Hospitals
Charleston is a medical hub and includes 10 major hospital systems. Charleston has a vibrant medical community which collectively employs approximately 17,000 people and provides more than 2000 beds.
When combined with the total health-care providers in the area, the regions medical industry has nearly 1000 businesses and organizations employing 32,000 people. The center of the regions health-care industry is the Medical University of South Carolina located on 55 acres in downtown Charleston.
Its 6 colleges and patient care facilities provide both education resources and superb health-care facilities to the region.
Roper St. Francis Health Care operates Rop
er hospital, Bon Secours St. Francis hospital, and several emergency and diagnostic satellite facilities. In 2000 their facilities were awarded 24 national patient satisfaction awards.
Roper hospital, located in downtown Charleston, was founded in 1850 as the first community hospital in the Carolinas. Bon Secours St. Francis hospital opened the doors to its new 141 bed state-of-the-art facility in West Ashley and 1996.
This is a system under expansion. There was a recent addition of the 156 bed Ashley River Tower at MUSC and a new state of the art hospital is under construction in the northern side of Mt Pleasant designed to add to the areas extensive medical services community. The first phase of the $123 million hospital, scheduled for completion in 2010, will be a three-story, 60-foot-high, 85-bed facility.