HEALTH CARE: Patient Sensitive and High Tech
The growth and progress of area health care along the Grand Strand has been nothing short of phenomenal in the past decade. Area hospitals continue to expand their facilities and add additional services to meet the growing needs of the Grand Strand’s residents and visitors.
GRAND STRAND REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
With 219 beds, Grand Strand Regional is a designated trauma center and has a comprehensive cardiac surgery program. It is the Myrtle Beach area’s oldest and largest hospital and has a medical staff of nearly 300 physicians and over 900 other staff members. The hospital also operates a community resource center, Health Finders, at Coastal Grand mall, where classes and regular health screenings are offered.
 CONWAY HOSPITAL
This non-profit medical center has 160 inpatient beds; a 66-bed long-term care facility, Kingston Nursing Center; a 22-bed sub acute care facility, Medstar; a 38,000 sq. ft. Wellness & Fitness Center; and a primary-care physician office. It is also planning to add 50 more beds and a new three-story patient tower.
SOUTH STRAND AMBULATORY CARE
This facility of Grand Strand Regional Medical Center includes a round-the-clock emergency department, radiology, including mammography, MRI, CT and PET scanning and more. The South Strand Senior
Health Center, primary medical care for adults 50 and older, is also part of the medical office building
LORIS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
A 105-bed acute-care and designated trauma facility, Loris Community Hospital offers a variety of inpatient and outpatient services. There are more than 150 physicians on staff representing over 30 specialties. Services include advanced diagnostic imaging, women’s services, a diagnostic cardiac catheterization lab and more.
SEACOAST MEDICAL CENTER
A subsidiary of the Loris Healthcare System, the center is a more than 100,000 square foot facility providing easily accessible outpatient services and 24-hour emergency care for the communities on the north end of the Grand Strand.
 GEORGETOWN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
This nonprofit hospital contains 131 beds and features cardiac catheterization, cardiac rehabilitation diagnostic imaging, children’s wing, health and fitness center, and a cancer program including educational programs and weekly screening opportunities. The hospital also operates Murrells Inlet Imaging Center, offering outpatient imagine services and a surgical practice -- Coastal Carolina Breast Center -- dedicated to breast health. Other services include Next Step, a wound-healing center offering treatment for non-healing or slow-to-heal wounds.
 WACCAMAW COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
A member of the Georgetown Hospital System, this facility has 83 inpatient beds and 29 acute patient rehabilitation beds, cardiopulmonary treatment, laboratory, diagnostic imaging, intensive care, labor and delivery and a nearby pain management center.
In addition, state-of-the-art comprehensive health care is available at regional-area hospitals such as McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, SC (approx. 75 miles from Myrtle Beach) and the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston (approx. 100 miles from Myrtle Beach.) The Charleston area is home to several other fine hospitals.
The Grand Strand area also features a number of independent medical clinics, area health departments and a mental health center, Waccamaw Center for Mental Health, offering a variety of mental health services and programs.
As the population of the Grand Strand has grown, area hospitals have expanded and branched out to offer their services in locations convenient to the communities and neighborhoods that comprise their patient base. And, it looks as if the growth in the health care industry will continue; as nearly all of the major providers have expansion plans to keep pace with the needs of Grand Strand residents and visitors alike.
The Grand Strand area also has over a dozen nursing and intermediate care facilities, comprising nearly 1,000 beds. In addition, one of the fastest-growing, non-hospital health care services is the assisted-living center facility for senior citizens. No doubt as the population of the Grand Strand ages, assisted-living and transitional care facilities will continue to expand. After all, what better place to spend your later years that the beautiful Grand Strand!
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