Charleston — Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital is celebrating 10 years in its current location in the West Ashley area, and an upcoming expansion.
St. Francis has served the health and medical needs of people in the Lowcountry for more than 120 years. The hospital traces its roots and mission back to 1882, when five Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy opened the St. Francis Infirmary in a small woodframe building on the corner of Calhoun Street and Ashley Avenue. It was the first Catholic hospital in South Carolina.
The sisters transferred St. Francis Hospital to the Bon Secours Health System in July of 1989. In 1996 the hospital moved to West Ashley, opening in its new location on December 16.
Known for quality and compassionate patient care, St. Francis is a 144-bed, state of the art, acute care facility. The hospital offers several centers to serve the area’s health care needs, including a spine center, women’s and children’s services and a full-service emergency department.
“What started as a small, community hospital has grown in each service that we offer, and expanded to offer new services,” said Pennie Peralta, RN, vice president of nursing and senior nurse executive.
St. Francis has won numerous national awards for patient, employee, and physician satisfaction. Its inpatient satisfaction scores consistently rank in the top 10 percent in the nation.
St. Francis is positioned in one of the highest growth areas in the Lowcountry, and plans for hospital growth and expansion are in the works.
St. Francis will embark on a 60-bed expansion that will add approximately 40,000 square feet, bringing the total number of beds to 204. The building project includes the addition of a fifth floor to the current patient tower as well as the construction of a second floor to the hospital’s Women’s Center. This project is tentatively scheduled for completion in 2008.
In 2007, St. Francis will break ground for an Outpatient Cancer Center and Meditation Garden.
For more information on St. Francis Hospital, visit www.rsfh.com.