FORT MILL, S.C. — As the area continues to grow, Piedmont Medical Center is expanding its services in Fort Mill to keep up with the need.
The hospital’s women’s center recently moved north from Rock Hill to an area with more growing families. One family says the care they received at the new NICU changed their lives.
For Jessica Ellerbe, the journey to becoming a mom was far from easy.
“It was traumatic to say the least,” she told Channel 9’s Miana Massey. “Everything that could go wrong with my labor absolutely went wrong.”
After eight years of IVF, her miracle baby, Lenox, was born prematurely at just 28 weeks.
“She spent almost three months in the NICU,” she said. “It was a long journey.”
Piedmont Medical Center’s CEO Chris Mitchell said the hospital is now expanding their level of care for all families.
“Having a baby is both stressful and exciting, so you want to make it as easy as possible for them to be able to come into the facility and get the care they need,” he said.
The hospital is centralizing and expanding its women’s services in Fort Mill, a move that comes as the area continues to grow rapidly.
“When we took a step back and looked at the demographics of the community and where the birthing-age mothers were and what communities were growing, it was obvious that they needed advanced care here,” Mitchell added.
The new level-three NICU opened Tuesday. It’s designed to care for babies born prematurely or with serious medical conditions. Mitchell says the labor and delivery unit, the postpartum unit and the NICU are all conveniently located in one place.
Ellerbe and her family say the new facility is impressive, but it’s the people inside who make the biggest difference.
“The people of Fort Mill, they are going to be incredibly lucky to have them,” she said.
Hospital leaders say this change is just one of many designed to expand access as more families move to the area.