Positioning an historic site for a Life Plan Community

Health Services District of Kershaw County – Camden, SC

The Client

Health Services District of Kershaw County (“Health Services”) is a not-for-profit corporation originally appointed by the Kershaw County Council (1954) to ensure access to quality healthcare in Kershaw County and to assure continuance of a local hospital.  Health Services recently sold the hospital in Kershaw County to Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and has undertaken initiatives to grow new business lines. Health Services recently purchased a ~68-acre site on Knights Hill Road in Camden, referred to as “Beechwood.” They are building a 132-bed skilled nursing center, called the Karesh Health Center, on a portion of the site, and they considering sponsoring, developing, and managing a Life Plan Community on other portions of the land.

WellPointe’s Services

Health Services engaged WellPointe to assist with four service disciplines:

• Consumer Research

• Development Planning

Discussion Groups (with Purpose)

WellPointe conducted a series of discussion groups (focus groups) with qualified mature consumers in the primary and targeted secondary market areas. The Consumer Research is used to generate, evaluate, and refine ideas, concepts, potential initiatives, and specific elements or features of a potential Life Plan Community. WellPointe’s investment in a discussion group approach to surveying the market offers many benefits. We’re able to educate the market about the potential benefits of a new community, illustrate and test visual samples that will be considered, discuss and test various service line businesses, establish and cultivate relationships with future resident members, and gather formal and informal feedback that will help Health Services further define the vision and scope of their project.

Distinctiveness

Every community is unique, offering special assets that position it for success and potential future growth. The distinctive attributes of a new life plan community in historic Camden, SC, include:

• Proximity to a new state-of-the-art long-term health center

• Pastoral site, with old-growth mature trees and landscaping, adjacent to the Camden Country Club, historic Springdale Hall, and the Springdale Race Course, home to the annual Carolina Cup Races

• Quiet, Low Country, neighborhood living with access to Columbia’s city life only minutes away

• Ability to become a retirement destination option that is steeped in well-preserved history

• Ground-up development, design and construction that incorporates all aspects of holistic wellness

• Leadership whose foundational roots are nurtured by experience and success in healthcare

WellPointe applauds the vision of Health Services District of Kershaw County to look ahead of long-term health needs and consider building a community that meets the needs of maturing adults who want a healthy, active lifestyle now.