CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It's been a long time coming for folks who live in the Steele Creek area of Charlotte or across the line in South Carolina.
Starting Monday, they won't have to drive half an hour or longer to get to the nearest ER.
"I'm pregnant and that's close to me. I don't have to go to Pineville or uptown," said Sandra Manon, who lives in the Steele Creek area.
Before, Manon said she had to "go across almost half of the town." Now, she and others in the area won't have to go that far.
It's "about 15 minutes away," said Dwayne Black, who lives in Lake Wylie.
This weekend, residents celebrated the new facility with an open house.
The new healthcare pavilion -- described as a "hospital without beds" -- has given them peace of mind.
"I think it's great. Where we're at, there's nothing out there so you either have to go to Rock Hill or over by Pineville, so this is perfect," said Black. "It's right here and it's close."
Debra Eident, director of CMC-Steele Creek, said it's unlike anything we've seen before in this area.
"The thing that stands out the most about CMC-Steele Creek is our 24-hour days, 7-day a week full service emergency department," she said. "That is a first in this region."
It's a first for a region that certainly needs it.
"This community has grown 70 percent from 2001 to 2007," said Eident. "So, there's been a huge population growth in this area."
Doors open at CMC-Steele Creek at 7 a.m. Monday morning.
