FORT MILL -- Tenet Healthcare Corp. may have lost the support of state Rep. Ralph Norman but the company picked up an ally in the Town of Fort Mill Monday night.

The town council unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the company's application for a certificate of need from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Tenet, owner of Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill and the Baxter Urgent Care Center, needs DHEC's approval before it can move ahead with a proposed 64-bed hospital at the corner of Hwy. 21 and Hwy. 160 West, but now it faces competition for state approval from at least one other medical group.

"We're obviously very pleased to receive their support," Piedmont Medical Center CEO Charles Miller said.

The council's endorsement came after Councilman Ken Beam made a motion to pass a resolution of support for the company because, he said, Tenet officials told Fort Mill they would ask to be annexed if it gets state permission to build on the 40-acre site.

"It seems we've got two choices now," Beam said. "One company has said they would come into the town and the other one has said they will not ever come into the town."

Mayor Charles Powers said he was told by Hospital Partners of America - the other company competing for a certificate of need to serve Fort Mill Township - it would not seek to be annexed.

Initially, Councilmen Grady Ervin, Ken Starnes and Guynn Savage withheld support for the resolution, which supported Tenet specifically. They said they supported the idea of a hospital in town, but they didn't want to deter other companies from filing similar applications with DHEC.

The unanimous decision came after the other council members agreed to support any other company that wanted to build a hospital in town as well.

Miller said his company was disappointed when Norman, citing reservations about Piedmont's pricing, withdrew his support (Fort MIll Times, Feb. 10). Norman, a former Piedmont Medical Center chairman and board member, said he has always taken issue with the pricing at Piedmont.

However, Miller points out that Norman has not been a board member since 1999.

"Today our pricing is lower than CMC or Richland in Columbia as of the September, 2003 rates, which are the most recent available," Miller said.

He admits the company has had past problems, but said Piedmont is working hard to correct them. Since taking over in 1995, Tenet has invested $120 million into the Piedmont facility.

"We've got a strong track record of reinvesting in this community," Miller said.

The 40-acre site at the corner of Hwy. 21 and Hwy. 160 will offer room to expand as more people move into the area and demand for services goes up. Miller said once completed, the site could eventually house a 250-bed hospital and three 60,000-square-foot medical office buildings.

The initial 64-bed facility is estimated to cost $107 million, and would bring with it 250 jobs, Miller said.

But now Piedmont officially has some competition for the project.

Hospital Partners of America, which manages hospitals in California and Texas, is looking to buy a 20-acre site off of I-77 near Gold Hill Road for its plan.

Hospital Partners of America is proposing a $75 million building with comprehensive diagnostic services, in and outpatient surgery, critical care, labor and delivery, outpatient and emergency services. The plan also calls for the construction of a medical office building, not included in the $75 million estimate.

The company said the hospital will employ between 250-300 people.