Trident: Hospital Expansion Appeal 'Abandoned'

More than 18 months after S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control approved adding 30 beds to Summerville Medical Center, the project can proceed.

The project was wrapped up in legal tangoing as

Trident Health issued a press release Monday saying the legal appeal has been "abandoned."  

Roper released this statement Monday:

"Roper St. Francis has withdrawn our opposition to the Certificate of Need request for the addition of hospital beds for Summerville Medical Center,” said Doug Bowling, Chief Strategy Officer, Roper St. Francis. “One of the purposes of our opposition was to make sure that Trident would not use it’s Summerville project to block a greatly needed Roper St. Francis Hospital at Carnes Crossroads which they have agreed not to do. It is our most sincere hope that in turn, Trident and its parent company, HCA, will finally acknowledge the need for the hospital we are planning to build in Berkeley County and allow our project to move forward, just as the state and a judge have said it should.”

In November 2010, Summerville Medical applied to DHEC for a Certificate of Need for a $26 million facility expansion to add 30 beds to the existing facility. In September 2011, DHEC approved and recognized the bed expansion, but Roper appealed DHEC’s decision, which delayed the project.  

During the delay process, Summerville Medical Center began to implement an expansion of its pediatric services, including a dedicated pediatric emergency area. The hospital also added more features to complement women and family care, including a renovated nursery area and all private patient rooms.

Last Fall, Summerville Medical added robotic surgery. Eight surgeons now perform robotic-assisted surgery at the facility.