Could Tax Dollars Be an Option in Funding a New Urgent Care Center?

If you’re looking to build a new urgent care facility, the first question you’re likely to ask is: How are we going to pay for this? Regional Medical Center (RMC) in Orangeburg, SC is looking to its surrounding community for help by way of using tax dollars to construct a new urgent care center. Brenda Williams, RMC’s vice president of strategy and development, says the emergency room is packed with people seeking nonemergent care. RMC reasons that the public will benefit greatly from having a new option besides the ED. As such, RMC wants their help with the cost. The plan, which RMC has begun discussing with the Orangeburg County Council, would necessitate a 1% capital projects sales tax. There is precedent, as the county has taken similar action to pay for a new aquatic center and to pave roads. The Council will ask voters to decide in November. As proposed, the new urgent care center would include nine exam rooms, a lab, ultrasound and radiology/tomography, two nursing stations and office space. RMC predicts 12,000 to 15,000 patients would walk through its doors annually.