BLUFFTON — In an interesting twist in the battle between Novant Health and Beaufort Memorial to establish a hospital in this fast-growing area, the state has apparently cleared both to move forward with their plans.
The S.C. Department of Public Health approved Novant's application for a certificate of need (CON), a document that's required before a hospital can be built.
This week, the state agency also approved Beaufort Memorial's application to build a 28-bed acute care Bluffton Community Hospital. Total cost for the project is expected to be less than $10 million.
Novant's plans call for a new 50-bed, 196,500-square-foot facility that is expected to cost $320 million to construct. Novant Health Bluffton Medical Center, as it will be called, could be expanded to 100 beds should demand grow. The Post and Courier previously reported that the facility will be located at the intersection of Buckwalter Parkway and Lake Point Drive.
“The approval of our CON application reaffirms Novant Health’s commitment to bring world-class medical care closer to home,” said Jason Bernd, Novant Health's president of the South Carolina Region in a prepared statement. “This hospital is a long-term investment in Bluffton and the surrounding communities to ensure families have access to high-quality care without having to travel great distances.”
Efforts to bring a hospital to Bluffton go back to at least 2018. At that time, Beaufort Memorial announced a joint venture with the Medical University of South Carolina for a 20-bed acute-care hospital. State officials approved the plan.
Progress ground to a halt, however, when two local hospitals owned by Tenet Health appealed the approval. Those two hospitals were later acquired by Novant Health, which continued the challenge. The appellants questioned the project's financial feasibility and the need for a hospital in the area.
Beaufort Memorial spent the next six years tied up in court before finally withdrawing it's application in September. Two weeks later, Novant Health applied to advance its hospital plans, a move that Beaufort Memorial CEO Russel Baxley called "very frustrating."
Russell Baxley, CEO of Beaufort Memorial Hospital (right), speaks to David House during a public hearing pertaining to the Novant Health's application for a certificate of need held at the Bluffton Library, Jan. 14, 2025. Baxley spoke in opposition to Novant's application, which was approved by state officials on March 21.
A public hearing regarding Novant's application was held in January in a packed conference room in the Bluffton library. During public comments, Baxley spoke about the legal battle between Beaufort Memorial and Novant Health and accused Novant of "weaponizing" the certificate of need process.
After that meeting, Baxley told The Post and Courier that, should Novant's CON application be approved, Beaufort Memorial would challenge it.
In the intervening months, the Beaufort-based hospital system has announced plans for a medical office building on the corner of Bluffton and Buckwalter parkways. The project drew attention from area residents when trees covering the site were removed and the project broke ground earlier this year. The project will include medical offices, an ambulatory surgery center and a freestanding emergency department. It can also accommodate 28 hospital beds, though how the approval of the Novant project will impact those plans is not yet clear.
Additionally, Beaufort Memorial is building a freestanding emergency department on Hilton Head Island, within walking distance of Coligny Beach. It is expected to open in the winter of 2026.
In a press release, Novant touted its investment in workforce housing close to Hilton Head Medical Center, which it owns.
“This hospital will be a game-changer for the Lowcountry, bringing much-needed specialty care to one of South Carolina’s fastest-growing areas,” said Joel Taylor, president of Hilton Head Medical Center. “Not only will Novant Health Bluffton Medical Center transform healthcare access, but it will also drive significant economic growth in the region, creating as many as 1,000 jobs in the Bluffton area over the next five years.”