Piedmont Medical Center is moving forward with plans for a new freestanding emergency department in Lake Wylie, adding to a growing network of urgent care facilities serving York County’s fast-expanding population, according to reporting published May 11, 2026.
Parent company Tenet Health filed a permit application in April to build the standalone emergency department at 233 Catamount Drive in York County. The project remains under county review as of May 2026. The Catamount Drive address places the facility near the Five Points intersection, on the north side of the Harris Teeter-anchored Westlake Village shopping center under construction at the corner of S.C. 55 and S.C. 49.
The permit application does not list details such as project size, cost, or a construction timeline. A Piedmont representative declined to discuss the Lake Wylie project with local reporters.
Expanding Health Care Footprint in York County
The Lake Wylie project would be Piedmont’s third freestanding emergency department in the York County region. The company’s first separate emergency room was the more than 17,000-square-foot Gold Hill Emergency Department, which opened in 2020 in Fort Mill. A second facility — a 10,000-square-foot freestanding emergency room in Indian Land off Charlotte Highway in the Parkstone at Indian Land development — was set to open within weeks of a May 11, 2026 report.
Piedmont Medical Center Fort Mill CEO Christopher Mitchell was scheduled to brief Lancaster County Council on May 11 about the Indian Land facility. That site features 12 exam rooms, trauma rooms, a triage area, an ambulance bay, CT scan, X-ray, ultrasound, and on-site lab work, making it the first dedicated emergency department in Indian Land.
Piedmont’s flagship Rock Hill hospital at 222 Herlong Ave. has 282 beds and has served the community for more than 30 years. The Fort Mill hospital, which opened three years ago, holds an additional 100 beds. Together, the two York County hospitals form the backbone of the health system that parent company Tenet Health operates in the Carolinas.
Why Lake Wylie Now
The Catamount Drive site is positioned in an area of Lake Wylie poised for significant residential growth. The property sits approximately two miles north of Lake Wylie High School, which is set to open in the fall of 2026. That new school reflects continued population expansion in the northern York County corridor, which has drawn residents from the Charlotte metro area over the past decade.
York County’s population has grown rapidly, placing new demands on emergency medical services and primary care throughout the county. Freestanding emergency departments — licensed facilities that operate outside a hospital campus but provide full emergency evaluation and treatment — have become a key strategy for health systems to expand access in fast-growing suburban areas.
The new Lake Wylie facility would join the Gold Hill and Indian Land ERs in providing round-the-clock emergency care to York County communities that do not always have quick access to Piedmont’s main hospital campuses in Rock Hill and Fort Mill.
The permit application, submitted in April 2026, is the first public documentation of the Lake Wylie project. County officials have not yet approved the permit as of mid-May.
Source: local reporting, May 11, 2026. Tenet Health operates Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill and Fort Mill.
