Russell Medical
Russell Medical in Alexander City, part of the UAB Health System, is one of the largest employers in Tallapoosa County.
Russell Medical was recognized in 2021 and again in 2022 as a five-star facility by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; in 2022, it was one of only three Alabama hospitals to receive this recognition.
The hospital’s Russell Legacy Project is underway, made possible by a $25 million donation from local philanthropists Ben and Luanne Russell. The project will take shape on the hospital’s 52-acre campus and be built in phases. All of the buildings and roads will be named in honor of the Russell family. The project includes an independent living community with 26 single-family cottages, as well as an assisted living facility with 32 residential units. Also underway is the Benjamin Russell Center for Advanced Care, which will provide comprehensive geriatric health care and specialty health care services. The center will be built in front of the cancer center with frontage on Highway 280 and house gerontology, women’s health and other specialty clinics.
The Russells also made possible an endowed chair in geriatrics, which will help recruit more geriatric specialists to the area. Dr. Bob Edwards will fill that position as well as become the medical director and geriatrician for the center. He has been with Russell Medical since 2014 and is completing a geriatric fellowship program at the UAB School of Medicine.
The hospital’s new equipment purchases include a da Vinci XI surgical robot, the second surgical robot purchased since 2011, and a Zimmer Biomet Rosa robot, the hospital’s first orthopedic robot. The hospital operates rural health clinics in New Site, Dadeville and Goodwater.
Lake Martin Community Hospital
Lake Martin Community Hospital, a division of Ivy Creek Healthcare, is a 46-bed facility in Dadeville in Tallapoosa County.
Lake Martin Community Hospital provides 24-hour emergency care, general surgery, pediatric and family medicine, physical therapy, podiatry, orthopedics, radiology, lab testing, pain management, respite care, inpatient and outpatient services. It also has a home health and hospice company and wellness center.
East Alabama Medical Center-Lanier
Located in Valley in Chambers County, EAMC-Lanier is a 98-bed acute care hospital that has served the community for more than 70 years. The hospital is the only one in the county and remains one of the largest employers in the area.
Attached to the hospital is a 103-bed nursing home.
EAMC-Lanier is also home to a 17-bed acute rehab unit that provides comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation following injury or illness.
Through a partnership with local physicians, an outpatient ambulatory surgery center was opened at EAMC-Lanier in April 2021 to provide same-day surgery services.
The hospital opened a 20-bed geriatric psychiatric unit in September 2022. This unit provides inpatient care for an aging population experiencing symptoms in the areas of dementia, depression and other mental health issues.
EAMC-Lanier provides a full range of outpatient services that includes a 24-hour emergency room; outpatient rehabilitation services; imaging services, including a 64-slice CT scanner, 3-D digital mammography and MRI; and laboratory services.
EAMC-Lanier also offers primary care, internal medicine, orthopedic and cardiology services at several clinic locations.
Through an affiliation with East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, EAMC-Lanier provides easy access to a wide range of specialty services to the members of the local community. These specialty services include cardiology, neurology, urology, oncology and women’s services.
This article appeared in the December 2022 issue of Business Alabama.
