U.S. Navy sailors with Navy Medical Readiness Training Command - Naval Hospital Beaufort host a ceremony at the South Carolina hospital marking its 75th anniversary, April 25, 2024. The hospital hosts a VA clinic that will be replaced by a new $30 million facility in Port Royal, S.C. (Dakota Dodd/U.S. Marine Corps)
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (Tribune News Service) — The Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care System (RHJ HCS) will build a new community-based outpatient clinic in Port Royal, the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet have learned.
The new clinic, expected to cost $30 million and open in 2028, will provide primary care, mental health and specialty care services to thousands of veterans in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina.
The facility will replace the current U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinic located in the Beaufort Naval Hospital, which has faced multiple closures over the years.
The agency had been considering three sites, two in Port Royal and one in Beaufort. Both communities were hopeful the VA would choose spots in their communities for the clinic.
The project reflects the VA’s commitment to expanding access and reducing barriers to care by bringing care closer to veterans’ communities, the VA said.
“We’re investing in facilities that meet veterans’ needs now and well into the future,” Scott Isaacks, Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care System director and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Beaufort’s veterans have been among the most engaged in our health system, and this new clinic represents a major step toward delivering modern, accessible care where it’s needed most.”
The 11-acre parcel is flanked by residential neighborhoods to the west, north and east.
Port Royal Mayor Kevin Phillips called the decision to construct the clinic along Ribaut Road “awesome” and said town officials were “extremely grateful to the VA.”
Phillips noted the clinic will not be an overnight facility, and won’t have ambulatory services. As result, he said, its impact on the surrounding neighborhood will be minimal compared to another type of development.
“This is a better use than another apartment complex or another storage unit,” Phillips said. “It provides a very important service to our community built on veterans. It brings good paying jobs to the community. It provides economic activity for business owners.”
He expects work to begin this summer.
The Charleston-based RHJ HCS is among the fastest-growing health care systems in the VA, ranking third in enrollment growth for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The system has more than $1 billion in recommended capital investments, with $400 million approved to date.
It operates 13 owned and leased sites, including seven community-based outpatient clinics in North Charleston, Port Royal (Naval Hospital Beaufort), Goose Creek, Myrtle Beach, Savannah, Hinesville and Brunswick.
VA will enter a “build-to-suit” lease agreement with a private developer to build the clinic. It will range in size from 48,000 square feet to roughly 70,000 square feet, stand two to three stories tall and have 500 parking spaces. The VA would then lease and operate the facility for 20 years.
Dick Stewart of 303 Associates, which owns the property, said the land will be sold to the developer that will build the clinic for the VA.
“This is a big win for the community and the town of Port Royal and our military community,” said Stewart, noting the clinic will bring enhanced care to the area so veterans don’t have to drive so far to get it.
“It’s huge for our region,” said Warren Parker, who is chairman of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Military Enhancement Committee. “It’s recognition of the significant veteran population we have in Beaufort County and surrounding counties.”
The VA clinic housed in the Naval Hospital, he said, was a stop-gap measure until the clinic could be built “and this will be state-of-the-art.”
Congresswoman Nancy Mace said the Beaufort County Community-Based Outpatient Clinic represents a significant step forward in expanding VA services, ensuring Lowcountry veterans receive world-class care close to home. She said she pushed for the $30.4 million authorization for the clinic in the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
The clinic, Mace added, will be strategically positioned near Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to serve the 16,881 veterans in Beaufort County.
What will happen to the 127-acre Naval Hospital Beaufort complex, where the current local VA clinic services are housed, is a question local residents and officials are asking.
The Beaufort County Economic Development Corp (BCED), Beaufort Area Chamber of Commerce and Beaufort Defense Community Partnership Task Force are hoping the site will be selected for a training base for the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has yet to announce the location of the new facility, which will train up to 15,000 personnel a year.
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