Beam in place at new hospital site

Roper St. Francis Healthcare planning to open $143 million Mount Pleasant facility in late 2010

One steel beam in the ground, several hundred to go.

Sullivan

Roper St. Francis Healthcare marked a milestone in the construction of its new Mount Pleasant hospital Monday as workers installed the first vertical steel beam for the $143 million medical facility.

The event followed months of underground sitework at the property off U.S. Highway 17 near Wando High School.

"You can't see what's been done under the surface, but it's a lot," said John Sullivan, chief executive officer of the planned hospital.

During the past six months, workers have driven more than 1,300 pilings into the ground underneath the foundation, he said. They've also installed utility infrastructure such as piping and duct work.

Roper St. Francis said it also is making progress on its administrative quarters. Though the hospital is expected to open in late 2010, the company next fall plans to open a 90,000-square-foot medical office building next door to help attract a base of on-site health care providers.

The project marks Roper's first full-service hospital in the East Cooper market.

Its competitor, Tenet Corp.'s East Cooper Regional Medical Center, also is building a new 140-bed hospital to replace its aging facility near Highway 17 and Bowman Road.

The $153 million medical center is expected to open in early 2010.

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