to have a radiology area for the MRI machine.

“This steps it up a little bit closer to what the ultimate goal is and that is emergency care in off hours when this is not open,” Chinnis said. “It’s not there yet, but this is a piece of that puzzle that the community was asking for.”

County officials plan to expand the facility beyond primary care to include an in-house pharmacy and blood work services.

Once the facility opens, Dorchester County will look to expand the medical hours so as many residents as possible can get help when they need it.