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Planning Commission to decide recommendation of University Hospital facility [Aiken Standard, S.C. :: ](Aiken Standard (SC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 08--Aiken Planning Commission will decide Tuesday whether to recommend the construction of a 7,500-square-foot University Hospital prompt care facility in Aiken. The meeting is open to the public, and starts at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 214 Park Ave. The University Hospital board of directors voted last month to appropriate roughly $2.7 million to build the facility at 1021 Silver Bluff Road in Aiken. The development will be located on approximately 7.5 acres, and future development is anticipated, according to the agenda. University Hospital's plans show the facility will cater to patients whose primary care physician is unavailable and for those who have non-life-threatening illnesses or injuries that wouldn't require an emergency room trip, University Hospital spokeswoman Rebecca Sylvester told the Aiken Standard. In 2009, Aiken City Council approved a site plan to allow three medical buildings, totaling 72,000 square feet. At the time, University Hospital had the intention to build a medical office complex across the road from the Centre South Shopping Center. Although passed, Council had concerns with zoning and the complex's effect on traffic. The prompt care facility will employ a minimum of 10 people, which includes one physician and several physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Aside from this development, University Hospital is also actively pursing building more in Aiken. In April, the Hospital announced plans to build an 88-bed, 86,000-square-foot assisted living facility in The Village at Woodside. Then, in July, Aiken County Planning and Development confirmed it had on file a development permit for University to build a new, 50-bed medical center with an emergency wing near both USC Aiken and Aiken Regional Medical Centers. A work session will be held before the regular meeting at 5 p.m. in room 204. Maayan Schechter is the local government reporter with Aiken Standard. Follow her on Twitter @MaayanSchechter. ___ (c)2014 the Aiken Standard (Aiken, S.C.) Visit the Aiken Standard (Aiken, S.C.) at www.aikenstandard.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |