Healthcare

Charleston’s health care industry provides economic stability throughout the region and the state. A rapidly growing sector, the local industry employs more than 32,000 people. The economic impact of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) alone, the metro area’s largest non-federal employer, is estimated at more than $2.3 billion in both direct spending and other economic impacts. Three of the region’s largest employers are in the health care industry: MUSC, Roper St. Francis Healthcare, and Trident Health System.

Charleston residents enjoy an excellent level of choice for a wide variety of needs, from preventative and primary care to highly specialized medical services. Choices and a strong regional commitment to medical research have created a thriving health care and wellness community.
Increasingly, patients find appropriate resources that are highly competitive with those found anywhere in the country. More than 2,000 physicians and 10 hospitals provide the highest level of patient care, with nationally recognized service lines in advanced areas such as neonatal care and organ transplantation. Major hospitals and medical facilities include MUSC, Roper St. Francis Healthcare; East Cooper Medical Center; Trident Health System; Naval Health Clinic; Roper St. Francis Healthcare; Trident Medical Center; Summerville Medical Center; and the U.S. Naval Regional Medical Center.

By forming new partnerships and offering innovative services, the medical community is meeting the challenge of a nationally growing restructuring movement throughout the health care industry. Key local entities are increasingly recognized in- and outside the region for the quality of care that they provide.

These trends and local population growth are spurring new developments across the local health care terrain. Key new happenings that are creating more, and more innovative, options for consumers include:

- MUSC has been awarded National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation for the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. The Hollings Center is the state’s only NCI-designated cancer center. NCI-designated centers are the primary source of new discoveries regarding the nature of cancer; and are also the leading providers of new and more effective approaches to prevention, diagnosis and therapy. The designation means expanded access to clinical trials, a significant increase in research dollars, and the continued recruitment of the world’s leading cancer specialists.

- American Heart Association Gold Award Winner––The MUSC Heart & Vascular Center was recently recognized for meeting the highest quality standards for the treatment of stroke, heart attack and congestive heart failure.

- Other MUSC highlights: Additionally, MUSC’s Breast Center Care at Hollings Cancer Center is the area’s only Nationally Accredited Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC). MUSC’s Children’s Hospital has been named one of America’s best children’s hospitals; nationally recognized and ranked by U.S. News & World Report and Child Magazine. And, in 2009, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC “One of America’s Best Hospitals” in seven specialty areas.

- East Cooper Medical Center (ECMC), part of Tenet South Carolina, opened a 130-bed acute care hospital in Mount Pleasant in April. The new Center provides a number of services: 24-hour emergency care, women’s and children’s services, diagnostic imaging, orthopedics, sports medicine, pain care, adult and pediatric rehabilitation services, wound care services and surgical care, including nationally recognized spine surgery and breast reconstruction surgery. An interventional lab is part of the new facility, allowing specialists to perform multiple procedures; as is the new Breast Center that offers a dedicated, fully-digital center with private entrance and designated parking. The helipad outside the Emergency Room doors provides rapid access to the Level II Certified Emergency Department and Advanced Primary Stroke Center. ECMC is accredited by The Joint Commission, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency, and currently holds five gold seals of approval from The Joint Commission. ECMC has been providing health care to the East Cooper area since 1986.

- Roper St. Francis Healthcare will open a new hospital in the fall of this year. The hospital will include 85 inpatient beds, 24-hour emergency room, labor & delivery suites, inpatient and outpatient surgery, intensive care unit, medical-surgical units, imaging, laboratory and pharmacy, helipad, and outpatient services. The campus also includes a medical office building. The new facility will provide a second hospital in the East Cooper area for a growing local population.

In addition to hospitals and other centers, there are numerous numbers and types of top-notch outpatient resources in the region––many more than can be adequately covered in this space. Newcomers to Charleston are assured, however, that the odds are high that they will find highly qualified practitioners and other providers to address the majority of their needs, and that they will find them reasonably close to home or office. Internal medicine; OB/GYN services; sports medicine; mental health; dentistry; geriatric care; pediatric care; home health care––the list of experienced providers found in the area is extensive. At least two local resources are a good initial guide to medical providers, and are searchable: charlestonmedicalsociety.org and sciway.net.

Urgent care is another rapidly growing sector of the health care industry across the U.S. and in Charleston. Urgent care is the medical “middle ground”––not designed to routinely treat the most serious emergencies or to replace primary care. A myriad of market factors have combined in the last few years to promote the growth of urgent care providers, who have responded with new, expanded, and improved facilities. The urgent care facility of today is geared to provide exemplary care, and is changing the old image of urgent care as substandard and not particularly patient-oriented. Patients should not expect a full spectrum of care with urgent care, but providers do handle a variety of ailments and tests, and write prescriptions. Currently, there are at least 18 urgent care facilities across the Tri-County, from Summerville to Johns Island; and the numbers are growing. Another key segment of the local health care community, assisted living and long-term care, is also expanding. Largely due to a growing and aging population, as well as an influx of older residents attracted to the desirable Charleston lifestyle, this category of care offers more options than ever before. Whether a resident needs gracious, unassisted retirement lifestyle or assisted living with the health care continuum built in––or choices in between––there are numerous options in the Tri-County. Close-to- 50 retirement, assisted living, and long-term care communities are to be found throughout the area, each with different opportunities and cost structures. To begin a search for the best options for you or a family member, visit assistedlivinginfo.com, assisted-living-directory.com, or the local directories at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, charlestonchamber.net.