AnMed to open $50M emergency care center in Piedmont

The first wing of AnMed Piedmont will open at 9 a.m. May 12 to provide 24-hour emergency care in the Powdersville area.

The emergency department near Interstate 85 at Exit 35 is part of a campus that ultimately will encompass about 55,000 square feet of space for patient care at the corner of S.C. Highway 86 and Old Williamston Road, at 2110 Highway 86 in Piedmont. Officials for the Anderson-based health care system say the new hospital was meticulously designed to optimize care, minimize time and maximize the latest technology, with laboratory and imaging services on site.

Substations to provide local bases of operations for EMS and law enforcement are on schedule to open on the campus in July, which will further expedite emergency response, AnMed said in a news release.

“Piedmont is growing — our entire region is growing — and we’re called to serve the needs of our community,” AnMed CEO William Kenley said in the news release. “For too long residents have had to travel for the care they need. This health care campus plants services where they’re needed, with highly skilled and expertly trained physicians who are part of this community.”

Medical office space at AnMed Piedmont is on schedule to open July 14, with family medicine, pediatrics, physical therapy, orthopedics and sports medicine, and other specialty practices in operation.

“All members of the team and all facets of this campus will deliver exceptional care and help prepare the Upstate for the challenges of tomorrow — for this is not just AnMed’s accomplishment,” Kenley said in the release. “This is a shared milestone, a collaborative achievement and a reflection of the values that define our surrounding communities and South Carolina.”

The campus represents an investment of more than $50 million, made possible by funding from the independent, not-for-profit AnMed health system as well as local, state and federal support, according to the release.

“In an emergency, every moment matters, and having this state-of-the-art emergency department right off I-85 in Piedmont is going save precious time when it matters most,” Dr. Brad Mock, chief medical officer at AnMed, said in the release. “This emergency department and this entire campus now offers services in the local community to families, businesses and people just passing through. It’s a valuable addition to the Upstate that we’re delighted to have been able to bring.”

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham attended a preview event for the hospital.

“When I received a request from AnMed to help with the new emergency department, it made perfect sense to me,” Graham said in the release. “This state-of-the-art and full-service facility in Piedmont will improve access to much-needed health care in an underserved part of the I-85 corridor, including Anderson, Greenville and Pickens counties. I appreciate all the hard work that went into making this a reality, and I’m glad to have been a partner in this effort.

“As a doctor said, somebody will be alive tomorrow because of what we did today,” Graham said in the release. “This is one of the best places in the world to raise a family and start a business, and we’re going to keep it that way.”

The Piedmont campus will create 64 high-paying jobs by the time the medical offices open in July, according to AnMed.

Related: Anderson hospital enters partnership to deliver urgent care services to Upstate

Related: Community health care center opens new location in Anderson

“This is a wonderful thing for Anderson County as well as our neighbors in Greenville and Pickens counties,” Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns said in the release. “This service to public health and safety is literally life changing for people throughout this area. We’re proud to see it open.”

A free community event to celebrate and provide tours will be held 9-11 a.m. May 10. Food trucks, a Teddy Bear Clinic where children learn about health care, Safe Kids car-seat checks, mobile mammography services, visits with first responders and more are planned.

Information on services, providers and the opening of medical offices at AnMed Piedmont can be found at go.AnMed.org/Piedmont.

Founded in 1908, AnMed is an independent, not-for-profit health system serving the and northeast Georgia. It is licensed for 648 beds and anchored by AnMed Medical Center, a 495-bed acute-care hospital. The system has 620 physicians on medical staff and about 3,600 employees.