В Спартанберге строят первый в штате Южная Каролина специализированный кардиоваскулярный госпиталь

SPARTANBURG — A new hospital dedicated to heart and vascular health, set to be the first facility of its kind in Upstate South Carolina, is coming to the Spartanburg Medical Center campus. Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System announced its new hospital on Aug. 25, a week after Spartanburg County Council voted unanimously to allow the health system to take out $475 million in bonds. The debt is being taken out by the health system, not the county. The system will invest $325 million into the new Heart and Vascular Hospital, according to a Spartanburg Regional news release. The new 240,000-square-foot facility will be located in front of the existing Heart Center off Serpentine Drive in Spartanburg. “When our Heart Center opened in 1988, it was groundbreaking — and we’re honored to continue that tradition of excellent care in a new, state-of-the-art facility for decades to come,” Dr. Nalin K. Srivastava, medical director of the catheterization lab and structural heart program, said in the news release. Construction will happen in stages, with the aim of having it ready for patients in 2030, officials said. The expansion will mean an additional 90 acute-care beds, 14 coronary care unit beds, 24 catheterization lab pre- and post-procedure beds, diagnostic testing and procedure space — plus an expansion of the Structural Heart Program and a newly renovated state-of-the-art Cardiovascular Recovery unit, the news release said. The project will also include renovations to the Heart Center, according to Dr. Joseph Mobley, chief of cardiovascular operations. That existing facility was only designed to address the community’s growth over 25 years or so, he told The Post and Courier ahead of the announcement. That was almost 40 years ago. The Heart Center is now out of space because of all the growth happening in the area, shifting demographics and the development of a “tremendous” amount of new technology and procedures, Mobley said. In recent years, Spartanburg Regional’s cardiovascular program has expanded with minimally invasive structural heart treatments that are available to more patients and reduce time spent in the hospital, the news release said. Recent investments in advanced surgical technology, like robotic systems, are also evolving the types of care offered at the hospital. With population growth expected to continue, a lot more space is needed, according to Mobley. The new Heart and Vascular Hospital is being built with the next 10 to 15 years in mind, he said, and more discussions may need to happen at that time if growth continues at this pace. “Whether that would be on this campus or whether that would be other places, that’s to be determined,” Mobley said. The facility will also help consolidate heart and vascular services to create a comprehensive cardiovascular service line, according to Mobley. These services all already exist at Spartanburg Regional, he said, they just aren’t under a single vision with the kind of support and coordination expected at the new facility. “Today, patients with complex heart conditions often need multiple visits to access the full range of advanced cardiac care,” Dr. Jason Rousseau, medical director of cardiothoracic surgery, said in the news release. “The new hospital gives us the space and technology to diagnose and treat more patients, and provide comprehensive care in cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery and vascular surgery.” Plus, the addition to the Spartanburg Medical Center will help create a new entryway on that side of the campus. It can get confusing with the multiple smaller entryways into the Heart Center and the Gibbs Cancer Center, Mobley said. The new hospital is only part of a “massive infrastructure investment” in the Spartanburg Medical Center, according to health system officials. Other projects include the construction of a new interior entrance road, additional parking areas and a new power plant to allow for future expansion. In total, bonds approved by the Spartanburg County Council could pay for upwards of 20 different projects across the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, according to documents included with the Aug. 17 meeting agenda. A hospital spokesperson said the remaining funding is for other recent expansion and modernization projects, including the new Union Medical Center and new operating rooms at both Pelham Medical Center and Spartanburg Medical Center. Plus, it will support growth in physician practice locations like those in Woodruff, Duncan, Landrum, Inman and Spartanburg, the spokesperson said.