Roper St. Francis Breaks Ground in Mount Pleasant
New Hospital To Open November 2010

Charleston, SC – Roper St. Francis Healthcare broke ground today signaling the start of construction for a 308,000 square foot, $164 million medical campus to include a medical office building (MOB) and a state-of-the-art, 85-bed full service hospital. The campus is situated on 78 acres at the intersection of Highway 17 North and Faison Road in the Carolina Park Development adjacent to Wando High School.

The 90,000 square foot, $21 million MOB, a 3-story brick structure with a curved glass entrance, will house private practice physicians, including both primary care and specialists. It is set to open in the fall of 2009. Physician recruitment is already underway.

The 218,000 square foot, $143 million Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital features a patient-focused “mall” design, ensuring ease of access and navigation inside and out. This 3-story brick construction with arched glass accents will offer multiple entry points to specific service areas, convenient surface parking and exceptionally easy way-finding. It opens to serve its first patients in November 2010.

“This is a historic occasion, “ noted David L. Dunlap, President and CEO for Roper St. Francis Healthcare at the May 15th groundbreaking. “It’s not that often we get the opportunity to build a new hospital. Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant will serve for generations to come in the same time-honored tradition as its sister hospitals, Roper and Bon Secours St. Francis.”

“Roper was founded in 1850 as the first community hospital in the Carolinas. In 1882, St. Francis Infirmary opened its doors as the first Catholic hospital in the state. And while our two hospitals came together to form Roper St. Francis Healthcare only 10 years ago, we represent a historic tradition of caring, a tradition we proudly bring to Mount Pleasant and the surrounding communities East of the Cooper River,” added Dunlap.

The hospital will house a broad array of inpatient and outpatient services including:

• 85 inpatient beds
• 24-hour Emergency Care
• Women’s Services including high tech, comfortable labor and delivery suites
• Inpatient and Outpatient Surgery
• Intensive and Critical Care Units
• Imaging, Laboratory and Pharmacy

“While the bricks and mortar of this hospital campus will be impressive and something we can all take pride in, the buildings will be defined by the spirit of caring that exists within them; the spirit of caring of our people, Roper St. Francis physicians, employees and volunteers,” said John Sullivan, who joined the health system earlier this month and serves as CEO for the new Mount Pleasant Hospital.

Site work is underway and continues through September when the foundation will be laid. Vertical construction begins in the fall.

The campus master plan calls for only half of the 78-acre tract to be developed. The balance of the property will remain green and protected. In a symbolic gesture, officials at the groundbreaking event planted a live oak tree, which will have a permanent home on the campus once completed.

For more information about Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital or to take an animated 3-D tour of the campus, please visit our website at: www.ropersaintfrancis.com/mtpleasant

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The Roper St. Francis Healthcare Mission:

Healing All People with Compassion, Faith and Excellence.