Horry-Georgetown Technical College partners with Tidelands Health to develop nursing program

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD)-Officials at Tidelands Health in Murrells Inlet are renovating the conference center building and have plans to turn the space into a nursing facility for students at Horry Georgetown Technical College.

According to a recent statistic from the health workforce analysis, South Carolina is on course to have one of the top 10 highest nurse shortages by 2025. With the growing population in Georgetown County, leaders said it’s essential to build that workforce back up.  

“Our high retirement population is retiring and migrating into our area. It is putting an increased need on healthcare, so to help meet that healthcare need, we would like to meet the nursing shortage need, and that’s to provide more nurses that are competent to move into the healthcare area,” said Jo Beck, a professor of Nursing at Horry Georgetown Technical College.

A free two-year program will be taught at the former conference center at Tidelands Health Murrell’s Inlet facility. The program will provide graduates with an associate’s degree in nursing and hire students.

We got to start thinking about the students, getting them updated with whatever skills they need to become excellent caregivers and then build those pipelines so the students are ready to be hired to support all the growth,” said Jeremy Stephens, the executive vice president chief human resource officer with Tidelands Health.

Officials said they hope to have students moved into the renovated facility in Murrells Inlet by the end of October. For more information, please visit

https://www.hgtc.edu/academics/academic-departments/nursing/nursing.html