A plan for a new Baptist hospital in Hoover had a wrench thrown in it recently but could still be reworked, according to a Baptist Health System (BHS) Web site.
On Jan. 30, Gov. Bob Riley rejected a proposed State Health Plan amendment that would have allowed the Birmingham suburb to have a hospital with 140 newly licensed beds, according to The Birmingham News. With an excess of beds in both Shelby and Jefferson counties, Riley said adding new ones would drive up the state’s Medicaid costs.
Health planners had passed the amendment unanimously before Riley nixed it.
“Our research and planning demonstrate there is definitely a need for a hospital in Hoover so we’re disappointed that the State Health Plan amendment was rejected,” said Ross Mitchell, BHS vice president of communications and government relations.
According to BHS, Hoover, the sixth-largest city in the state, is the largest without its own hospital.
“We will continue to build on our established presence in Hoover with our primary care physicians, specialists, urgent care clinic and diagnostic and imaging capabilities and continue our efforts to secure a Hoover hospital as we work to determine the best way to make that happen,” Mitchell said.
Riley did leave open the possibility of another amendment that could transfer existing unused beds from other hospitals in the county to a new hospital in Hoover. Princeton Baptist Medical Center, for instance, has at least 140 licensed beds not in use, and the now-closed Physicians Medical Center Carraway has 617, according to the News.
Officials of BHS and Brookwood Medical Center in Homewood, which was also pushing for the amendment, have not said what their next action will be.
For more information on Hoover BMC, visit www.weneedahospital.com. (TAB)
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