Roper St. Francis Announces Plans: New Hospital in Berkeley County

Charleston, SC – Roper St. Francis Healthcare (RSFH) officials today announced plans to seek state approval to build a new, full-service hospital to serve the healthcare needs of Berkeley County. Roper St. Francis Hospital – Berkeley will be located at Carnes Crossroads at the intersection of Highway 17A and 176. The medical facility will be part of the commercial corridor being developed by The Daniel Island Company as part of its new 2,300-acre mixed-use planned community.

“Berkeley County is seeing tremendous growth, and we are excited to respond with plans to provide for the healthcare needs of people living and working in these communities, now and in the future,” said David L. Dunlap, President and Chief Executive Officer. With a population of 155,009, Berkeley County is the ninth largest county in the state. In addition, the county population is projected to grow 7.8 percent in the next five years.

“Currently, Berkeley County is one of only five counties in South Carolina without a hospital,” said Dunlap. “Roper St. Francis would like to change that and address this very real need in a growing and vibrant community,” said Dunlap.

“In fact, more than 25,800 Berkeley County residents came to a Roper St. Francis facility in 2007 for outpatient surgery, emergency care or inpatient hospitalization,” added Dunlap. “By locating a new, not-for-profit hospital in Berkeley County, these residents and others will soon have this state-of-the-art care much closer to home.”

The new hospital, which calls for the transfer of 50 existing beds from Roper’s downtown facility, helps redistribute hospital beds to better serve the emerging population centers within the greater Charleston area. Carnes Crossroads is emerging as the population epicenter in Berkeley County with more than 104,370 residents within a 7-mile radius of the proposed hospital site.

“It’s vitally important that we as healthcare providers acknowledge and respond to population growth and shifts,” said Dunlap. “The relocation of hospital beds from downtown Charleston to the growing Berkeley County community makes good sense. Plus, it gives local residents a convenient choice.”

The scope of services for the proposed hospital includes:

• 50 inpatient beds
• 24-hour emergency care
• Women’s Services including obstetrics
• Inpatient and outpatient surgery
• Intensive and Critical Care Units
• Imaging, Laboratory, and Pharmacy

“We’re excited to welcome Roper St. Francis to Carnes Crossroads,” said Matt Sloan, President of The Daniel Island Company. “Our plans call for a diverse range of services, retail businesses, restaurants and conveniences in this area to serve residents in this and surrounding communities. To have this significant healthcare presence early on provides a wonderful foundation as we continue our plans for commercial and residential development.”

Hospital officials plan to submit the CON application to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) in October. The community is invited to write letters of support. These may be directed to: Mr. David L. Dunlap, President and CEO, Roper St. Francis Healthcare, 125 Doughty Street, Suite 760, Charleston, SC 29403.

Almost one year ago on September 20, 2007, Roper St. Francis announced that it had purchased 66 acres of land from The Daniel Island Company with plans to use six acres for the development of a medical office building (MOB) housing primary care and specialty physicians as well as diagnostic services including laboratory and imaging. At that time, Vice President of System Development Doug Bowling said, “This major land purchase signifies our commitment to providing health care services now and for years to come.”

Earlier this year, RSFH requested SC DHEC approval to move three operating rooms from its current Moncks Corner facility (Roper St. Francis Medical Center – Berkeley) to an Ambulatory Surgery Center to be located in the MOB at Carnes Crossroads.

“Roper St. Francis has a proud and long-standing tradition of providing for the healthcare needs of Berkeley County,” said Dunlap. “I believe people living and working in Berkeley County deserve a hospital and I’d like for it to be a Roper St. Francis facility.”

Roper first opened its diagnostic center in Moncks Corner in June 1991 and an expanded Berkeley Medical Center at Stony Landing Road the following spring. Today, the Berkeley Center offers 24-hour Emergency Care, professional laboratory and imaging services, physical therapy, outpatient infusion therapy for cancer patients, and an adjacent Medical Office Building housing both primary care and specialty physicians.

In 1996, Roper opened its Goose Creek Medical Center on St. James Avenue. It offers diagnostic lab and imaging services as well as primary care and specialty physicians.

For more information, please call Roper St. Francis at (843) 402-CARE (2273) or visit: http://www.rsfh.com

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The Roper St. Francis Healthcare Mission:

Healing All People with Compassion, Faith and Excellence.