YORK COUNTY, N.C. — York County is about to get its first Atrium Health hospital, and people who grew up in the area say it’s a huge step in the right direction.
Channel 9’s Tina Terry spoke with people in the Fort Mill area who grew up in the area, and they say they haven’t always had an easy time getting the health care they need.
“I was here when nothing was here, pretty much,” said Kiersten Langford.
She’s 22 and remembers when there were no hospitals in Fort Mill. The closest Atrium Health facility was in Pineville, and Fort Mill didn’t get its first hospital until Piedmont Medical Center opened in 2022.
This week, Atrium Health announced plans to venture into York County with a four-story tower hospital. It’ll have 60 bed spaces and 15 emergency bays.
“I actually have Crohn’s [disease] so I’ve been at Atrium my entire life, and I’d like to have it closer so I don’t have to go to Charlotte,” Langford said.
It’s unclear exactly where Atrium will build its facility, but land records show the public hospital authority it operates under also owns several parcels in Fort Mill, including land near Fort Mill Parkway and Tom Hall Street.
That’s an area that some call quite busy.
“You just think about more construction, more traffic, more everything,” said Sylwia Thornton, a neighbor.
“Another hospital is a lot for our small, little town here,” Langford said.
But some say the advantages outweigh the growing pains.
“Emergency health care for me, personally ... I was born and raised in Charlotte, so Atrium is what I trust ... to the point that I have small children, and I’d drive to Charlotte if it was an emergency,” said Juliana Walker.
In a statement, Atrium Health said there’s a need for more access to emergency and high-acuity care here in South Carolina. Atrium says a high percentage of patients at its Pineville hospital travel there from South Carolina.
We’ll keep an eye on developments, including when and where the hospital will open.
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