Beaufort Memorial and MUSC Announce Plans to Open Micro Hospital in Bluffton

Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC Health) have announced plans to open a micro hospital that will expand services to the greater Bluffton community. The two organizations will form a joint venture to open the facility adjacent to Beaufort Memorial’s planned 60,000-70,000-square-foot medical campus in Okatie Crossing.

The micro hospital will have an estimated 15 to 25 beds to serve both adult and pediatric patients. The BMH Board of Trustees voted to approve the joint venture in December during its regular meeting. Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., CEO for MUSC Health and vice president for Health Affairs, University, presented the plan to the dual MUSC/MUHA (Medical University Hospital Authority) Board of Trustees during its regular December committee sessions and board meeting.

“Our goal is to provide innovative solutions to improve the accessibility of health care throughout the Lowcountry, supporting our mission to deliver superior health care services to our patients and to improve the health of our community,” said Russell Baxley, MHA, president and CEO of BMH. “Working with MUSC in these efforts affords us the ability to more quickly respond to the community’s growing need for high-quality, specialized services.”

With the joint venture agreement in place, BMH and MUSC teams will work to move the plan forward. This will be the first micro hospital in South Carolina.

“MUSC and Beaufort Memorial Hospital have a long history of working together to extend the highest quality care available to the residents of the Beaufort community,” Patrick J. Cawley, CEO for MUSC Health said. “Establishing a micro-hospital in Bluffton is yet another step toward making top-quality health care even more accessible in locations throughout the state. More and more our patients want to receive care closer to home, family, friends and their communities.”

Micro hospitals are acute care hospitals that meet all federal and state licensing and regulatory requirements. They focus on treating low-acuity patients with a higher level of service, providing ambulatory and emergency services while leaving more complex surgeries and service lines for their associated full-service hospitals. They have fewer beds, usually around eight to 12, and are located near residential areas to provide quick, convenient access to the communities they serve.