New urgent care facility coming to northern Dorchester County

ST. GEORGE, S.C. (WCBD) – Residents in northern Dorchester County will soon have another option when it comes to medical care.

The county is planning to turn a building that used to be a women’s detention center will become an urgent care facility.

“The healthcare that is provided up there is basically by sole practitioners who work out of their homes,” said Brian Havir, Asst. Administrator, Community Services.

Some of them are aging, planning retirement, or planning to move to other areas.

“In 2019, Dorchester County updated its strategic plan, we reached out to those folks with a community survey.”

What they found was that most care was only provided Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The new facility at the corner of Railroad and Sears streets will be open later in the evenings and on weekends providing a range of services.

“Bloodwork and labs with diagnostics. Radiology CT scans and an in-house pharmacy. COVID testing and vaccinations. Telemedicine. And also, an area that would be provided for a mobile crisis, unit to come up and provide mental health and behavioral health treatment.”

The 8,200-square-foot building was the women’s jail until around 2020.

“Basically, the way the footprints of the old structure was built the cells. There are eight cells in there. They can be easily adaptive for patient care rooms, and the nurses’ station can be located right out in the open area.”

The $2.5 million cost will be paid for with $1.5 million in American Rescue Act money as well as $1 million the county was recently awarded by the USDA as part of their emergency rural healthcare fund.

Officials hope to have the renovation completed by early 2024.