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That institution's origins, according to the Medical Society of South Carolina: \"In 1829, philanthropist and former mayor of Charleston Colonel Thomas Roper bequeathed $30,000 to a group of Charleston physicians, known collectively as the Medical Society of South Carolina (MSSC), to build a hospital to treat all sick and injured people 'without regard to complexion, religion, or nation.' The Medical Society pooled the colonel's gift with other funds, built the original hospital on what is now the corner of Queen and Logan streets, and named it for its primary benefactor.\"

That's how 72-year-old Thomas Roper feels about the two people who knocked him down and robbed him of $400 while posing as hospital workers delivering a wheelchair. \"You got to be pretty low to rob a man in a wheelchair,\" said Roper, reliving the attack yesterday at the hands of a woman and man. The couple demanded $290 for the chair, which Roper did not see. Roper said they agreed to take $47 when he told them that's what he had paid the last time.

Thomas Roper, 72, is angry but unhurt after he was pushed out of his wheelchair in his downtown apartment...

[Thomas Wieters] said that was just the latest in a series of problems at Roper that had crept into day-to-day patient care since management of the hospital had been taken over by an outside corporation in August 1998. From missed vital signs to unrecorded pain medication administration, there were growing signs that made Wieters believe patient care had slipped. Two weeks later, Wieters received a certified letter from the hospital, accusing him of disruptive behavior. During the next several months, Wieters came under investigation by two hospital committees. The first committee, from the Department of Surgery, interviewed Wieters and decided the disruptive incidents were explainable, noting that one episode came after a nurse had not recorded vital signs for one of Wieters' patients for 48 hours. By then, Wieters' practice had slowed to a trickle. In May 2001, CIGNA HealthCare of South Carolina notified Wieters it would terminate its contract with him because of his listing on the National Practitioner Data Bank. The company also sent letters to Wieters' patients, telling them they needed to find a new doctor.

Roper Health System has taken in the former Baker Hospital and built a West Ashley nursing home, more than 600 beds in all. Roper opened and expects to expand a Berkeley County center with emergency room and clinics. The system has outpatient surgery, primary care and diagnostic centers throughout the area. [Thomas Roper] and Bon Secours St. Francis Xavier Hospital are looking at merging and have already formed Lowcountry Health System, which organized three growing doctors' groups, including the year-old 400- member Palmetto Healthcare. Last year Roper joined the giant Sun Health Alliance of community hospitals. Their $17 billion-a-year in purchasing power has cut the prices Roper has to pay for supplies. Added Dr. Stan Wilson, president of the Roper medical staff, \"Doctors are using a community asset for the benefit of patients and the community. ... We're giving the care we would want. Patients say the people (at Roper) are so nice and caring.\"

The bride, who graduated from Freedom High School and Lehigh University, recently received a master's degree in BioEngineering from Clemson University.

T.P. graduated from Petersburg High School and the University of Virginia and served in the Army during World War II. Following the war, T.P. joined the family-owned business, Roper Brothers Lumber Company. T.P. served primarily as vice president of purchasing until his retirement in 1981 after 36 years. He was a gifted listener and facilitator. A fifth-generation Petersburg resident, T.P. was active at Christ and Grace Episcopal Church. He served on the Vestry and headed the Stewardship drive for two years. He sang in the choir for many years, was president of the Men's Club one year and served as a Lay Shepherd. He was very compassionate, donning an apron to help feed the homeless locally, and contributing generously to education and to help relief suffering. A Distinguished Fellow of the Rotarians, he had nearly perfect attendance after joining in 1948, whether he was at home, in Marathon, Fla., or visiting in another community. T.P. had a lifelong passion for dancing.

Doris Bishop, 43, of Horse Shoe, died Monday, October 22, at the Elizabeth House following a courageous battle with cancer.

The project will add 115 rooms without adding beds. The additional rooms will be private rooms. Use of the old double rooms will be limited to busy periods, or they will house only a single patient. Surgery growth: Many of the hospital's 15 operating rooms are cramped. The inpatient and outpatient operating rooms are on opposite floors and ends of the building. They will be replaced with 18 bigger rooms, all in the same area. Patient rooms: The traditional, double hospital rooms will be pretty much phased out, replaced by more modern, private rooms with their own bathrooms. The old double rooms will be in limited use or they will house a single patient.