A South Carolina administrative law judge has ruled Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, S.C., is the best applicant for the required certificate of need to build a hospital in Fort Mill, S.C, according to a Charlotte Observer report.
The battle over which hospital or system would be permitted to build a hospital in Fort Mill has went on for 10 years, according to the report.
PMC was first chosen to be issued the required certificate of need to build the hospital in May 2006; however, that decision was appealed. Subsequently, the Department of Health and Environmental Control awarded the certificate of need to Charlotte, N.C.-based Carolinas HealthCare System in 2011, and PMC appealed to the South Carolina Administrative Law Court.
In March, an administrative law judge chose PMC, and continuing the back-and-forth conflict, Carolinas HealthCare appealed that decision. The judge has now affirmed his decision by choosing PMC as the best qualified applicant for the certificate of need on appeal. Several factors led the judge to choose PMC, including the hospital's commitment to YorkCounty, according to the report.
PMC's CEO Bill Masterton was happy with the judge's decision and said PMC will begin updating its plans for the FortMill hospital, which is anticipated to open in the first quarter of 2018, according to the report.
Carolinas HealthCare did not show the same excitement over the decision. According to a statement released by the system after the ruling, Carolinas HealthCare is considering what its "next steps" should be. The system still has the option of appealing the administrative law judge's decision to the South Carolina Court of Appeals.
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