3 planned hospitals in Horry County delayed by challenges from rival health systems
Three hospitals planned for Horry County — built by Tidelands Health, Grand Strand Health and McLeod Health — could all be delayed by months or longer as each of the companies, as well as Conway Medical Center, appealed the others’ projects before the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
According to the appeals, which MyHorryNews first reported and The Sun News has confirmed, the following projects now face delays:
- McLeod Health’s construction of a $56 million, 48-bed acute care hospital in Carolina Forest, near the intersection of Highway 31 and International Drive, has been appealed by Conway Medical Center, Tidelands Health and Grand Strand Health.
- Tidelands Health’s construction of it’s $79 million, 36-bed acute care hospital near the intersection of Highway 31 and Highway 707, in the Socastee and Burgess area, has been appealed by Conway Medical Center, McLeod health and Grand Strand Health.
- Grand Strand Health’s renovation of its South Strand Medical Center to add 59 acute care beds, four operating rooms and expand the emergency department, at a cost of $146 million, has been appealed by Conway Medical Center, McLeod Health and Tidelands Health.
- Grand Strand Health is also appealing DHEC’s denial of its application to add a new patient bed tower and 52 acute care beds to its Grand Strand Medical Center facility.
The appeals, also known as requests for final review, come as the major medical care providers in Horry County vie to provide the 155 hospital beds the county will need in coming years, according to DHEC’s state health plan. As a way to control healthcare costs and avoid duplicating services, DHEC tightly controls how many and what kind of hospitals are allowed to be built, and must issue what’s called a certificate of need to a hospital before it can move forward with construction.
The certificate of need process, though, has an appeal period meaning that once DHEC awards a certificate, residents, competitors and others can challenge the agency and ask it to reconsider the certificate.
DHEC originally said Horry County will have the 155-hospital beds, and approved the certificates of need for the project earlier this year.
DHEC denied Grand Strand’s application for a new bed tower at the Grand Strand Medical Center facility because it deemed the project not necessary.
The coronavirus pandemic has spotlighted the need for more hospital beds in a rapidly growing county that was already lacking a sufficient number of beds. Tidelands Health is operating at more than 100% capacity during the most recent COVID-19 hospitalization surge, and as of Wednesday, only 42 hospital beds were available across the county, according to DHEC. The recent hospitalization spike has been propelled by unvaccinated COVID-19 patients, local hospitals say.
In addition to concerns about bed capacity, the slate of planned hospitals have also raised more immediate concerns about flooding as Horry County continues to add new residents and buildings.
At a community meeting in April, Socastee residents told Tidelands Health officials that they worried their hospital near Highway 31 could make flooding in their neighborhoods worse. The hospital officials said they’d take steps to ensure stormwater runoff from the property doesn’t enter surrounding properties or neighborhoods.
