Provided

Above is an artist’s rendering of Roper’s proposed hospital at Carnes Crossroads.

Provided

An artist’s rendition of the proposed 50-bed Trident Health System hospital to be located in Moncks Corner.

Two proposed hospitals await state’s go-ahead -

There is potential good news for Berkeley County residents: a new hospital is on the way. Perhaps two.

Representatives from Roper-St. Francis Hospital met with town, county and state officials last week to discuss plans for a proposed 50-bed hospital they want to build at Carnes Crossroads in Goose Creek.  

At the same time, Trident Health Systems has plans to build a 50-bed hospital in Moncks Corner, and presented a similar proposal to area officials.  

The proposed building of the two hospitals has not come without its share of controversy and hard feelings, and depending upon how a Certificate of Need (CON) vote by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control plays out on June 22, it could mean two hospitals for Berkeley County residents, or one hospital, or none at all.

This is where the wicket gets sticky.

Roper-St. Francis plans to build its new 50-bed facility in the Carnes Crossroads area inside the city limits of Goose Creek. Trident Health System’s proposed facility is tentatively slated for construction next door to its ER center on Live Oak Drive in Moncks Corner just 12 miles down Hwy.17A from the proposed Roper facility.

The state’s Certificate of Need decision could fall one of three ways:

1. A ruling in favor of the Roper-St. Francis hospital in Carnes Crossroads and against the Moncks Corner Trident facility;

2. A ruling in favor of the Trident facility and against Roper;

3. A ruling in favor of both Trident and Roper.

Moncks Corner Mayor Bill Peagler is concerned his town and those people living in the extreme rural areas of Berkeley County such as Bonneau, St. Stephen, Cross and Jamestown might be left out in the cold.

“I don’t want to see people dying because of health care,” Peagler said. “My concern is for the people of Moncks Corner and the quality of life we enjoy here. We need a hospital in Moncks Corner.

“If the market can support two hospitals and both be successful, then great, I’m all for it, but what I don’t want to have happen is a decision comes down favoring one over the other and our town be left out of the picture here. If a hospital is going to be built anywhere, it should be built in Moncks Corner.”

Peagler’s concerns lie with the Roper-St. Francis proposed Carnes Crossroads location.

“I say if you’re going to build a hospital that best services the needs of this portion of Berkeley and puts the majority of the county residents within 30 minutes of a hospital as the state would like, it’s only logical that the hospital be built here,” the mayor said.

Peagler added that while the proposed Carnes Crossroads location has a greater potential for population density, 100,000 proposed residents according to Roper-St. Francis figures, given the traffic situation on the two-lane Hwy. 17A those who live in extreme southern Moncks Corner are at least 30 minutes away.

“The Carnes Crossroads location serves no other purpose than those living in the immediate vicinity of the hospital,” he said. “It doesn’t help those people living in Moncks Corner, Bonneau, St. Stephen or Jamestown at all. Again, I’ll say it: I don’t want people dying because of health care.”

Peagler doesn’t want to see any quality of life decline of the medical services already available in Moncks Corner.

“Roper-St. Francis has been a part of Moncks Corner for a very long time,” he said. “We just want to make sure things stay that way after this new hospital opens.”

According to officials from Roper-St. Francis, the hospital has no intentions of closing down its Moncks Corner location.  

“We have no intention of closing our Moncks Corner surgery center,” said Doug Bowling. “Even if both hospitals are approved we will continue to operate our center in Moncks Corner.”

Bowling commented on the different Certificate of Need scenarios that might play out, citing if there is a vote of one hospital over another, it could mean no hospital at all for residents here for the foreseeable future.

“If there is an appeal in this,” he said. “It will prevent Berkeley County from having a hospital for up to 10 years. The plan for building hospitals needs to be sooner rather than later.”

Bowling also added that Roper-St. Francis has no intention of appealing any CON ruling that allows for two hospitals.

“We applaud the addition of two hospitals in the area and strongly feel the market will support them both,” he said.

Bowling said that the slow economy should not deter plans to move forward with providing the area with quality health care services.

