BEAUFORT MEMORIAL EXPANDS BLUFFTON MEDICAL SERVICES
Area residents invited to June 10 Community Open House
eaufort Memorial Hospital patients no longer have to travel north of the Broad River to have their annual mammogram, bone density scan or ultrasound screening.
The diagnostic testing is now available right here in our own backyard. As part of a major expansion of Beaufort Memorial Bluffton Medical Services, the hospital added the imaging technology to the comprehensive health care services offered at its Westbury Park outpatient center.
The public is invited to tour the new rehabilitation gym and medical facilities at the outpatient center during a community open house being held from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 10. For more information on the open house or Beaufort Memorial Bluffton Medical Services, call 706-8660 or visit www.bmhsc.org.
Opened three years ago adjacent to Wachovia Bank at the intersection of Highway 278 and Buck Island Road, the satellite facility also is equipped to perform a full range of services including basic cardiac testing, x-rays, blood and urine analysis, EKGs, pre-operative assessments, vascular services, diabetes care and community wellness and education.
More than a dozen of the hospital’s top physicians, specializing in neurology, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine and general, vascular and orthopedic surgeries, are currently scheduling appointments one to five days each week at the Bluffton facility, making it more convenient for patients who live in southern Beaufort County to see their doctors.
“Both our patients and doctors were asking us for the ultrasound, DEXA scan and mammograms,” said Laurie Martin, senior director of the center. “With the expansion, we have the space to provide those services.”
Originally located on the first floor of the bank building, the outpatient center tripled in size with the addition of 8,000 square feet on the second floor. The newly renovated space includes a dozen exam rooms, a large waiting area and a 1,500-square-foot rehab center.
The downstairs quarters also were renovated to make room for the diagnostic procedures. Along with mammograms and bone density scans, Bluffton Medical Services now offers ultrasounds of the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, aorta, urinary bladder, spleen, pelvis and thyroid, as well as other areas of the body. Physicians can view the images and check lab results at the hospital, facilitating a quicker response to their patients.
“To sustain an effective practice, doctors need clinical ancillary services at their fingertips,” said Rick Toomey, president and CEO of Beaufort Memorial Hospital. “We are committed to providing the support they require to best serve residents of Bluffton and the surrounding communities.”
The need for comprehensive medical services south of the Broad River has continued to increase over the years as more and more patients from the greater Bluffton area are choosing to be treated by physicians practicing at the hospital.
Affiliated with Duke University Medical Center for heart and cancer care, Beaufort Memorial has become one of the leading health care providers in the region. The 196-bed hospital is ranked among the top 10 percent in the nation for spine and orthopedic surgeries, including joint replacements.
The not-for-profit hospital also operates the Keyserling Cancer Center in Port Royal, featuring a broad range of oncology services, including medical and radiation oncology and the latest in radiation technology.
The dramatic population growth in greater Bluffton prompted the hospital to open the new satellite facility and extend services to areas outside of Beaufort. Residents of southern Beaufort County no longer have to drive to the hospital to take childbirth, breastfeeding and Lamaze classes. The Bluffton outpatient center also offers pre-operative classes for patients preparing to undergo total joint surgery, as well as general pre-operative testing, diabetes care, rehab services and lifestyle management.
Starting this summer, the rehab center will begin offering speech and occupational therapy for children and adults, along with the current schedule of physical therapy treatments.
“We have paid close attention to what our physicians and the community have said they want from us,” Toomey said. “You can expect to see a significant growth of comprehensive care in near future.”
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