HAMLET — The emergency department at Sandhills Regional Medical Center closed it’s doors on Monday.

Emergency services have been relocated to the nearby FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital.

“Richmond Memorial is fully prepared to absorb the additional volume of patients,” John Jackson, president of both Richmond Memorial and Sandhills Regional, said in a statement. “We are committed to providing exceptional, quality care to all residents of Richmond County.”

Jackson urges patients seeking services for medical conditions such as colds, flu, strep throat and minor injuries to visit the new walk-in clinic, FirstHealth Convenient Care in Hamlet, located on Highway 74 Business, across the street from Sandhills Regional Medical Center and Richmond Community College.

SRMC will continue to provide inpatient and outpatient medical services including surgery, MRI, cardiopulmonary care, imaging, endoscopy, urogynecology and intensive outpatient behavioral services.

FirstHealth announced the acquisition of Sandhills last October and officially brought it into its regional network of hospitals Dec. 1, making it the fifth in the system.

The others are FirstHealth Moore Regional in Pinehurst, FirstHealth Montgomery Memorial in Troy, FirstHealth Moore Regional-Hoke Campus in Raeford and FirstHealth Richmond Memorial in Rockingham. Richmond Memorial, which joined FirstHealth in 1999, operates as a division of FirstHealth Moore Regional.

Sandhills Regional Medical Center evolved from Hamlet Hospital, which first opened in 1915, according to the history on its website. The current location opened on Feb. 20, 2000.

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Staff report