Marc Bernard, a 10-year resident of and advocate for the community of Indian Land, South Carolina, is happy to see construction underway on the MUSC Health Indian Land Medical Center and Pavilion. “It's great to know that we'll have medical services nearby, and we don't have to drive 30, 40 minutes away.”
He said that will benefit his family, including his wife, their two children and his 85-year-old father. “My dad took a fall in March, and he broke his shoulder. As his mobility is declining and his health is declining, knowing that I have something like this in my backyard is fantastic.”
It will also benefit his community of an estimated 30,000 residents and beyond, Bernard said. A study found that more than 90% of people in the Indian Land area have been going out of state for health care. David Cole, M.D., president of the Medical University of South Carolina, said the new hospital and pavilion will help change that.
“We firmly believe that the best care is local care, and this facility will ensure that families in Indian Land and surrounding communities have access to high-quality care at the right time, close to home, now and for generations to come.”
Indian Land, a suburb of Charlotte, is near the border of North Carolina in Lancaster County. Its name comes from his historical ties to the Catawba and Waxhaw Native American tribes, according to Susan Brinson of the Del Webb Library at Indian Land.
Bernard said it’s a community on the rise. “The amount of time I've been here, we've seen a lot of changes. It started simple with the new movie theater. And it's kind of advanced down U.S. Highway 521, where the MUSC facility will be located. The Costco, Target, all these things are moving in now. Our community is, in general, thriving.”
Experts predict that the Indian Land area will continue to thrive, growing by about 7% over the next five years.
MUSC Health CEO Patrick Cawley, M.D., said the new hospital and medical pavilion will offer care tailored to people’s needs. “Indian Land is one of the fastest growing areas in the region, and this new campus will allow us to offer more services, reduce travel time for patients and deliver the high-quality care people expect from MUSC Health."
That care will take place on a campus that sits at 9280 Charlotte Highway. Its medical pavilion will be a three-story building of about 62,000 square feet, and the hospital will have more than 50 beds for patients.
Their offerings will include:
- An emergency department.
- Cardiology.
- Cancer care.
- OB-GYN.
- Orthopedics.
- General surgery.
- Kidney transplants.
- Physical and occupational therapy.
- Pharmacy.
The medical pavilion is scheduled to open in 2026. The hospital will open the year after that.
Bernard, who works in the field of financial services, said the site will bring more than health care. It’ll also create approximately 500 jobs – and potentially more. “When a hospital moves in, it typically helps support our local businesses. And that's economic growth. There's usually some kind of community support that takes place. I'm very happy with the fact that we'll have advanced care right here.”
Here, in a community he’s grown to love. “The overall feeling I get is it's a very happy community. We take care of one another, and we look out for one another, especially at this time of the year.”
