Living Here | Georgetown Memorial Hospital getting a makeover as it looks to the future
Georgetown Memorial Hospital has gained new patient rooms, a cardiac catheterization lab and exterior this year through a $34 million renovation project.
The hospital has undergone renovations over the past few years, rebuilding much of the exterior and replacing necessary infrastructure. The Georgetown Hospital Systems board approved an expanded construction plan in 2013, approving the $34 million budget. The board plans to approve additional phases after the first one wrapped up in September 2014.
Gayle Resetar, chief operating officer, said in early September construction is still mostly on schedule and on budget. Though this, and past, work affects the hospital’s current layout, Resetar says the construction doesn’t affect service. Staff, administrators and construction crews are working together to keep everything running smoothly.
“While constructing the new entrance, we’ve had to maintain a corridor, so there’s kind of half a hallway under construction for a bit,” Resetar said.
The 64-year-old hospital now boasts new exterior windows, two expanded surgical units, bigger patient rooms, a new roof and a new cardiac cath lab.
The facade at the Black River Road entrance was recently completed with a newly paved parking lot. Patients will be located centrally when construction finishes, which makes both outpatient and inpatient services more accessible.
“There’s more outpatients than inpatients,” Resetar said. “We want to think of our facility as more of an outpatient service with hospital beds than a hospital with outpatient beds.”
The exterior’s opening was delayed by a month, due to a busy summer and lack of bed space for patients. The hospital also wanted to time the “the completion of the front exterior with the completion of the interior,” Resetar said.
Each department had a different reason for wanting renovations, but after six decades of service, Resetar said the hospital needed some reinvestment to benefit the community.
“You have to reinvest in your facility, and you have to reinvest in your infrastructure,” Resetar said. “Many of our infrastructure systems were getting close to the end of their life, so it made sense to include that into the renovations.”
Georgetown Memorial Hospital’s next step is to finalize plans for a new surgery unit, Resetar said. The hospital wants to expand the units so surgeons and nurses have as much space as possible.
The hospital’s renovations are the cost-effective solution to an aging building, but Resetar said these little improvements, over time, are equal to rebuilding a whole new facility.
“If you had to start over and build every road and every space, it was just too costly,” Resetar said. “We are basically building a replacement facility, it’s just in the same space and over an extended period of time.”
Follow Claire Byun on Twitter at @Claire_TSN.
Area hospitals
Conway Medical Center
Where | 300 Singleton Ridge Road, Conway
Contact | 843-347-7111
Details | The nonprofit medical center has 210 inpatient beds; a 66-bed long-term care facility, Kingston Nursing Center; a 22-bed sub-acute care facility, Medstar; and a Wellness & Fitness Center. Employing more than 1,400, CMC is one of the county’s largest employers.
What’s new | Conway Medical Center was recognized for achieving outstanding results in five of the six performance domains in the Premier QUEST 2.0 Program, one of only 16 of 335 hospitals nationally to be awarded the “Premier Quest High Value Healthcare” Award.
Grand Strand Regional Medical Center
Where | 809 82nd Parkway, Myrtle Beach
Contact | 843-692-1000, www.grandstrandmed.com
Details | It has 269 beds and is certified as a Level 2 trauma center. It has the only cardiac surgery program in Horry and Georgetown counties and is ranked No. 1 in South Carolina for cardiac surgery by Healthgrades, 2009-2013. The hospital treats nearly 80,000 emergency patients annually.
What’s new | Grand Strand Regional Medical Center has been certified by The Joint Commission as the only advanced primary stroke center in Horry and Georgetown counties. The hospital opened an eight-bed pediatric unit.
South Strand Medical Center
Where | 5050 U.S. 17 Bypass, Myrtle Beach
Contact | 843-839-1000
Details | The South Strand Medical Center, a department of Grand Strand Regional Medical Center, has a 24-hour emergency department with pediatric rooms; radiology, including digital mammography, MRI, CT/PET scanning; laboratory; cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation and an on-campus medical office.
What’s new | Wound Care Center opened in September for the treatment of chronic, non-healing wounds. The center has a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
Loris Healthcare System/Loris Community Hospital
Where | 3655 Mitchell St., Loris
Contact | 843-716-7000
What’s new | McLeod Health now manages both Loris Community Hospital and Seacoast Medical Center. Loris Community Hospital is licensed for 105 inpatient beds. It has more than 120 physicians on active and affiliate medical staff representing over 32 specialties.
Seacoast Medical Center
Where | 4000 S.C. 9 E., Little River
Contact | 843-390-8100
What’s new | A new addition to Seacoast Medical Center has 32 medical and surgical beds, a 10-bed intensive care unit and an eight-bed progressive care unit. It provides 24-hour emergency medical care with 50 inpatient beds. It offers services including general/vascular surgery, orthopedics, occupational and speech therapies, and diabetes management and nutritional counseling.
Georgetown County
Georgetown Hospital System/Georgetown Memorial Hospital
Where | 606 Black River Road, Georgetown
Contact | 843-527-7000, www.georgetownhospitalsystem.org.
Details | It is the largest employer in Georgetown County with more than 1,700 employees. The inpatient facility offers cardiac catheterization, cardiac rehabilitation, diagnostic imaging, emergency services, women and children’s services, inpatient and outpatient surgical services, critical care, community outreach, and educational programs.
Waccamaw Community Hospital
Where | 4070 U.S. 17 Bypass and Riverwood Drive, Murrells Inlet
Contact | 843-652-1000
What’s new | The Waccamaw Medical Park is a new medical office building on the Waccamaw Community Hospital campus in Murrells Inlet. The Waccamaw Community Hospital has 167 inpatient beds and 43 acute inpatient rehabilitation beds. It offers services such as cardiopulmonary treatment, laboratory services, diagnostic imaging, emergency services and critical care.
Brunswick County, N.C.
Brunswick Novant Medical Center
Where | 240 Hospital Drive NE, Bolivia NC
Contact | 910-721-1000; www.brunswick novant.org; www.facebook /brunswickNovant
Details | This medical center opened in 2011 and has 78 all-private patient rooms and five operating rooms. Its services include a 24-hour emergency department, maternity center, surgical services, intensive and progressive care units, and imaging and laboratory services.
Dosher Memorial Hospital
Where | 924N. Howe St., Southport, NC
Contact | 910-457-3800, www.dosher.org
Details | Dosher has a 24-hour emergency department, inpatient and outpatient surgeries and procedures, cardiac rehabilitation, cardiopulmonary/respiratory therapy, diabetes and nutritional education, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, lumphedema management, physical and occupational therapies, speech therapy, and a skilled nursing center. The Dosher Medical Associates hospital-based primary care family practice was recently opened. It accepts everyone including people with Medicare and Medicaid coverage.
This story was originally published September 27, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Living Here | Georgetown Memorial Hospital getting a makeover as it looks to the future."