Indian Land’s newest clinic is a sign the area is closer to having a nearby hospital

A new clinic had its ribbon cut Tuesday in Indian Land and is open to treat athletes, mishap patients with broken bones, seniors in need of joint replacements and other medical needs.

The opening also was significant for another reason.

“We are actively trying to grow the services that we provide here in Indian Land, in advance of plans to develop a hospital here ultimately,” said Scott Broome, CEO of the MUSC Health Lancaster Division.

Medical University of South Carolina officials cut ribbon Tuesday morning on an orthopedic and sports medicine clinic at 2021 Bridgemill Drive. Services there will involve walk-in and appointment care from full-time orthopedists, a trained upper extremity specialist, vascular surgeon, neurologist trained in sleep medicine and epilepsy, and other services. It will have digital x-ray, 12 exam rooms and three procedure rooms. The three full-time orthopedists and other specialists could serve 100 patients a day, and grow to serve up to 200 patients.

The new clinic is across U.S. 521, or Charlotte Highway, from a larger medical site planned by MUSC. The hospital group expects to have state approvals soon for a hospital and medical office building.

The medical office should open late next year, followed by the hospital.

“A wide range of surgery like you would expect in a community hospital, of course an emergency department,” Broome said. “We would anticipate that we’d see 50 to 70 patients per day there. And then a number of specialists working in and around the hospital in a wide range of specialties.”

The top driver making the case for a new hospital, Broome said, is population.

“Twenty years ago we didn’t even have a grocery store here,” said S.C. Rep. Mike Neese. “And now, if we were a city, we’d be the eighth largest city in the state of South Carolina. That’s a perfect example of the amount of growth we’ve had.”

Indian Land is an unincorporated area of northwest Lancaster County that touches Mecklenburg and Union counties in North Carolina, and York County in South Carolina.

Geography is another key factor.

MUSC has a hospital in Lancaster, and partners with Lancaster and Chester county schools for medical care like sports medicine trainers.

“Most of these orthopedists (at Tuesday’s ribbon cutting) you’ll see on the sidelines of those football games,” said Richard Warren, COO for the MUSC Lancaster division.

However, for the Indian Land panhandle, existing MUSC services aren’t close.

“We want to keep Lancaster County patients in Lancaster County,” Broome said. “And right now, if they live in the northern part of the county, they don’t have the opportunity to do that. It’s much closer for them to go into Charlotte than it would be for them to go back into Lancaster proper for care.”

Broome said he believes the more local the care, the better. But hospitals must have support. They first need the medical staff and patient base.

“This is one of our first larger scale opportunities to have full-time practitioners, and in this case full-time orthopedists, in this market,” Broome said of the new clinic.

The new clinic isn’t just about a coming hospital. Someone with a broken bone or several other medical needs will find care they need there, now closer than ever for Indian Land. But it also is key to coming medical care.

“This is a big step forward,” Broome said.

Fort Mill had a new hospital open last year, with Piedmont Medical Center — Fort Mill. Fort Mill and Indian Land have been among the highest growth areas in the region and even country in recent decades. Both have medical offices of various sizes, there’s been a freestanding emergency room and numerous other healthcare additions of late.

“Indian Land has seen a lot of business growth, a lot of commercial growth, a lot of rooftop growth,” Broome said. “It’s time for us to have definitive healthcare services here.”