BLUFFTON, S.C. () — As the population of Bluffton has grown, so has the need for quicker access to healthcare.

Beaufort Memorial broke ground on a new facility today; the first steps in helping residents in the area

“It was one of the most often heard topic. Traffic and medical facilities and medical care. We need more. We need more,” said Mayor of Bluffton, Larry Toomer.

There used to be no medical care in Bluffton. Now the $103 million facility with a full-service emergency department, 28 inpatient beds, lab services and a surgery center will sit within a mile of Novant Health Bluffton Medical Center.

“It’s incumbent upon hospitals and health care systems such as Beaufort Memorial, you know, to meet patients where they are,” said President and CEO of Beaufort Memorial Russell Baxley.

Baxley said a large percentage of their patients travel from south of the broad river. That’s around a 30-minute drive to the main location in Beaufort.

It’s around the same travel time for Novant Health’s Medical Center on Hilton Head Island.

“That’s a long drive, especially when you need lifesaving care,” said Baxley. “And so, bringing this new hospital with the state-of-the-art E.R. and all the specialists that people have come to appreciate even more… bringing that right here will turn that 30-minute drive to the emergency room, to a five-minute drive or less.”

The boom in healthcare brings a boom in jobs and money, which will benefit the Town of Bluffton and Beaufort County.

“It will be a huge economic impact in this area with not just 250 jobs directly, but other jobs, too,” said Chair of Beaufort County Council Alice Howard.

Bluffton is now seeing a major medical shift, with this being one of two hospitals soon coming to the area. Baxley said their hopes are to have the building fully completed by the end of next year.

Novant health projects for their Emergency Department and Health Place facilities to be completed by the spring of 2026. The Novant Health Bluffton Medical Center will be located less than half a mile from those new facilities and is projected to open in 2028.