Medical University of South Carolina Opens Ashley River Tower

The Medical University of South Carolina opened the 641,000-sf Ashley River Tower in Charleston on February 4, 2008. Designed by NBBJ, the $400-million facility is the first hospital in the nation to meet new seismic and hurricane building codes. Specializing in the treatment of cardiovascular and digestive disease, the 156-bed facility includes 32 ICU beds, nine operating rooms, catheterization and interventional labs, endoscopy and imaging suites, an outpatient clinic, and a dedicated chest pain center. The patient-focused project consists of a four-story diagnosis and treatment building, a seven-story patient tower, and a connecting atrium. The new hospital features private rooms, abundant natural light, an electronic medical records system, a central sterile corridor for staff, and flat screen monitors in operating rooms providing access to patient records during surgery. Flexibility to adapt to future technology in the operating suites is achieved by suspending equipment from ceiling booms and the presence of removable panels at the ends of the building for large equipment transport. The project cost of $400 million includes $275 million for construction and $125 million for equipment, infrastructure, and a power plant. The tower is the first phase of a $1-billion medical campus; the new facility will be expanded in phases over the next few years culminating in the replacement of the existing MUSC Medical Center.