Work begins on Hilton Head’s first hybrid emergency and urgent care center. Here’s the timeline
A new kind of health care facility is one step closer to opening on the island – one designed to meet patients’ needs for both emergency and urgent care, all under one roof.
Demolition at the long vacant Goodwill location at 1016 William Hilton Parkway began Oct. 27, making room for the future site of Beaufort Memorial’s Emergency & Urgent Care, a joint project between Beaufort Memorial Hospital, the Medical University of South Carolina and Intuitive Health.
With construction slated to begin in the next few weeks and a projected 12 to 14-month build timeline, the emergency and urgent care center is expected to open its doors in fall 2026. Once complete, the facility will offer island residents and visitors a much-needed option for immediate care.
A new model of care
Scheduled to open in fall 2026, Beaufort Memorial says the $20 million emergency and urgent care center will be open 24/7 and staffed by board-certified, emergency-trained physicians and nurses. It will feature on-site lab services like imaging and radiology, including CT, X-ray, ultrasound, and EKG capabilities.
The facility is set to include:
- 1 triage room
- 5 emergency exam rooms
- 5 urgent care exam rooms
- 1 trauma room
How it works
The hybrid center will not serve as a standalone hospital or admit patients overnight, but will offer both emergency and walk-in urgent care services.
It has the walk-in convenience of other urgent cares, where folks won’t need to make an appointment and will have the medical expertise of a traditional hospital emergency room.
If a patient does require hospital admission, staff will coordinate transport to the nearest appropriate facility.
Beaufort Memorial states that this facility is intended to keep health care costs at the “appropriate level” for patients, meaning that the bill is intended to match the service they receive.
Design with the island in mind
Before being given the green light to break ground, Beaufort Memorial had to revisit the building’s design earlier this year to ensure it aligned with Hilton Head’s unique aesthetic standards.
The design shifted from a modern glass structure to one featuring neutral tones and materials that reflect the “Island Character” guidelines.
The property, once home to a Goodwill store, was purchased by Beaufort Memorial in fall 2024.
Part of a growing health care landscape
This new urgent care facility on Hilton Head is just a small part of the expanding access to health care happening on the south side of Beaufort County.
Two other hospitals are also on the way to southern Beaufort County, just across the bridge in Bluffton:
Novant Health plans to open a 50-bed hospital in 2028. It’s intended to bring specialty care to the area, including surgical, emergency and trauma services, intensive care, labor and delivery, cardiology, neurology, and orthopedics. It will be located at Buckwalter Parkway and Lake Point Drive.
Beaufort Memorial is also building a Bluffton Community Hospital. The 28-bed acute care facility will be located at the corner of Innovation Drive and Bluffton and Buckwalter parkways.
About the partners
Founded in 2008, Intuitive Health is a Texas-based medical group that developed the two-tiered facility model. The group partners with health systems across the U.S. to build and operate combined emergency and urgent care facilities that help better treat and bill patients.
Intuitive Health has combination facilities in nine other states and is currently working with MUSC Health to add other facilities across South Carolina.
According to Beaufort Memorial, this new hybrid location in Hilton Head will be one of the first of its kind in the Palmetto State.
