Behavioral health center breaks ground on new expansion in Conway

CONWAY, S.C. (WMBF) - Thursday marked a special occasion for Shoreline Behavioral Health- its 50th anniversary and the groundbreaking for its new expansion, which has been seven years in the making.

In the 50 years it’s been operating, the organization has grown tremendously.

“Back in 2012, we had maybe ten people with opioid use disorder in our system,” said Shoreline Executive Director John Coffin. “We now have over 400 patients in medication-assisted treatment.”

And, with that growth has come the need for more employees.

“I want to say Shoreline went from 30 employees to about 70 employees over the last 7 or 8 years that I’ve seen,” said board member Mark Singleton.

The new facility will help to expand some of the medical and outreach services the organization provides.

“That expansion into medical services has created both a space crunch and kind of a design crunch,” said Coffin. “We need a pharmacy, we need exam rooms.”

But, today wasn’t just about the expansion. It was about who the expansion was named for. Theodore Lewis served on the organization’s board for 33 years. He passed away last October.

“This is overwhelming, to say the least,” said Theodore’s wife, Melvina Lewis.

Melvina and several of Theodore’s family members were at Thursday’s groundbreaking. They said the work he did at Shoreline was one of the things he was most passionate about.

“He had a special love for Shoreline and its staff and board members, so it means so much,” said Melvina Lewis.

Now, Shoreline wants to remember that love and give back in Theodore’s honor.

“We have always been in his thoughts, he would be here today if he possibly could,” said Coffin.

Coffin told WMBF News he does not have an exact date for the facility’s opening, but estimates it will be done in a year or a little longer.

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