Coming Soon . . . a Hospital Near You!

It used to be that one had to drive downtown for a lot of things – a fine meal, a concert, an x-ray, but as the metropolitan nature of Charleston has shifted from a tight peninsular focus the "cluster effect" has restaurants, performance venues and hospitals springing up wherever people live from North Charleston to Mount Pleasant, West Ashley, Daniel Island, Summerville and beyond. The great thing about this trend is that it not only preserves the character of the downtown area, but makes life more convenient for residents across the Lowcountry!

"Last year, Trident Health System purchased 20 acres near the Cane Bay High School in the epicenter of three planned neighborhoods in Berkeley County, Cane Bay, Parks of Berkeley and Carnes Crossroads. It plans to build a medical complex near the Summerville and Goose Creek communities that offers convenient services to the immediate area.

In mid-September, Roper St. Francis Healthcare purchased 66 acres just a few miles away.
With plans to build a similar office complex near the intersection of U.S. Highway 17A and U.S. Highway 176, it is the first business to solidify a proposal to move into the neighborhood now under development by The Daniel Island Co.

'They’re trying to get into our backyard, imagine that,' said Jim Rardin, vice president of development for Hospital Corp. of America, Trident’s parent company, as he discussed hospital growth at Trident’s main campus where he works in North Charleston.

Mark Robinson, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said the recent moves are all about health systems gaining ground where people will be living. 'It’s a lot of jockeying for position,' he said. 'It’s a lot of understanding … what people are doing and where they’re living. That’s why you see Roper buying that land, and you see Trident doing the same thing.'

The Urban Land Institute estimates some 1.1 million new residents will move to South Carolina by the year 2030, and that more than a quarter of those people will find a home in the Charleston region.

With few alternatives inside the landlocked peninsula, it’s only natural that hospital beds would sprawl with the shifting population, away from the downtown medical cluster and into the neighborhoods. Whether they need a dose of penicillin or a CT scan, people are inclined to pick the hospital nearest their home."

For the full Charleston Regional Business Journal article: http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/pub/13_25/news/10956-1.html