But Roper is looking forward to moving to North Charleston and to having a “modern new hospital on a campus that is not affected by most of the climate problems we have downtown,” Baker said, including flooding.
In that sense, the Charleston Innovation Corridor would have “its most anchored point down here in the current medical district, but it would expand even further,” she said.
Still, Roper supports the kind of “synergistic opportunities” the downtown corridor would provide to MUSC and is proud to provide the land and remain involved with MUSC, Baker said.
“This is really an exciting time for Greater Charleston, both in terms of what MUSC can do with this land and what we can do on the peninsula and in North Charleston,” she said.
Jeff Wilson, President of Trident Health and CEO of Trident Medical Center.
From an outside perspective at Trident Health, President Jeff Wilson said he believes all providers in the Lowcountry need to innovate and expand to meet the increasing demand for services from an ever-growing population.
“I recognize the growth trend that Charleston has been on for many years, and there is an absolute need for expanded access to care and expanded access to new technologies, innovative services and state-of-the-art health care,” Wilson said. “From that standpoint, we are all pursuing this in our own unique ways, and it will be for the benefit of the citizens of the Charleston metropolitan area.”
For its part, Trident Health will begin work this year on two new freestanding emergency departments. One will be located on Johns Island on a site near Maybank Highway, where the health system plans to build a hospital in the future. The other will be in Mount Pleasant on Long Point Road on a 2.8-acre site near Belle Hall Shopping Center. Both are scheduled for completion next year.
Collaboration between health systems can improve care and solve long-standing problems, Baker said.
“Inequalities in care can be reduced and our health care delivery improved overall by innovating across the region,” she said. “And that should not and will not be limited to one geographic area on the map.”
