State approves two hospitals for county | News | Berkeley Independent

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State approves two hospitals for county

Published Tuesday, June 30, 2009 9:44 AM

By Dan Brown
Berkeley Independent

The Department of Health and Environment Control (DHEC) approved the Certificate of Need (CON) ruling in favor of building two new hospitals in Berkeley County Friday.

Roper St. Francis plans to build a 50-bed facility in the Carnes Crossroads community of Goose Creek and Trident Health Systems looks to build a similar 50-bed hospital in Moncks Corner.

Local officials took the news with cautious optimism.

“I’m excited that Moncks Corner has been approved for a hospital,” said Moncks Corner Mayor Bill Peagler. “My primary need is for the people of Moncks Corner and northern Berkeley County. They have gone without for far too long.”

State representative Joe Jefferson said the approval of two hospitals is good news.

“The people of north Berkeley County will welcome this good news,” Jefferson said. “We need a hospital out here and we’re excited that a hospital in Moncks Corner has been approved.”

Executives at Roper St. Francis applauded the CON ruling for two hospitals.

“It’s an exciting day for people living and working in Berkeley County,” said David L. Dunlap, President and CEO for Roper St. Francis. “After more than 30 years without a hospital, Berkeley County will now have two hospitals that are perfectly positioned to serve the health care needs at both the southern and northern ends of the county.”

Roper St. Francis plans to move forward with the implementation of construction plans in the Carnes Crossroads area.

“We will be firming up our timetable for developing and building our new Berkeley Hospital over the next few weeks,” said Doug Bowling, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Roper St. Francis.

Officials with Trident Health Systems have indicated they would appeal a CON ruling favoring the construction of two facilities. In a released statement, Trident officals said they were “stunned” and “disappointed” by the ruling.

“I hope Trident will go forward with their hospital here,” Peagler said. “It will benefit so many people not just with improved healthcare but with the creation more than 250 new jobs in Moncks Corner. The spin off businesses that will come of this will also be a big benefit to the area.”

Jefferson agrees that Berkeley County can support two hospitals.

“I assured Trident that there are enough people to support both hospitals,” he said. “We certainly have enough people to accommodate both hospitals. The lack of a hospital here is inhibiting growth in this part of the county. We feel there are more than enough citizens to accommodate both hospitals.”

Mike Holcombe, Senior Vice President and Regional Executive with Farmers and Merchants Bank in Moncks Corner, hopes cooler heads will prevail so construction can move forward.

“Even if we started construction today, it will take three years before these hospitals will open,” he said. “Significant growth will have occurred in both places by then. Taking the stance to delay the building of a hospital through the appeals process is a mistake. I feel there are more than enough people in northern Berkeley County to support two hospitals.”

Holcombe added that hospital officials need to take into consideration the long-term growth projected for Berkeley County and that any lengthy appeal will be a detriment to the area.

“A long, drawn out appeal will simply delay the process for all of us,” he said. “We need new hospitals now, not 10 years from now.

“Here’s an opportunity for the area to move forward,” Jefferson said.

Trident ‘stunned’ by CON ruling

In a released statement, Trident Health Systems officials said they were “stunned by the news that the South Carolina Department of Health and Environment Control awarded Certificates of Need to both Trident and Roper Hospital.”

Trident Health System “believes that it submitted a superior application and was the only application that qualified for approval,” the release continued. “Trident proposed to continue its more than 35-year commitment to Berkeley County by building a hospital in Moncks Corner so that all residents would be adequately served and travel time for residents, especially those living in the northern part of the county, would be significantly decreased.

“The centrally located BRMC will enable critically needed care to be provided faster, reduce travel time for patients and their family members and in the most extreme circumstances, save lives.”

Trident CEO Todd Gallati said that two hospitals was one too many.

“The Certificate of Need process has many facets, but one of the most important is to provide quality care to residents in a timely and fair manner,” Gallati said. “While quickly adding two hospitals to Berkeley County will always sound like a good idea at first, DHEC failed to acknowledge the reality that allowing both hospitals to be built will undermine any chance of either of them becoming financially viable in the near future.

“As a result of DHEC’s decisions, all Berkeley County residents will suffer in the long run. We are disappointed and believe the State Health Plan and CON laws were not followed in this case.”

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