FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Carolinas Hospital is expanding its emergency services in Florence with the construction of a new 10,000-square foot emergency room.
Kyle Baxter, the Chief Operating Officer of Carolinas Hospital, says the $11 million project is expected to be complete in April 2019. The focus is catering to people who live in west Florence. He says they began this project more than 2 years ago when they realized 24/7 emergency care was all on the east side of Florence.
Hospital administrators say people who live past Dargan and Irby Streets currently have to drive about 15 to 20 minutes to get emergency care. And those facilities are typically not open at night or on the weekends.
“You basically have to come to the east side of town to an emergency room over here to receive any kind of services at certain times of the day, week and the year. So we feel like this will lift a burden on, not only our emergency room here, but easy access for patients not having to drive as far,” said Baxter.
For people who need immediate medical attention, like heart attack and stroke patients, driving 15 to 20 minutes to the hospital can be the difference between life and death. Hospital personnel say providing 24/7 emergency services will help reduce that driving burden, save lives, and assure that patients and ambulances can get to where they need to be in a timely manner.
“That savings will get people where they need to be quicker. We’ve spoken to a number of folks whether it be in the community or EMS personnel and they agree that this will help alleviate some of the problems with getting folks, not only where they need to be, but where EMS needs to be,” said Baxter. “We want the community over there in timmonsville and west Florence to be confident in the services that we provide there. And that we’re going to get the appropriate treatment started. Hopefully get them out the door and back home so they’re on the road to recovery or get them to the services they need quicker.”
Construction is set to begin in July. The new ER will be built on the corner of Twin Church Road and West Palmetto Street, near the new City of Florence Soccer complex.