Charleston’s health care industry provides economic stability throughout the region and the state. As one of the fastest growing sectors in the area, the industry employs an estimated 32,000 people locally. The economic impact of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) alone, the Metro area’s largest non-federal employer, is estimated at $2.3 billion in both direct spending and the effect those dollars have as they move through the economy.

By forming new partnerships and offering innovative services to residents of
the region, the area’s medical community is meeting the challenge of a nationally growing restructuring movement throughout the health care industry.

The Charleston region has more than 2,000 physicians and 10 hospitals that provide the highest level of patient care, with nationally recognized service lines in advanced areas such as neonatal care and organ transplantation.

Area hospitals include Charleston Memorial Hospital, East Cooper Regional Medical Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Administration Medical Center, Roper St. Francis Hospital, Trident Medical Center, Summerville Medical Center, and U.S. Naval Regional Medical Center.

The local medical community is anchored by a complex situated within an eight-block area of peninsular Charleston. The Medical University of South Carolina dominates this medical hub, with a campus and teaching hospital that employ more than 10,000 people and six colleges that educate more than 3,000 physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, and other health care specialists each year.

Nearby, Roper Hospital, the area’s oldest health care facility, was established in 1850 as the first community hospital in the Carolinas. Roper Hospital and Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital are now united and form Roper St. Francis Health Care System, the Lowcountry’s first multi-site health care system.

Also located within the hub are the Ralph H. Johnson V.A. Medical Center and Charleston Memorial Hospital. MEDUCARE, MUSC’s medical transport service, is available around the clock to transport patients who need immediate medical intervention as a result of severe, life-threatening or potentially disabling conditions. Depending on the needs of those patients, MEDUCARE arranges emergency transportation, using its helicopter, fixed wing airplane, or ground ambulance services. It can also make arrangements with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Charleston base in emergency situations where a boat is needed.