System News

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Roper St. Francis Healthcare today is announcing an ambitious strategic plan centered on caring for more patients and modernizing technology to better serve future generations.

A focal point of Roper St. Francis Healthcare 2030 is moving Roper Hospital from the Charleston peninsula so patients can more easily access care closer to where they live and work. This new building will be the fourth location for Roper Hospital since it opened downtown in 1856 and will be technologically and structurally upgraded to better withstand natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes and earthquakes.

“Today, I make this promise that whether you live in downtown Charleston or the farthest reaches of Berkeley, Dorchester and Charleston counties, Roper St. Francis Healthcare will be a short drive away to serve your health care needs,” said Dr. Jeffrey DiLisi, Roper St. Francis Healthcare president and CEO, adding that he expects to name a new Roper Hospital location in the coming weeks. “This strategic plan serves as our beacon to making primary and specialty care services more convenient for all of the communities we serve.”

This new strategic plan is a bold roadmap for the next decade for the Lowcountry’s largest healthcare system for adults. It marks a significant milestone since the Medical Society of South Carolina and Bon Secours Mercy Health announced its joint venture to share ownership of Roper St. Francis Healthcare in late 2019.

Roper St. Francis Healthcare is built on five key initiatives:

• Optimize the footprint: In addition to relocating Roper Hospital, Roper St. Francis Healthcare will expand Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital and the services the system’s newest hospital provides to meet the growing community’s demands. Roper St. Francis Healthcare also will acquire land to improve access where large numbers of residents live, such as the purchase this week of the former Miller Cadillac property near the corner of Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and Mathis Ferry Road in Mount Pleasant.


• Modernize technology: Roper St. Francis Healthcare will implement a new electronic medical record, Epic, which will enable patients and medical providers to more easily access records.


• Address the clinical needs of the future: Based on patient needs, Roper St. Francis Healthcare will intentionally expand key health care service lines such as cancer care and orthopaedics.


• Improve sustainability: Roper St. Francis Healthcare will work behind the scenes on finances, talent management and processes to improve operational efficiency, which are the nuts and bolts that make it possible to serve the community.


• Expand population management: Roper St. Francis Healthcare will improve the healthcare experience and reduce costs for employers and large populations of patients, such as those who qualify for Medicare.

“We’re going to accomplish this plan through three key drivers: investing in our teammates, cultivating a culture of engagement and advocating for our interests,” Dr. DiLisi said.

Roper St. Francis Healthcare 2030 comes on the heels of 18 months of significant achievement, including the successful opening of Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital, garnering some of the nation’s most-coveted awards in health care quality and employee engagement, and emerging from three pandemic surges as leaders and healers while still maintaining a strong financial position.

“Our 2030 strategic plan is bold, ambitious and, together, it’s possible,” said Dr. Brian Cuddy, a neurosurgeon and chairman of the Roper St. Francis Healthcare Board of Directors. “It gives us a path forward to better serve our community’s health needs with the compassion and excellence that’s defined our care for the last 165 years.”