FORT MILL TOWNSHIP -- Local healthcare professionals seem mostly neutral when asked if they have a preference for any of the four competitors vying for the right to build a 64-bed hospital in northern York County.

However, most say they are glad the state Department of Health and Environmental Control opened the process to competitive bids.

Tenet Healthcare, parent of Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, was the first to file an application. Friday, Presbyterian Healthcare, part of Novant Health, Charlotte-based Hospital Partners and Carolinas HealthCare System all followed suit. All but Carolinas HealthCare intend to build in the townshi. CHS named a site in Rock Hill.

"Competition is always good whether it is in fast food or the medical field," Dr. Greg Parsons said.

Parsons is a member of Central Carolina Ear, Nose, Throat and Audiology Center and he practices in Fort Mill and Rock Hill. He is also secretary-treasurer of the York County Medical Society.

The York County Medical Society has not decided to back any of the hospital proposals yet, but Parsons said the group expects to meet with each of the companies in the next two months to review the plans.

If the society decides to support one of the plans, the group will make public announcements, he said.

"Fort Mill is growing rapidly," he said. "Eventually there will probably be as many people north of the river as there are south of it."

Fort Mill can support more medical services and there is a need in York County for another health facility, he said.

"We want the best healthcare possible for the citizens of York Count," Parsons said.

At Fort Mill OBGYN, Dr. Norman Taylor is excited about the robust competition for ta new hospital.

"I think it probably energizes the system a little," Taylor said.

While not backing a particular candidate, Taylor hopes the competition will ultimately increase the availability of healthcare and simultaneously bring down prices.

"I think DHEC has done a good job to open the process," Taylor said. "I'm excited to see what each entity proposes, everybody brings something different to the table."

The fact that two of the companies competing are nonprofit raises philosophical questions about a nonprofit healthcare model versus a for profit healthcare model, he said.

"Medicine is in transition now," he said. "Is the nonprofit model a better model for where the healthcare dollars go? Do they recycle money more locally?"

Dr. Ken Nunnery of Fort Mill Family Practice, which used to be owned by Piedmont, said he received a letter from Hospital Partners seeking support that suggests "doctors can invest in their hospital and that might be a good option for us" and another from Presbyterian inviting him to a doctor's forum held in Rock Hill on Monday and Tuesday.

Nunnery, who used to be chief of staff at Piedmont and served on its board from 1988-94, wondered aloud "how about having one (a forum) in Fort Mill?"

Actually, "I'm kind of weak on the whole issue" of building a hospital in Fort Mill, he said.

"If York County is eligible for 64 more beds, you could just as easily add them to Piedmont. I'm not sure a second hospital is needed. Eventually there will be a need for a hospital rather than a place to put extra beds. I guess I'm taking a wait and see attitude."

R.J. Bates, a physical therapist at Fort Mill Physical Therapy, grew up in the town but "I don't have a specific preference," he said.

"I do some part time work at Piedmont and work with some quality people over there. I did clinical work at CMC Pineville and Presbyterian, my little girl was born at CMC Pineville and my grandmother was treated there and I was very pleased," Bates added.

First responders weigh in

The local rescue squads are staying on the fence for now, too.

Norm Ballmer, President of the Tega Cay Rescue Squad, said his group has had excellent relationships with Piedmont, Presbyterian and Carolinas Healthcare over the years. All three companies run hospitals in the area. Hospital Partners of America does not operate a hospital in the region, so there is no existing relationship between the rescue squads and Hospital Partners.

Ballmer said his squad doesn't care where the new hospital goes, or who is running it, as long as the hospital provides good healthcare.

"We haven't gotten into it because we don't want to get into it," he said. "in 99 percent of instances competition is good."

Ballmer said his squad will rush patients to whichever hospital they request, and in most cases the request will depend on where the person's doctor practices.

Fort Mill Rescue Squad Director Mark Garrick said of the approximately 800 people the squad transports to hospitals "the majority don't want to go to Piedmont; they want to go to CMC Pineville." That's not an indictment of the overall care at Piedmont, he said.

"The real negative opinion, I think, is the wait times at the ER there. My personal experience at Piedmont is the hospital gives excellent care on the floor. The issues are capacity and lack of staff that makes the ER time a long wait. But they have been working diligently to improve."