Recently, March 31, The Edgefield County Hospital invited the press to view the beginnings of the new medical building going up on their campus and to speak with representatives of two companies in charge of the planning and construction –Spratlin & Son Construction and McMillan•Pazdan• Smith Architecture.

Greeting the press also were Hospital CEO Milanes and Travis Haltiwanger, ECH Facilities & Maintenance Director.

A bright, blue morning, following a rainy evening, had left scattered puddles of water over the wide expanse of poured concrete, the foundation of the new building that the Edgefield County Hospital speaks of as the Medical Office Building (MOB), at this time.  The water on the foundation did not spell gloom, for it was covered with plastic which protected it somewhat.  However, before covering the cement, the contractors noted that they had poured water over the concrete as a way to help harden it.  The weather had cooperated well with the foundation, and pretty much all the way, so far.  Those in charge said they are close to schedule, and maybe a little ahead in some categories.

Optimism held sway for those telling of the plans and projections: Steve Drane, Technical Director; Jon Duncan, Project Manager; and Eric Trumbull, intern, who had worked in the designing of the building — all from the architecture firm.  Owner  of the Spratlin firm, Johnny Spratlin of Lincolnton, Ga., noted that there were many subcontractors, closer to the area, handling different segments of the structure.

The area to encompass the full building campus is over an acre, and it is estimated that the building itself will cover a third of that – close to 17,000 square feet in all (quadrupling the areas the clinics had before).  Half of the new space will be the offices for Peachtree Medical, the hospital-owned clinic service; the other half will be for what was originally Edgefield Medical Clinic, now known as Self Medical Clinic.  Each of the medical groups has two MDs with a number of second tier professionals to serve the communities of this area.  Each clinic will be the same area, one half the square footage, but will have separate entrances and lobbies.

The contractors let it be known that on Monday, April 3, the foundation would be ready for the steel poles to be placed in it for the beginning of the walls and upper part of the building. (The photo accompanying this article shows those steel poles already up, in spite of the severe winds and rains in the County this last week, as photographed April 10.)

In an interesting contrast in before and after of one clinic size, a visit to Peachtree gave evidence of a large practice housed in 2300 sq. feet.  It was reported, unofficially, that in one month the practice had seen 900 patients, 400 as walk-ins. These numbers speak an immeasurable added comfort for both patient and doctor upon the completion and opening of the new building.  And when will that be?  It is hard to say, as the two firms noted.  Weather can interfere as well as other problems.  However, October seems to be a possibility at this point.