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 (Photo/Dan McCue) Veternarian Amy Hayek and her son Robert
By Dan McCue
A veterinarian’s dream to create a state-of-the-art equine hospital facility near Interstate 95 has garnered the support of Dorchester County officials who reportedly approved tax incentives for the project while meeting in executive session last week.
Dr. Amy Hayek, of East Coast Equine LLC, said the facility would include a hyperbaric chamber and a heated pool for the treatment of injured equines, a 20-stall hospital and a 40-stall boarding stable.
The county gave the hospital a tax break based on the fact that once the new facility is complete, Hayek would be able to nearly quadruple the facility’s staff, going from five full-time and one part-time employees to 20 full-time employees, she said.
“Most importantly, we’ll be able to offer jobs to young people in a part of the county where employment opportunities are rare, and provide them with training on site,” Hayek said.
Dorchester County Economic Development Director Jim Friar confirmed that the county is helping make Hayek’s plan a reality, but declined to provide details regarding the size of the tax break or even to confirm that such a tax incentive package was discussed by the county council.
“We’ve treated this as a confidential economic development matter and we continue to do so,” he said.
Hyperbaric therapy is considered state-of-the-art in the treatment of bone infections and chronic injuries in horses, and is sometimes used on mares to help facilitate breeding.
“Basically it helps to force more oxygen through the tissues and enhances healing,” Hayek said.
She said she expects the hyperbaric chamber to be operational at East Coast Equine by August.
Hayek decided to undertake the project in recognition of the need for such services in the region, and because she knew she had a great location for it, just a half mile from I-95 at Exit 82, she said.
“So we won’t only be treating and boarding horses from the area; I expect we’ll have many clients who transport their horses up and down the interstate,” Hayek said.
An Iowa native, Hayek has been with East Coast Equine for more than six years.
Aside from the enhanced care the facility will provide to horses in the Lowcountry and the jobs it will provide, the revamped center continues the agricultural tradition of that portion of Dorchester County and may encourage other equine-related businesses to relocate there, Hayek said.
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