by
John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter | June 14, 2022
Roper St. Francis Healthcare is spending $193 million to add new equipment to and expand Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital campus. (Photo courtesy of Roper St. Francis Healthcare)
Roper St. Francis Healthcare will more than double the size of its Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital campus through a $193 million investment.
With approval from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, the provider will add a four-story tower and add 200,000 square-feet of renovated space. It also will double the hospital bed count to 100 and add 21 new patient ER care bays, four operating rooms, one MR and one CT scanner each.
Roper St. Francis Healthcare is the largest provider in the state’s Lowcountry region and the only private nonprofit healthcare system in Charleston. Its other hospitals include Roper Hospital, Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital, Roper St. Francis and Mount Pleasant Hospital,
according to NBC News 2.
The expansion will make Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital the healthcare system’s third largest hospital and help it keep up with the area’s growing population, said Dr. Jeffrey DiLisi, president and CEO of Roper St. Francis Healthcare, in a statement. “Our hospital’s beds have been full since the day we opened, and we’re thrilled to be able to expand.”
The hospital was already undersized when it opened in October 2019, says DiLisi. The expansion will give it 35 care bays in total; eight operating rooms, two CTs, and two MRs. It also expand its pharmacy and lab areas.
The additions are part of Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s planned upgrades over the next decade. It also will build a new Roper Hospital and provide more healthcare services in highly populated and growing communities.
The state says the expansion will not adversely impact occupancy rates at other existing facilities.
Construction could begin as early as November 2023, with the new hospital additions opening by 2026.