“Health care is not that subject to change in the economy,” he said. “Now is the time to design and build new hospitals. Growth will return. We will not be in this recession for long. Now is the time to plan and be in the position for good times to return.”

Bowling cited other South Carolina counties that have equal or less population than Berkeley County but significantly more beds. “Georgetown County has only 60,000 residents,” he said. “They have two hospitals in Georgetown and 255 total beds.

“Lexington County currently has 384 beds and they have almost the exact same population as Berkeley and they just put in a CON to up it to 425 beds.”

Roper-St. Francis purchased 68 acres at Carnes Crossroads two years ago with the intent of building a new facility.

“We had originally intended to add 25 beds to our surgery center in Moncks Corner, but with the greater density of population it made better sense to build a 50-bed facility here,” Bowling said.

Trident Health Systems already had plans on the table for a 50-bed facility of their own in Moncks Corner. According to Bowling, news of the proposed Carnes Crossroads facility put Trident on notice: “They put their CON in for a new hospital. Then we followed with one of our own.”

As for the change in business plan to move to Carnes Crossroads over Moncks Corner Bowling added, “There just weren’t the number of in-patients available to support adding beds to our surgery center.”

Peagler, while optimistic of the addition of two hospitals in the area, doesn’t want his town getting the short end of any stick.

“If they (Roper) were allowed to do that they could adversely affect Trident’s earning potential which in turn will adversely affect their ability to build a hospital in Moncks Corner,” he said.

Goose Creek Mayor Michael Heitzler thinks the two-hospital plan would be a tremendous help to all northern Berkeley County communities.

“In this case the best scenario is to have two hospitals,” Heitzler said. “I feel the market will support two hospitals. This is an opportunity for the people in Cross, St. Stephen and Moncks Corner to take a bold step forward. This is a win/win situation for all concerned.”

Heitzler added, “There’s not a thing wrong with South Carolina having one hospital too many. Just centering the location in Moncks Corner isn’t the solution. You need hospitals in both locations.”

Roper-St. Francis Healthcare CEO David Dunlap reiterated his company’s commitment to providing quality health care to citizens of Berkeley County.

“Roper St. Francis has demonstrated a strong commitment to Berkeley County since opening our Moncks Corner facility there 17 years ago (March 1992).  Our commitment to these communities remains strong, and we will continue to provide outpatient services to people living and working in Moncks Corner and the surrounding communities. That will not change.”

Dunlap added that Berkeley County is one of only five counties in the state that doesn’t have a full service hospital.

“Roper St. Francis wants to change that,” he said.

Officials at Trident Health Systems say they intend to follow through with plans to build a 50-bed hospital in Moncks Corner and would appeal a CON ruling recommending the construction of two hospitals.

Todd Gallati, CEO of Trident Health Systems maintained that their plans for a Moncks Corner hospital is consistent with their plan of progression and not any reaction to competition.

“As a business we welcome competition,” he said. “What we want to do in Berkeley County is consistent with the plan of progression we utilized in Dorchester County with the Summerville Medical Center.”

Gallati questions if a two-hospital outcome is in the best interest of Berkeley County.

“Ideally what you would want to see is one complete-service 150-bed hospital,” he said. “Today people are going to drive right by a 50-bed facility because they want to go where they can get all the health care they need in one hospital.”

Gallati added that the proposed Roper facility in Carnes Crossroads doesn’t meet the criteria of the state’s goal of providing a hospital within 30 minutes of every South Carolina resident.

“If you were to look at this from the state’s health care goal, the Roper proposal doesn’t meet that, as Goose Creek already has a hospital within 30 minutes of all residents. The Trident proposal in Moncks Corner meets the state’s goal.”

Gallati stressed that Trident Health Systems is committed to providing quality health care to Berkeley County.

“At this time we are committed to building a 50-bed facility in Moncks Corner and developing that hospital just like we did the Summerville Medical Center.  This hospital has the potential to become a 150-bed facility but with the two-hospital scenario it will just take more time.”

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