Medical West Hospital has gotten the green flag to build a replacement hospital in the Jefferson County community of McCalla.
The State Health Planning and Development Agency this week approved a Certificate of Need that clears the way for a 200-bed facility near Exit 1 on Interstate Highway 459 for the residents of southwest Jefferson County. Medical West is an affiliate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System.
The existing facility in Bessemer was built in 1964. The new hospital will provide all the services currently available and Medical West will continue to operate its primary care clinics in Bessemer, Hueytown, Vance, Tannehill, Hoover and Parkwest, along with the freestanding emergency department on Highway 150.
Design and construction of the new hospital is expected to take three years. The current facility on 9th Ave. Southwest in Bessemer will continue to provide full medical care during the construction period.
“We are pleased by today’s action which will allow us to begin the next chapter in the history of Medical West, proudly serving the residents of Bessemer and southwest Jefferson County for more than 50 years,” said Keith Pennington, CEO of Medical West Hospital. “The new facility will help us establish a state-of-the art hospital for our patients.”
