Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health broke ground on an emergency department and medical office building on April 2 in Bluffton, S.C., where the system also plans to build a $320 million hospital.
The Novant Health Bluffton Emergency Department will span 10,000 square feet and feature 10 treatment rooms, including a dedicated trauma room, according to a news release from the system.
The ED will also offer on-site advanced diagnostics — CT scans, X-rays, lab testing — as well as ambulance-ready capabilities for hospital transfers. Board-certified emergency medicine physicians, skilled nurses and support workers will staff the facility.
The 40,000-square-foot Novant Health Bluffton Health Place medical office building will offer primary care, cardiology, gastroenterology (including an outpatient GI center) and a multispecialty ambulatory service center, the system said.
The medical office building will also include space to accommodate future expansion.
Combined, the ED and medical office building will serve as a healthcare hub aimed at expanding access.
“This first Novant Health groundbreaking in South Carolina reaffirms our commitment to bringing world-class healthcare to Bluffton and the surrounding Lowcountry communities,” Jason Bernd, Novant Health senior vice president and president of the South Carolina region, said in the release. “We want residents to receive exceptional care right here at home. This project is a key component of our broader, regional healthcare expansion.”
The project comes as Novant Health also plans to build Novant Health Bluffton Medical Center, a full-service, 50-bed, acute care hospital to be located less than half a mile from the ED and medical office facilities.
The groundbreaking for the hospital is expected in summer or fall 2026. The ED and medical office buildings are slated to open in spring 2026.
