Charleston, South Carolina — Roper St. Francis and the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Health have partnered to build a pediatric facility in West Ashley, which officials say fills a critical gap in local treatment.
“This is really the first step in this collaboration,” Dr. John Pastore, Roper St. Francis Pediatric Medical Director, explained.
According to medical officials, the new hospital will fill a pediatric care gap as the Charleston area grows.
“The Charleston metropolitan area continues to grow, as do family sizes, of course, and Shawn Jenkins has grown with it, but the rate of our population growth has outpaced even what Shawn Jenkins can serve,” Dr. Megan Baker, Chief Clinical Officer at Roper St. Francis Healthcare, stated.
Some neighbors reported difficulty traveling downtown for pediatric care, such as parking, flooding, traffic, and childcare.
The new facility will handle low-acuity pediatric diseases that require shorter hospital stays.
“I want to focus on the type of care where patients will be in the hospital for a shorter amount of time and have a lower severity of illness, so things that are easy to manage, such as pediatric mild asthma exacerbations, community-acquired infections and community-acquired pneumonia,” said Pastore.
One of the center’s primary focuses is to maintain family harmony while in therapy.
“Closer to home for many of our patients and keeping families together,” according to Baker.
The children’s wing begins with eight rooms and will eventually expand to 16, including a lab and other inpatient services. The facility features a playroom, which physicians believe youngsters require for recuperation.
“Being hospitalized is a very stressful experience for youngsters. Trying to maintain some sort of normalcy is crucial. Thus, we have pet therapists. We’ll have child life specialists and even a little playing. One of the reasons I chose pediatrics is that children do not develop their disease. “Children want to be children, and this is how we encourage that, which is part of their well-being,” Pastore added.
Officials stated that this marks the beginning of enhanced services. Staff believe that the center will open in early December.
