Hoover files for certificate of need for ambulatory surgery, medical diagnostics center
The Hoover Health Care Authority on Thursday filed its application with the state for a certificate of need for a new ambulatory surgery center and medical diagnostics center in the Riverchase Office Park.
And Hoover officials are calling on the community to help push for approval from the State Health Planning and Development Agency’s Certificate of Need Review Board by writing letters of support and signing a petition.
City officials are working with the Healthcare Resources development company to convert the 91-acre Regions Bank campus in the Riverchase Office Park into a mixed-use center anchored by an ambulatory surgery center and medical diagnostics center in one of the office buildings that Regions has used for decades but now vacated.
Before such a center can open, the Hoover Health Care Authority must prove that it will meet a legitimate need to make sure that money is not wasted with unnecessary duplication of health care services and that facilities are built in the most appropriate locations.
Colin Luke, an attorney for the Health Care Authority who is familiar with the certificate of need process, said at a press briefing today that this is one of the best locations he has seen for a health and wellness facility of this nature.
“This building seems as if it was designed to be a health care facility,” Luke said.
The building has a lot of flexibility, beautiful views by a lake and is conveniently located to nearby residents, Interstate 65 and U.S. 31. There also is a parking deck already built and cafeteria conveniently located in the adjacent Regions Bank building that is connected by a crosswalk, he said.
The Health Care Authority and Healthcare Resources have done studies to determine what specialty health care services are lacking in Hoover and those for which residents in the area have difficulty getting appointments in a timely manner.
Dr. Ellouise Cotton-Johnson, a retired physician and Hoover resident for more than 24 years, said this proposed facility will provide people with health care services at a lower cost than can be provided in acute care facilities such as hospitals. There also would be less risk for patients when they go to an ambulatory surgery center because they don’t have to intermingle with people at hospitals who are sick, Cotton-Johnson said.
Also, this facility’s proximity to where people live and work will lessen the amount of time people have to take off work to get to appointments and treatment, she said.
Joy Patterson, president of the Riverchase Residential Association and a resident of Riverchase for 37 years who spent 46 years in the health care industry, said she questioned the proposal at first but now thinks it is a well-thought-out idea.
“It’s going to add a burst of energy to Riverchase,” Patterson said. “I think it’s going to take it into the 21st century. … It will fulfill a great need.”
Hoover fire Chief Clay Bentley said the proposed facility will provide routine surgeries and procedures that do not require an overnight hospital stay, thus potentially freeing up hospital beds, rooms and resources for emergent patients at hospitals.
The location of this facility also will allow faster care for patients that are being transported by emergency medical service agencies, Bentley said.
“This comprehensive, ambulatory campus will directly improve services in the Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan area by reducing our out-of-service times for transport units, thus improving care,” Bentley said. “This center is not going to only benefit the city of Hoover but we feel the entire metro area and potentially all of central Alabama.”
The Health Care Authority will seek proposals from a variety of health care providers to find the most ideal partner or partners, authority Chairman Alan Paquette said.
Luke said the authority already has been talking with potential partners, and “all were excited, and we feel very good about the reaction we received.”
The authority is asking the Certificate of Need Review Board to review its application as quickly as possible “because we believe it’s urgent for the citizenry of Hoover to move forward,” Luke said. “We’re confident we’re going to have a great outcome.”
Paquette also noted that the Health Care Authority intends to partner with the health programs at Jefferson State Community College and the Hoover school system’s Riverchase Career Connection Center to offer health care education opportunities at this facility as well.
“This is a multifaceted project that we believe will benefit our community in such a variety of ways,” Paquette said.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato cited a study done by economist Keivan Deravi that projected that the planned Riverwalk Health and Wellness Center will generate $52.8 million worth of health care business annually and create a payroll of $42 million for more than 500 full-time employees in the building.
The medical center will be the centerpiece of the larger Riverwalk Village development by Healthcare Resources and Signature Homes that is slated to include up to 134,000 square feet of new commercial buildings, 375 age-restricted multi-family residential units (for ages 55 and older), 120 unrestricted multi-family residential units, 102 single-family residential units and a hotel with up to 135 rooms.
The total investment in Riverwalk Village is expected to be $414 million, said Greg Knighton, the city of Hoover’s economic development manager. Deravi projected that the entire development would have a $2.5 billion economic impact over 10 years.
The Hoover City Council in November approved an economic incentive package that would grant an estimated $25.8 million in tax rebates to Healthcare Resources, plus up to $16 million in cash payments over the next 10 years to help get the project started.
While city officials say they are confident the Certificate of Need Review Board will issue the certificate of need, they are asking the public to provide support for the project.
The Health Care Authority wants people to sign a petition in support of the project at change.org and to write letters of support and send them to the Hoover city clerk’s office at 100 Municipal Lane, Hoover, AL 35216. A link to the petition, a sample letter of support and more information about the project can be found at hooverishome.com.