After years of informally collaborating on the care of sick children, two of the Lowcountry’s largest health care providers are forming a new pediatric unit inside a hospital in West Ashley to meet a growing need for care.

Roper St. Francis Healthcare System and Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital at Medical University of South Carolina are teaming up to create the new 10,000-square-foot, 16-bed unit at Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital in West Ashley.

It is the first formal collaboration on pediatric care between two health care entities that have nearly 400 years of history between them.

The unit should be open by the end of the year, said Dr. Megan Baker, chief operating officer for Roper St. Francis.

The effort started about two years ago when Roper St. Francis noticed it had a growin

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