Conway Medical Center ready to build $18M emergency department as part of multi-year expansion plan

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Conway Medical Center is planning to open an $18 million freestanding emergency department along the rapidly growing Highway 90 corridor as part of multi-year expansion plan.

“This is probably one of the most important projects we’ve done in quite some time. When we looked at the county and did our due diligence on this, we realized that area of the county is really way underserved for healthcare,” Paul Richardson, CMC’s chief medical officer, said on Wednesday.

The facility, to be located at the intersection of S.C. highways 90 and 22, hinges on a 44-acre rezone allowing for medical uses — which won initial approval at a Tuesday night Horry County Council meeting.

“As Horry County continues to experience rapid growth, we’re committed to ensuring all residents have access to high-quality emergency care,” CMC President and CEO Brian Argo said in a statement. “The new CMC Highway 90 Emergency Department represents our dedication to delivering the best healthcare possible to the community.”

Officials are hoping to open the campus in 2026 and anticipate serving 17,000 patients annually.

Key features include:

• 12 emergency treatment beds
• state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment technologies
• 24/7 care

Richardson said about 45,000 people within the emergency department’s service area are more than 10 minutes away from access to “tip of the spear” care.

“Conway Medical Center’s been here for 96 years taking care of this community, and we’re going to continue to take care of this community, and this is another prime example of that,” he said.

CMC’s announcement comes amid a series of investments made around the region to boost healthcare infrastructure.

Last August, CMC announced a strategic partnership with Novant Health, giving it a 30% minority interest that opens its network of programs and physicians.

In February, CMC donated $1 million to Horry-Georgetown Technical College to support its Nursing and Health Sciences Institute.

CMC’s latest bricks-and-mortar venture comes after abandoning a $161 million hospital along International Drive in Carolina Forest.

That project faced opposition from community members and environmental groups who expressed concerns about noise, controlled burns, and flooding in the area because of the proximity to a nature preserve.

The Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve is a 10,000-acre sanctuary with biodiverse plants and animals that are native to South Carolina. Horry County’s Imagine 2040 plan discourages development near Lewis Ocean Bay to allow prescribed burns and to protect the county from flooding.

The facility would have been the first in South Carolina, and one of only a very few in the world, to be designed from the ground up with a pandemic mode allowing for all patient rooms to function as infectious patient isolation rooms.

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

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