PMC win might end Fort Mill hospital war

Last week’s ruling by the state Court of Appeals in favor of Piedmont Medical Center might signal that Fort Mill finally will get its own hospital. But those who have followed this marathon legal battle know better than to assume with any real certainty that this decision will be the final word.

Thursday’s decision upholds a 2014 ruling that PMC should be allowed to build the new Fort Mill hospital. But Carolinas HealthCare System, the parent company of Carolinas Medical Center of Charlotte, still has the option of appealing the ruling to the S.C. Supreme Court.

So far, officials with Carolinas HealthCare System – CHS – have not indicated whether an appeal is planned. We hope, though, that the appeals court ruling will conclude the legal process so work can begin on the hospital.

This conflict has lasted more than a decade. Initially, PMC, Carolinas HealthCare and Novant, owner of Charlotte’s Presbyterian Hospital, filed with the state Department of Health and Environmental Control for a certificate of need to build the hospital. DHEC first awarded the certificate to Piedmont in May 2006. That decision was appealed by both CHS and Novant.

DHEC then awarded the certificate to CHS in 2011. Piedmont and Novant appealed that decision to the S.C. Administrative Law Court. Novant dropped its bid, but PMC prevailed with a judge’s decision in 2014 to award it the certificate.

That is the decision the appeals court upheld last week. PMC officials said they were pleased with the ruling and sounded cautiously optimistic that the project soon could get underway.

The widespread response of Fort Mill residents no doubt will be: “It’s about time!”

The decision is crucial to the overall financial health of PMC. As company officials noted, it would have lost millions of dollars in revenue and a highly lucrative patient population if CHS had prevailed.

But if PMC is allowed to proceed with its plan, both PMC and residents could benefit. For the first time, Fort Mill patients would have easy access to a new, $120 million, 100-bed hospital in their own backyard without having to drive to Charlotte, Rock Hill or the CMC facility in Pineville, N.C., for medical care.

PMC also plans to build a free-standing emergency department on Gold Hill Road, which would enhance access to care for residents in the area.

PMC, meanwhile, could take advantage of a new customer base and economy of scale to customize and improve care at both its existing hospital in Rock Hill and in the new one slated to be built at the intersection of S.C. 160 and U.S. 21. That would bolster PMC’s ability to provide comprehensive service throughout York County.

With the right of CHS to appeal, this battle might continue. We suspect, however, that residents and members of the medical community alike are ready to see it end.

We hope, one way or another, that a final resolution comes soon.

This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 6:42 PM with the headline "PMC win might end Fort Mill hospital war."