<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=204D4W_1Gp2xpdS00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=204D4W_1Gp2xpdS00" width="900" height="463" ><figcaption>Prisma Health officials break ground with the colors of the prism to launch one of many construction projects across the Upstate and Midlands. (Photo/Prisma Health)</figcaption></figure>​ <ul><li>South Carolina healthcare employment grew 1.8% over the past year.</li><li>Healthcare represents about 11% of the state’s economy.</li><li>Prisma Health, MUSC and Roper St. Francis are expanding facilities.</li><li>South Carolina technical colleges graduate about 1,500 registered nurses annually.</li></ul>“Healthcare has become one of the single most important sources of stability in the current U.S. labor market.” Take it from Joey Von Nessen, research economist at the Darla Moore School of Business: healthcare is booming. Even as U.S. employment growth is around 0%, healthcare’s employment growth is 2.4%, according to Von Nessen. In comparison, South Carolina’s total employment growth in the past year was 1.3% and 1.8% for healthcare.The difference between growth statistics seen nationally and locally is credited to South Carolina’s population growth. The powerhouse that is healthcare constructionAs more people move to the region and require more medical services, there is an added need for not only residential real estate but commercial real estate and new medical facilities. For example, large employers like Prisma Health, which operates primarily in the Upstate and Midlands, recently broke ground on a $180 million medical park in Greenville, and recently hit a total of 31 freestanding urgent care centers that are open seven days a week. The Lowcountry’s MUSC Health has partnered to open the state’s first combined freestanding emergency and urgent care facility and has a third medical facility in the works in Summerville’s Nexton master-planned community.Other healthcare systems like Roper St. Francis have doubled capacity at Berkeley Hospital and are working on a $1.2 billion hospital in North Charleston. Similarly, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare recently acquired 17 urgent care clinics throughout the Carolinas, now operating eight freestanding ERs and 21 urgent care clinics across South Carolina. “In general, hospital systems are responding to market demand, like any other business. Where they are expanding is typically going to be where they are either seeing current growth they are responding to in real time, or they are growing in areas where they expect growth in future years, anticipating demand that they want to be able to meet,” Von Nessen said. Von Nessen said the Southeast is not expected to slow down in population growth anytime soon. The migration pattern is triggering businesses to gear up and reach those needs. Similarly, he said the healthcare industry is expected to grow twice as fast as the rest of the economy both statewide and nationally. When considering artificial intelligence in healthcare roles, Von Nessen said industry personnel are expected to be augmented by AI rather than being replaced. Where is South Carolina healthcare headed?Healthcare in South Carolina represents about 11% of the state’s economy when measured by employment, Von Nessen said. That impact is expected to grow as the population grows, and as the number of older residents grows faster than the national average. The highest demand among the healthcare professions is for nurse practitioners. Von Nessen said the healthcare sector is going to have to get creative with ways to attract new workers, both to the state and specific organizations. “As we look ahead, the medical community is going to have to be looking at ways to recruit workers and that is going to include salaries and that is going to include benefits,” Von Nessen said. “There are a number of ways to offer benefits to workers to increase recruitment.” Not only is the industry recruiting workforce, but it is also producing healthcare workers at a rapid pace. For Lara Hewitt, senior vice president at the South Carolina Hospital Association, one of the biggest missions for SCHA is nursing and overall healthcare workforce. “The cool thing about healthcare is you can enter anywhere and you can grow anywhere from there,” Hewitt said. “We have an individual working with us now who runs all of our emergency preparedness work. He started in the hospital system working in maintenance. He grew himself from there into an engineering background to an emergency preparedness background, and now he is working in a state-level position where he helps facilitate all the hospitals in the state.” Partnering with the South Carolina Technical College System, SCHA works to brainstorm ways to increase the number of graduates in the healthcare space. Of the total graduates, health professionals and related clinical science programs of study make up one-third of total graduates from the S.C. tech colleges, graduating about 1,500 registered nurses annually. “Nursing is always going to be a struggle just because hospitals hire so many more of them. On a magnitude scale, they are the biggest percentage of the workforce,” Hewitt said. State providers are challenged by federal changesMatt Elsey, Prisma Health executive vice president and chief financial officer, said Prisma Health is focused on expanding its ambulatory footprint, especially on outpatient care to alleviate crowded emergency departments. “There is certainly an attractiveness to expand. We set aside capital annually and have a very disciplined approach to this so that not only are we investing in new growth initiatives, but I call it the ‘care and feeding’ of our existing markets,” Elsey said. “We have to keep our current facilities new and fresh. Frankly, there are things that aren’t very sexy with infrastructure that we have to attend to.” Elsey said a bit more is currently going into new facility expansion because of the large population they aim to reach, the Upstate being the primary focal point. He said it is exciting to be a part of enabling that growth and helping the state be an attractive landing point for new businesses and residents. Though Prisma does have facilities in rural counties, Elsey said it is a bit more difficult to attract providers to those areas, and some of the costs to operate in the country are fixed. “Fortunately, we are seeing a lot of the education and lobbying efforts with our state and federal governments to really help support more of the rural hospitals than we have seen historically,” Elsey said. “Although the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was not generally favorable for hospitals, what they did do was set aside a rural health transformation fund that makes some dollars available to those rural hospitals and rural communities.” A recent discussion between Elsey and other hospital representatives in the state revolved around how to mitigate the costs previously supported by the federal government, which the current administration did away with in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. As more people move into an uninsured category, they are still coming to hospital systems like Prisma for services they can’t pay for. This adds a financial burden to providers. Nonetheless, looking forward, Elsey is focused on continuing a productive financial situation for Prisma Health as the state and the company rapidly grow. He said as legislation changes and challenges the healthcare system, he is confident that Prisma will remain stable and provide efficient care. “I think we are set up with a really amazing group of clinicians and caregivers. We are one of the largest medical groups in the Southeast,” Elsey said. “We are going to continue to deal with the headlines and face the challenges.” </div></body>

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South Carolina healthcare employment grew 1.8% over the past year. Healthcare represents about 11% of the state’s economy. Prisma Health, MUSC and Roper St. Francis are expanding facilities. South Carolina technical colleges graduate about 1,500 registered nurses annually. “Healthcare has become one of the single most important sources of...

South Carolina healthcare growth drives jobs and construction

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South Carolina healthcare employment grew 1.8% over the past year. Healthcare represents about 11% of the state’s economy. Prisma Health, MUSC and Roper St

South Carolina healthcare growth drives jobs and construction

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