New hospital planned

Trident Health System said Friday that it will invest $115 million to build a 50-bed hospital in Moncks Corner, possibly raising the stakes for medical service providers in a rapidly growing part of the region.

The company, which operates its flagship, 296-bed hospital off U.S. Highway 78 in North Charleston, said it plans to build the three-story project next to its existing diagnostic center on Live Oak Drive.

"Now, due to increasing community need as a result of population growth, we plan to follow with construction of a full-service hospital," Trident said in a statement released late Friday afternoon.

An opening date for what's being called Berkeley Medical Center was not given, and the company declined to comment beyond its prepared remarks. Trident said its chief executive officer, Terry Gunn, and other officials were not available to answer questions.

The proposed hospital would provide general acute-care hospital services, which include intensive care and emer-gency care, according to the company, which is part of Nashville-based HCA Inc.

The project is not a done deal. Trident must first go through the state Department of Health and Environmental Control for a certificate of need. State officials review plans for all proposed medical projects to ensure the surrounding communities can support the new services.

The announcement is the latest signal that demand for health care in Berkeley County is heating up as the population expands.

Earlier this year, Trident competitor Roper St. Francis Healthcare, which operates hospitals in downtown Charleston and West Ashley, purchased 64 acres of land in the yet-to-be-built Carnes Crossroads subdivision in Goose Creek.

The site, which is near the intersection of U.S. 176 and U.S. 17A, is large enough to support a full-service hospital. Roper has said it plans to start its development with a two-story medical office building. But it also has agreed to file all the necessary paperwork to build an acute-care hospital on the Carnes Crossroads site before 2016 as part of its land-purchase agreement.

After news of Roper's plans got out, Trident officials voiced their disapproval.

"I'm perplexed that Roper St. Francis, a tax-exempt organization, is targeting their investments in a community we've committed to serve, especially when we continue to hear of unmet health care needs in the downtown Charleston area," Gunn said in a statement at the time of the announcement.

Trident also owns about 20 acres at the nearby Cane Bay subdivision.

It's unclear what effect, if any, Trident's proposed Moncks Corner hospital will have on Roper's plans for the wooded Carnes Crossroads property. Spokeswoman Tricia Crimminger said that company officials hadn't reviewed the Trident project and wanted to reserve comments until after they have done so.

Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postandcourier.com.