MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Conway Medical Center is looking to expand to reach more people in the Socastee community.
Construction crews are clearing out 8.6 acres of land on Highway 707 near the Socastee Library to put a 36,000-square foot medical facility. Conway Medical Center CEO, Bret Barr, said they saw a need in the Socastee community to provide medical care to people who, otherwise, may not have the means to get to the hospital in Conway.
“We’ve had several inquiries from patients in that area about expanding our services locally,” said Barr. “So, we took a thorough look and it made a lot of sense to put a building in the spot.”
The budget for this project is about $12 million, and Barr said building a full hospital would be even more expensive. They decided against that because it keeps costs lower for patients. Some of the services they’re looking to offer include primary care, pediatric care, and urgent care.
Barr also mentioned they are in the process of getting approval to have a surgery center in the facility as well. “That will provide a cheaper, more convenient opportunity for those patients that do need surgery in that community, rather than a typical setting in a hospital.”
The medical facility will be at the intersection of Highway 707 and the 707 Connector, so Barr said to help with traffic, there will be another traffic signal added to that intersection in the future.
He said the goal is to have the medical facility complete by March 2019.