Ascension St. Vincent’s Chilton
The 30-bed hospital is part of Ascension, the world’s largest Catholic health system. However, in late June plans were announced for St. Vincent’s and other central Alabama Ascension hospitals to be purchased by the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System. That change of ownership is expected to be complete later this year.
The hospital provides 24/7 emergency care along with specialty care services that include diagnostic imaging, inpatient and outpatient surgery, critical care, wellness, lab, gastroenterology and sleep disorders. Advanced imaging and diagnostic services, including X-ray, MRI, CT, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, mammography, bone density testing and stress testing, are available.
In November 2023, the hospital launched a new outpatient speech therapy department. Previously, the hospital offered inpatient and only selective outpatient speech therapy services; with the expansion, patients will be able to complete their recovery locally. The outpatient wing can treat issues with swallowing, neurogenic disorders and Parkinson’s Disease and works with patients who have suffered a stroke or traumatic brain injury.
In January, the Chilton County Health Care Authority broke ground on a $6 million, 25,000-square-foot medical office building that will be added to the Ascension St. Vincent’s Chilton hospital campus. The new facility, slated to be complete in the fall of 2024, is expected to bring 35 jobs to the area.
Ascension St. Vincent’s Chilton earned an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety rating in recognition of its continued commitment to patient safety. The facility also has been included in the top seven hospitals in the state for patient experiences based on Hospital Consumer Assessment for Healthcare Providers and Systems scores from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The hospital’s wound care center, which opened in 2021, was recognized by RestorixHealth, which assists in managing the center, as a center of excellence for the January-July 2023 period and the July-December 2022 period.
Ascension St. Vincent’s also received three five-star ratings for physician communication, nurse communication and care transitions from Becker’s Hospital Review. It was one of six hospitals in the state to earn a five-star rating for physician communication.
This article appears in the August 2024 issue of Business Alabama.
