A closer burn unit might be coming soon to South Carolina

South Carolina might soon have its own care facility for burn patients in Charleston.

Some state lawmakers are getting the ball rolling to reinstate an adult burn unit at Medical University of South Carolina after the last one closed 15 years ago, according to The Post and Courier. Initial approval went through on Wednesday for an annual $5 million to be put toward the unit.

Right now, there are not any facilities for burn patients in South Carolina, according to the news site. The closest burn center is in Augusta, Georgia. MUSC used to have a facility for burn patients but it closed in 2002 after the hospital’s only surgeon able to operate on burn victims moved on to another field of medicine.

The funding still have to be approved by thee House of Representatives, the state Senate and the governor, the paper reported.

There are approximately 1,000 burn victims in South Carolina every year, according to the news site. More than 700 of those are adults who have to be airlifted by helicopter to Augusta, costing thousands of dollars. MUSC does accept child burn victims already.

This story was originally published February 25, 2017 at 2:26 PM with the headline "A closer burn unit might be coming soon to South Carolina."