Bluffton, S.C. (WSAV) — In the Lowcountry, a heated competition has unfolded between two major health care providers over a proposed hospital in the Bluffton area.
Last week, Novant Health announced plans to build a $320 million community hospital in Bluffton, a project that has now sparked opposition from Beaufort Memorial Hospital and its affiliate, South of Broad Healthcare.
Beaufort Memorial called for a public hearing with the South Carolina Department of Public Health to challenge Novant’s plans for the new hospital.
Russell Baxley, president and CEO of Beaufort Memorial, spoke to WSAV about his concerns over the shift in the landscape of health care in the area.
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"Something has changed. What has changed is unclear," Baxley said. "That case was not made as to why in the last seven years, Beaufort Memorial should not have been allowed to build a hospital, but now somebody else should be."
Beaufort Memorial had its own plans for a micro-hospital in 2018, but those plans fell through due to a six-year opposition battle with the previous owners of Hilton Head Hospital and Coastal Carolina, Tenet Health.
Baxley said that Novant opposed their plans back then, a point that president of Novant Health South Carolina Jason Bernd refuted and said that Novant did not own the organization at the time.
"I think both organizations believe and understand that there is a need for additional facilities in the Bluffton area, and so we are supportive of adding new hospital facilities in this area," Bernd said. "We are very excited about that opportunity to work with the communities to grow deeper."
Meanwhile, Beaufort Memorial's original hospital plan has shifted focus. Instead of a traditional hospital, they said that they are now planning a community medical campus which will break ground in February.
This new facility will be located at the intersection of Bluffton Parkway and Buckwalter Parkway, just over a mile from Novant's proposed hospital site, Buckwalter Parkway and Lake Point Drive.
In response to the proximity of Novant Health’s proposed site, Baxley said, "I think imitation is the biggest form of flattery."
As both organizations presented their cases, the South Carolina Department of Public Health is set to make a decision on Novant's proposed hospital by March 22.