Huntsville Hospital
Founded in 1895 by volunteers, Huntsville Hospital is the second-largest hospital in Alabama and the flagship campus of the Huntsville Hospital Health System. The 881-bed hospital serves as the regional health care center for more than 1 million residents in north Alabama and southern Tennessee. Its major services include comprehensive cardiovascular care, Level 1 trauma and emergency care, full surgical services that include neurosurgery and orthopedics, medical services, outpatient services, Physicians Network and a dedicated Women & Children’s facility.
Huntsville Hospital was one of only two North Alabama-based businesses to make Forbes’ America’s Best Employers by State 2022 list. Also in 2022, U.S. News & World Report named Huntsville Hospital a Best Regional Hospital, joining a list of just 12% of hospitals in the country that earned the distinction in 2022-2023. Additionally, the hospital received top ranking in nine critical areas:
- Hip replacement
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Heart bypass surgery
- Colon cancer surgery
- Stroke
- Diabetes
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Last spring, Huntsville Hospital and Drake State Community and Technical College announced the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Launch Program, a joint venture that offers three semesters of nursing courses taught by Drake State at Huntsville Hospital’s Cochran Training Center and a job at Huntsville Hospital upon graduation. The hospital provides financial assistance for students in the program to cover tuition, fees, books and other expenses up to $15,000.
Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children
Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children provides pediatric emergency services, pediatric intensive care, level three neonatal intensive care and pediatric surgery. It is home to one of eight St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Affiliate Clinics in the country, and the only one in Alabama.
The hospital also provides specialized health care for women, including women’s surgery, the F. Joseph Kelly Adult Intensive Care Unit and the Breast Center. The Maternity Services department offers the region’s only obstetric emergency department, a 24/7, 10-bed unit that handles pregnancy-related emergencies, complications and concerns; a full-time maternal fetal medicine program; board certified pediatric hospitalists; a level three neonatal ICU; pediatric ER and pediatric ICU.
Madison Hospital
Part of the Huntsville Hospital Health System, Madison Hospital opened in 2012 and is now a 90-bed facility with the capacity to double in size to meet the needs of its fast-growing community. The hospital offers comprehensive emergency services, medical and surgical services, maternity services and advanced imaging, outpatient, wellness and physician services.
In February, Madison Hospital became the fifth HH Health System facility to perform robotic surgery when Dr. Mark Purvis, an OBGYN, and a team of surgical nurses and surgical assistants completed two minimally invasive hysterectomies using the hospital’s new da Vinci Xi robotic system. For now, the hospital’s robotic surgery program will focus on hysterectomies, but the goal is to eventually expand robot-assisted procedures to include gall bladder removal and inguinal hernia repair.
Crestwood Medical Center
Crestwood Medical Center is a 180-bed full-service acute care hospital. Its accreditations and recognitions include being named:
- A tier 1 Facility by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama
- An Accredited Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and Resuscitation by American College of Cardiology
- A Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and American Heart Association
- A Blue Distinction Center+ for Bariatric Surgery, Maternity Care and Spine Surgery
- The American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines for Heart Failure (Gold Plus) and AFib (Gold)
- A Certified Treatment Center of Excellence from the ALS Association
In January, Crestwood was awarded a Certificate of Need from the Alabama State Health Planning & Development Agency to build a freestanding emergency department in Harvest. The 11,047-square-foot facility will include 10 private patient rooms, on-site radiology and lab services and a helicopter pad for patient transfer. The center, which is slated to begin serving patients in 2024, will offer 24/7 emergency service and will be the first freestanding emergency department in north Alabama.
Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of North Alabama
For more than three decades Alabama-based Encompass has operated as an inpatient rehabilitation hospital for stroke, brain injury, hip fracture and other complex neurological and orthopedic conditions. The hospital staff consists of physical, speech and occupational therapists, rehabilitation physicians and nurses, case managers and dietitians. It has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Disease-Specific Care Certification in stroke, hip fracture, amputee and brain injury rehabilitation.
In March 2022, Encompass cut the ribbon on its new Huntsville location, which includes 85 beds and employs more than 300 doctors, medical and technical staff. The new facility has a therapy gym and courtyard, an in-house dialysis suite, four bariatric rooms, four isolation rooms, an in-house pharmacy and dining room.
Department of Veterans Affairs, Birmingham VA Health Care System, Huntsville CBOC
Part of the Birmingham VA Health Care System, which celebrated 70 years of service in March, the Huntsville VA outpatient clinic offers primary care and specialty health services, including mental health services, optometry, audiology and women’s health services.
Last March, the Department of Veterans Affairs recommended to the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission that a new medical center be built in the Huntsville area to better serve the fast-growing community. The current 47,800-square-foot facility has been in operation since 2015.
Unity Psychiatric Care, Huntsville
The 20-bed Unity Psychiatric Care hospital, a division of Franklin, Tennessee-based American Health Partners, offers comprehensive inpatient mental health care for individuals aged 55 or older.
This article appears in the May 2023 issue of Business Alabama.
