A new emergency room is now open in Carolina Forest. What you should know.
A new emergency room in Carolina Forest is officially open, offering the growing community closer access to some medical treatments.
In a news release announcing the opening of the freestanding emergency room, Grand Strand Health said the facility will be 11,000 square feet large, or about a quarter of an acre, and contain 11 exam rooms, an on-site laboratory and diagnostic imaging services.
Grand Strand Health said the ER will be staffed by emergency medicine physicians, emergency nurses and support staff who can treat a wide range of ailments, from broken bones to chest pains to infections.
The facility is located at 2101 Oakheart Road, near the intersection of Carolina Forest Boulevard and Highway 501, and near the Publix grocery store. The ER will be open 24 hours per day and seven days per week, Grand Strand Health said.
“We are expanding our scope of services to meet the growing healthcare needs in Carolina Forest and the surrounding communities,” Maggie Fisher, emergency services manager for Grand Strand Health, said in the news release. “Area residents can rest assured knowing our emergency care teams stand ready to safely provide the medical attention they need 24 hours a day, seven days a week, now even closer to home.”
Grand Strand Health’s new ER comes as it and other healthcare providers have battled to expand services in Horry County.
Grand Strand Health, Tidelands Health and McLeod Health are all seeking to build acute-care medical services, but the companies, plus Conway Medical Center, have appealed each others projects before the state Dept. of Health and Environmental Control. In South Carolina, it’s up to DHEC to approve the number of hospital beds — and therefore what hospital projects can be built — in a given area.
Grand Strand Health is seeking to add 59 beds to its South Strand Medical Center and 52 beds to its Grand Strand Medical Center; Tidelands Health is seeking to build a 36-bed hospital in the in the Socastee and Burgess area; and McLeod Health is seeking to build a 48-bed hospital near the intersection of Highway 31 and International Drive.
Conway Medical Center is in the process of seeking approval to build a 50-bed hospital along International Drive, though other health companies have not yet appealed that project at the state level.
