Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital will expand by 50 beds and overall patient services

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital will become Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s third largest hospital within the next four years.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control approved Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s Certificate of Need request to expand its Berkeley County campus. The new four-story tower will double the beds from 50 to 100 and will add 200,000-square-feet to the current 116,000-square-feet.

Patrick Bosse, the Chief Administrative Officer of Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital, is excited for the expansion.

“This is just an exciting time for Roper St. Francis, and specifically Berkeley Hospital,” Bosse said. “We opened the doors to this hospital two and a half years ago, and when we opened the doors two and a half years ago, we felt small already.”

Due to lack of space, Berkeley could only hold 50 beds. Now, beds have doubled to best care for the community.

“Community asks us all the time, ‘How come you can only build 50 beds?’” Bosse said. “Well, that’s because we went through a ten-year process prior to opening the hospital that only allowed us to have 50 beds. So, when we opened, we already felt a little underbuilt serving the community that we are serving right now. And so, we are extremely fortunate to be given the approval to expand our capacity to finally meet the needs for this growing community.

According to the Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital press release, the state will also allow the hospital to do the following:

• Add 21 patient care bays in the ER for a total of 35.
• Add four new operating rooms for a total of eight.
• Additional CT and MRI machines.
• Expanded pharmacy and lab areas.

The hospital has been undersized due to population growth since it opened on Oct. 4, 2019 and these additions will provide the right space to serve its people.

With the new Certificate of Need approval, construction could begin as early as November 2023 and could open by 2026. The project is expected to cost $193 million.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.