MUSC Health System CEO and Executive Vice President of Health Affairs Dr. Pat Cawley reassured the Town of Kiawah Island and constituents at the Town Council meeting on March 7 that even though construction on the new MUSC Sea Islands Medical Pavilion has halted, they are determined to find a way to bring this important piece of infrastructure to the community.
Since they broke ground in September of 2022, Dr. Cawley admitted that “not a lot has happened.” The reason? Dr. Cawley explained that they ran into an issue with the neighbor of the site who, at this time, is not allowing an egress onto Andell Bluff Road. An egress would be an exit for traffic and emergency vehicles.
The property was planned to have a separate ingress and egress and due to the property being long and narrow, these entrance and exit points had to be in different locations.
The ingress was set to come in off Seabrook Island Road.
Dr. Cawley said that as they work through getting permission from the owner of the neighboring property, they have also started looking at other available sites.
“We know the community is anxious for this medical center and we feel their need for this,” he said.
Dr. Cawley said that in November and December, they began the search for a different piece of property in the same general area for the medical center.
He revealed that they are currently in the process of sizing the site that they have identified, but that they will need 90 days to do so. If in that time, the owner of the property next door to the current site approves the egress, they will go ahead with construction there.
But having a second property gives them options.
“We feel confident in the near future we will be able to go forward with construction on either the new property or the old one,” he said. “It will be whatever is the fastest and easiest to go forward.”
Dr. Cawley said that this whole situation is setting them back about nine to 12 months.
“The need is not going away,” he added. “We are fully committed.”
The functionality will not change, but if they use the new site, the footprint will have to reworked.
The facility will offer 24/7 emergency care, as well as two trauma rooms, a helicopter pad, a medical office building that will provide primary and some specialty care offices, lab and imaging services, cardiology and physical therapy.
The original site was for a 20,000 square foot facility located on Seabrook Island Road near Bohicket Marina. Dr. Cawley said the new site is within the Town of Kiawah Island.
Significant growth is expected in the Johns Island, Seabrook and Kiawah Island communities over the next few years, especially for residents over age 65. Currently, the nearest hospital is 20 miles away.