New hospital ready for patients in NE Horry County

LITTLE RIVER, SC (WMBF) - Seacoast Medical Center in Little River will be ready to admit its first patient on Monday. Previously, the center only provided out-patient services like same-day surgery and therapy.

In January 2009, construction began on an expansion to add patient beds so Seacoast could accommodate in-patient services for overnight and more long-term patients.

"We've been working for many years on bringing beds to Seacoast Medical Center," explained Loris Healthcare System Marketing Director Celeste Bondurant-Bell.

Seacoast, which opened in 2001, is part of the Loris Healthcare System. While some have thought of it as a hospital Bondurant-Bell said it really was not. Adding the ability to admit patients for extended stays means Seacoast now qualifies as a hospital.

Since opening, if a doctor like Ray Holt needed to admit a patient for a hospital stay that patient had to go to Loris Community Hospital or another hospital in Myrtle Beach, Conway or even across the state line in Brunswick County.

"We can get you right into the hospital now, right next door in the area here rather than having to take an ambulance ride," Holt said.

The same has been true for people who came to the emergency room at Seacoast. Doctors could provide immediate care, but patients would be taken to Loris or elsewhere if they needed to stay in the hospital.

"In 2010, I believe we transferred about 900 patients to Loris Community Hospital from Seacoast to be hospitalized," Bondurant-Bell said.

"We see a significant number of residents from North Myrtle Beach, Little River, Longs and across the state line from Calabash and Shallotte areas. Now they can actually stay a little closer to family and friends."

Holt agreed that having a hospital in the area will be a benefit to families in the community also.

"If you have family in this area that has to travel a half hour to get to see their loved one, now they can just pop in whenever they want," Holt said.

With the 50 new patient beds comes all the spaces one would expect in a hospital, including a cafeteria.

From stocking shelves to drills in the intensive care unit, employees have spent the past several days making sure everything is ready for Monday.

The expansion created about 100 new jobs, all so people from northeastern Horry County do not have to go so far to get the care they need.

"North Strand residents can now stay in their local community should they need any hospitalization," Bondurant-Bell said.

Many of the doctors such as Holt who were in the original Seacoast building have now moved to a new building next door. That will allow Seacoast to expand the hospital space even more.

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