Health care the focus as lawmaker tours hospital

Until yesterday, the last time Congressman Jeff Duncan had seen the Oconee Memorial Hospital was 2009 during his first campaign for the U-S House of Representatives.  On his return visit yesterday, Duncan was anxious to catch up—specifically how the hospital fares as part of a larger operation, the Greenville Health System.   Going into his tour yesterday, Duncan was aware that smaller hospitals, such as Oconee and the one in his home town of Laurens, are part of a trend in which smaller, community hospitals are gobbled up by larger ones.