Hilton Head Monthly Magazine

Recent developments on services and technology.

With an ever-growing population, it is important that the region’s hospitals and healthcare facilities keep up with the advances in medicine and technology to keep those throughout the Lowcountry safe and healthy.

The region is fortunate to have some of the finest physicians, facilities and treatment options available right here in our community. The following is a brief summary of some of the major advances and updates at the region’s major hospitals.

Hilton Head Regional Healthcare

Hilton Head Regional Healthcare is the network name for the healthcare system that encompasses Hilton Head Hospital, Coastal Carolina Hospital and Bluffton-Okatie Outpatient Center. Tenet Healthcare Corporation acquired Coastal Carolina Hospital, formerly Coastal Carolina Medical Center, July 1, 2007, adding another hospital to its current presence at Hilton Head Hospital, which Tenet also owns.

The Board of Governors representing Hilton Head Regional Medical Center and Coastal Carolina Medical Center requested the creation of a network name for the merged healthcare system. In addition, they recommended name changes for both hospitals.

Tenet Healthcare Corporation, the parent company of Hilton Head Hospital, acquired Coastal Carolina Hospital July 1, 2007. This acquisition was all done at the corporate level, not at a local level. Hilton Head Hospital and Coastal Carolina Hospital are sister hospitals in the Tenet Healthcare system. Hilton Head Regional Healthcare is the network name that encompasses Hilton Head Hospital,  Coastal  Carolina  Hospital,  Bluffton-Okatie Outpatient Center and the primary/urgent care centers. Elizabeth Lamkin has ultimate responsibility for all of these facilities as the president of Hilton Head Regional Healthcare. She also serves as CEO of Hilton Head Hospital. Teresa Urquhart is the CEO of Coastal Carolina Hospital.

Both hospitals have a local board of governors, whose responsibility is to recommend and implement hospital policy, ensure quality patient care, patient safety and performance improvement, and provide for organizational management and planning of the hospital. The hospitals are in the process of changing all the internal and external signage to reflect their new names and identities and eliminate any confusion within the community.

What makes Coastal Carolina Hospital unique is the inpatient rehabilitation hospital, which is an inpatient acute rehabilitation center. When someone goes through a physically debilitating trauma, it affects their whole life as well as the lives of their loved ones. An acute care rehabilitation facility, such as the one at Coastal Carolina Hospital serves as a potential bridge between the patient’s initial hospitalization and a long-term living situation such as the patient’s home or an assisted care facility. The 10-bed acute rehabilitation facility provides specialized care to a variety of patients who suffer as a result of stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain surgery, hip fractures, amputations and neurologic/neuromuscular disorders.

Core services offered at Coastal Carolina Hospital include the emergency room, primary care, orthopedic services and general surgery. Is there any comparison?

The Hilton Head Regional Primary Care Network offers the convenience of neighborhood healthcare backed by the resources of Hilton Head Hospital. Family practice and internal medicine physicians provide flexible office hours to meet family healthcare needs at convenient locations throughout the Hilton Head Island and Bluffton areas.

Hilton Head Regional Healthcare announced the opening of the Breast Health Center this year. It is the only dedicated breast center in Beaufort and Jasper counties and is located at the main Hilton Head Hospital facility.

Hilton Head Regional Healthcare and The Medical University of South Carolina’s Hollings Cancer Center have jointly announced their affiliation for cancer center and treatment. The new alliance extends the Hollings Cancer Center’s research and clinical trials network to Hilton Head Regional Healthcare’s patients throughout the Lowcountry. As a member of the clinical trials network, Hilton Head Regional Healthcare will participate in investigator-initiated trials developed at Hollings Cancer Center and in clinical trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and pharmaceutical companies.