Lexington Health expands emergency care in White Knoll, Columbia

Lexington Health is adding two freestanding emergency departments and two urgent care locations in White Knoll and northeastern Columbia, bringing care closer to two of the Midlands’ fastest-growing areas.

Rapid population growth in these parts of the Midlands is driving demand for emergency and same-day care, Lexington Health said in a news release. The new sites provide residents with access to multiple levels of care, depending on the severity of their illness or injury.

“As the only local, independent health system in the Midlands, Lexington Health has been committed to meeting the health care needs of our communities for more than 55 years,” Lexington Health President and CEO Kirk Jenkins said in the release. “Adding emergency and same-day care in White Knoll and Northeast Columbia improves access to the highest quality health services, helping our patients receive the care they need when and where they need it.”

All four locations are expected to ease wait times at the Lexington Medical Center emergency department and Lexington Health’s urgent care locations and help connect patients with primary care providers close to home. The emergency departments will also reduce EMS transport time for emergency care, allowing ambulance crews back on the road faster.

A new, 24-room freestanding emergency department will be built next to Lexington Family Practice White Knoll, along with a new urgent care location nearby. Both are expected to open in spring 2028.

Work has begun to convert the existing urgent care at Lexington Health Northeast into an emergency department. The 24-room facility was designed with that capability. It’s expected to open by spring 2027. Urgent care services will move less than 3 miles away to Lexington Health Blythewood once the conversion is complete.

Lexington Health is a comprehensive network of care that includes six community medical and urgent care centers, more than 60 physician practices, more than 9,000 health care professionals and Lexington Medical Center, a 607-bed teaching hospital in West Columbia.