Berkeley Independent
The hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 7, 2011, almost a full year from now, and over 18 months removed from the initial Certificate of Need granted by South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control to both hospital systems to build a hospital in Berkeley County.
The court set the date last week.
Given the tone reverberating between the two area health care systems any kind of resolution before the 2011 hearing seems unlikely.
In August 2009, Trident appealed the decision by the department to grant a Certificate of Need to Roper for construction of a 50-bed, acute-care hospital in Berkeley County. Trident contends that the department ignored the State Health Plan and the State Licensure and Certificate of Need Act when it granted the CON.
In addition, Trident asked the court to reverse the department’s finding that Trident and Roper are not competing applicants in the CON process.
Shortly thereafter, in order to protect its own interest in the appeals process, Roper St. Francis filed a similar appeal against DHEC and Trident.
The need for a hospital in Berkeley County is the only thing on which these two health care systems agree.
“One-third of Berkeley County residents must drive more than 30 minutes to reach a hospital,” said Todd Gallati, President and CEO of Trident Health System. “That is why Trident is planning Berkeley Regional Medical Center, a full-service, 50-bed, acute-care hospital to be built in Moncks Corner.
“The facility will increase access and fulfill a need for medical services in the traditionally underserved area of northern Berkeley County.”
Roper St. Francis CEO David Dunlap agrees with Gallati on this point.
“Berkeley County is one of only five counties in the state without a hospital,” Dunlap said. “All counties in South Carolina with a population of 100,000 to 200,000 residents, comparable in size to Berkeley County, population 158,000, have well in excess of 100 hospital beds. In addition, counties with much smaller populations than Berkeley County also have well in excess of 100 hospital beds.”
Roper St. Francis has plans to build a similar 50-bed facility in the Carnes Crossroads community of Goose Creek.
“Roper St. Francis and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control are in complete agreement on this matter,” Dunlap continued. “Berkeley County residents need and deserve two hospitals, ours in Goose Creek and Trident’s in Moncks Corner. Especially now when you consider the tremendous growth that will occur with the recently announced Boeing and Clemson Wind Turbine projects.”
This is where Trident and Roper reach the proverbial fork in the road. Roper believes the market and current economic state can support two hospitals within such close proximity, Trident does not. Just 12 miles of SR17 would separate the two proposed facilities.
“Another issue is financial viability, which is the key to any hospital’s success,” Gallati said. “If both Trident and Roper are allowed to build, both systems will experience massive financial losses that are estimated to exceed $75 million in the first four years of operation. Future and current access to services for area residents will be compromised as a result of the financial strain.”
Dunlap disagrees.
“If communities of equal or smaller size can successfully support 100 beds or more, why can’t Berkeley support two 50-bed projects located at opposite ends of the county, more than 10 miles apart, a distance greater than that separating existing hospitals in the tri-county today?
“Independent financial experts project that within the first three years of operations, our hospital in Berkeley County will be profitable,” Dunlap added.
The hearing date of early 2011 means even more delays in the construction of any hospital to serve Berkeley County’s medical needs. Construction of a hospital will take more than three years once all the legal and administrative issues have been resolved. Given the current timeline, it could be 2015 before any hospital opens its doors to Berkeley County residents.
“We feel strongly that the department made a mistake when it approved CONs for both Trident and Roper, and its decision goes against everything the CON process stands for,” Gallati said. “We hope that the Administrative Law Court will keep the needs of Berkeley County in mind and overturn the decision to approve Roper’s CON application.”
Dunlap expressed disappointment in Trident’s decision to appeal DHEC’s ruling, but realizes cooperation is the key to a speedy resolution.
“We are disappointed in Trident’s decision to appeal DHEC’s decision,” he said. “We had hoped to avoid a long and costly legal battle, which will only delay these much needed projects, perhaps by years. Roper St. Francis is willing to work with Trident to find a way to bring both hospitals to Berkeley County, sooner rather than later.”
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