Roper Hospital Rooftop Helipad
More than 110,000 residents choose Roper St. Francis Healthcare for their emergency care each year. Each minute matters when you are having a heart attack or stroke. Quick access to emergency care can be the difference between life and death. Through philanthropy, a helipad was added to the roof of Roper Hospital, improving access in critical care emergencies, decreasing transport time for rural areas and ensuring better disaster preparedness for the Charleston peninsula. Watch the helipad video to see how donations helped save minutes – even lives – for Lowcountry residents needing critical care.
Mending Hearts in the Roper Hospital Cardiac Wellness & Rehabilitation
In 2012, the Roper St. Francis Foundation was thrilled to announce that the renovation and expansion of the Roper Hospital Cardiac Wellness & Rehabilitation was complete. This important project was funded 100% through the philanthropic efforts of hundreds of donors across the Lowcountry. Thanks to $4 million in support, the new facility is a superior space for post-surgery rehabilitation and preventive healing. A special donor wall was unveiled at the grand opening, the first of its kind for Roper St. Francis Healthcare, to recognize the generosity of the facility's Big Heart donors.
Fighting Cancer at Roper St. Francis Cancer Care
At Roper St. Francis Cancer Care, board certified doctors, nurses and professionals use their clinical expertise, leading technology and compassion to care for cancer patients. Philanthropy plays a significant role in the advancement of cancer care, with millions of dollars in community support. Patients experience the generosity of Foundation donors through capital improvements such as the new Roper St. Francis Cancer Center.
A generous $1 million gift endowed the Donna Fielding Cancer Wellness Institute. The institute ensures 2,000 Roper St. Francis Cancer Care patients benefit from a comprehensive cancer program. Philanthropy also makes a cancer wellness navigator position possible, enhancing our patients’ quality of life through programs ranging from prevention, nutrition and massage to symptom management and palliative care.
A true community hospital
Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s 85-bed Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital opened in November 2010 and features a 24-hour emergency room, home-like labor and delivery suites, inpatient and outpatient surgery, an intensive care unit, helipad and more. Philanthropy to Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital allows us to create a true community hospital with gifts supporting everything from new mothers and babies to the creation of peaceful gardens.
Funding a future of health and hope
The late Dr. Harold S. and Corinne N. Pettit generously gave their time and talents to Roper St. Francis Healthcare throughout their lifetime. The Foundation was grateful to receive a generous $1.3 million gift to establish an endowment to enhance patient care, acquire the latest medical technology and support facility enhancements and improvements at Roper Hospital.
Their endowment represents one of many ways Dr. and Mrs. Pettit supported Roper Hospital. The couple made their first donation to Roper in 1991, and made subsequent gifts to benefit Roper Hospital Imaging, the Roper Heart & Vascular Tower and Roper St. Francis Healthcare nursing scholarships, totaling in excess of $2.3 million. Dr. Pettit served as chief of radiology at Roper Hospital from 1949 to 1983. He was an active member on several boards, including serving 19 years on the board of commissioners for Roper Hospital, and as chairman for eight years. Dr. Pettit, a member of the Medical Society of South Carolina since 1949, served as its president from 1966 to 1968. Mrs. Pettit served on the Roper St. Francis Foundation Board of Directors from 1987 to 1999.
Driving Around Barriers to Care
The Greer Transitions Clinic provides primary and preventive care for unfunded and/or underfunded patients. It also addresses the social determinants of health. One of the major barriers to care for the clinic’s patients is transportation. Thanks to a donation of a brand-new SUV from Hudson Nissan, the Greer Transitions Clinic can now transport more patients and help bring resources to areas in need. The generous gift, nicknamed the "Roper Rogue," allows Greer Transitions Clinic to serve at least 40 percent of their patients, which is about 1,000 people annually. These patients wouldn’t otherwise have good access to healthcare.