‘Minutes matter’: The wait on a new, life-saving Fort Mill facility is almost over.

It won’t be the last new health facility to serve the growing population in and around York County, but a new Fort Mill emergency department will be the next to open its doors.

The Piedmont Medical Center Gold Hill Emergency Department has a ribbon-cutting and open house set for Jan. 16. Nurses arrived Friday for more than a week of preparation before the Jan. 20 official opening.

“This is a full-functioning emergency department, just as you would see in a hospital-based emergency room,” said Josh Crawford, nurse manager. “So we’ll have a full compliment of support services.”

York County has one hospital now — Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill. Piedmont broke ground on the freestanding emergency department almost a year ago with intent to serve the fast-growing Fort Mill and Tega Cay markets. Piedmont also won the right to build a new hospital in Fort Mill last year. The company should break ground on that site later this year.

Also planned is what Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper called a world-class medical facility coming with the planned team headquarters move to Rock Hill. That was announced at a pep rally last year when Tepper talked about the team’s plans. The team partner on that project is Atrium Health. Yet another announcement last year involved a new Indian Land hospital, just outside York County, by the Medical University of South Carolina.

Piedmont’s move into Fort Mill with the new emergency department and the coming hospital is about putting key medical services where the people are.

“Minutes matter,” Crawford said. “Whether that’s having a stroke, heart attack, so on and so forth. Truly those first minutes can be the difference of life and death for some.”

Or, he said, the difference in quality of life well after an emergency event.

“Stroke is a really good example,” Crawford said. “Being able to have early intervention when somebody’s having a stroke can really mean the difference of a high quality of life ultimately or somebody who’s going to have long-term consequences.”

The new emergency room will have round-the-clock staffing by a board certified physician. It will have online check-in. The site will have CT scan, X-ray, ultrasound and other services. Staff members Friday simulated everything from a worker arriving with a broken leg to a mother giving birth, to various pediatric and adult scenarios.

“We can do all the emergency care here,” said Rosalie Hawkins, clinical nurse supervisor who’ll work nights at the new site. “So any time you would go to an emergency room, you can come here.”

For patients needing longer-term care, the site can transfer them to Piedmont in Rock Hill. Hawkins said she believes for many people, the new emergency room will be the most convenient first option.

“This is just a really great facility,” she said. “This is a really big and growing area. I’ve been here for 13 years in Fort Mill. So I’ve worked in Charlotte, I’ve worked in South Carolina. We’re just really excited to serve this whole community and its growing needs.”

The facility will have more than 40 employees.

Crawford said in a perfect world there wouldn’t be emergencies and need for places to treat patients when they happen, but medical response is a critical and valuable service. Putting services where Piedmont is, he said, will make a difference in Fort Mill.

“Really convenient access off of (I-)77, really quick and easy access off of (S.C.) 160 and other roads leading into the Gold Hill Road area,” Crawford said. “Being able to have those emergency services within minutes of an incident or a life-threatening emergency that may come up, it is really an amazing thing to have.”

Location and demographics, though, aren’t the whole story. The main issue is how the facility treats patients once they arrive.

“We’re committed to providing the highest quality of care for the community,” Crawford said.

This story was originally published January 13, 2020 at 5:31 AM.