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Hoover Hospital Not Happening... For Now
Four years ago, Mayor Tony Petelos started working on bringing a hospital to Hoover. But Friday, he got a letter from Governor Bob Riley saying the plan was rejected for now.
When a heart attack strikes, EMTs have minutes to respond.
"Time is of the essence," said Rusty Lowe, Hoover's EMS Officer.
Unfortunately, traffic and hospital bed availability isn't factored into that equation.
"On any given run, we may have to shop for a hospital for the patient, which can be frustrating to our paramedics because we have a critically injured patient and the resources at our area hospitals are overwhelmed," said Lowe.
Last week, the Statewide Health Coordinating Council unanimously approved a 140 bed hospital in Hoover.
But Friday, Governor Riley stopped the project. In a letter, he said, "it is my understanding that both Jefferson County and Shelby County are currently over-bedded... My concern that the additional [sic] of 140 acute care hospital care beds, under the current proposal, will result in additional costs to Medicaid, which would certainly adversely impact the State Medicaid budgets at this critical time."
"In 1986, there was a a crisis. There's a crisis today. Who knows. All I can say is I'm happy the medical community in Alabama didn't stop everything because we had a Medicaid crisis," said Mayor Tony Petelos during a press conference.
Brookwood Hospital and Baptist Medical System were interested in bidding on the project.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Baptist Medical System said they would "continue our efforts to secure a Hoover hospital."
It's a move the EMTs are behind.
"I think it's a wise move. It needs to be done because it will save lives," said Lowe.
Mayor Petelos was set to meet with the Governor's staff next week. He hopes the meeting still happens, so he can move the project forward again.
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