By Staff
Third healthcare facility proposal announced for Madison
By Thomas Tingle
Record Managing Editor
Madison Mayor Jan Wells has formed a Hospital Advisory Committee to gather information and to get comments from the community regarding three proposed hospitals in the city.
Crestwood Medical Center, Huntsville Hospital and a group called Doctors' Hospital of Madison have announced plans to build a 120-bed, full-service hospital in Madison. According to the mayor, the three proposals have caused misinformation among the residents of the city.
The advisory committee has been formed to decide if city action should be taken. The committee will gather information from the community and from interests that are proposing to build a hospital here. The mayor said she plans to have a forum that will allow residents to ask questions with the committee designated as the gathering entity of information from all interested parties.
"These meetings will be held in the council chambers here at the Madison Municipal Complex and will be open to the public," Wells said. "We will have a wide variety of people on the committee ranging from the business community, medical community, and banking community."
Members of the Hospital Advisory Committee are Al Sullivan, Bobby DeNeese, Dr. Ed Turpin, Dr. Robert Carrell, Pat Glenn, Hodges Washington, Chris Sargent, Joe Moquin, chairman, and City Councilman Bob Wagner.
Members of the committee from City Hall are City Attorney Anne-Marie Lacy, Revenue Department Director Cameron Grounds, Police Chief Dan Busken, Community Development Department Director Bob Atallo, and Michele Miller, aide to the mayor's office.
Mayor Wells said the first meeting in a public forum will be held this month and it will be aimed at educating the committee and the public on the process of deciding the issues related to gaining a hospital in Madison and identifying the framework of the proceedings.
"Later meetings will be held to ask and answer questions from the public and from various entities invited to address the committee," Wells said. "The number of meetings will be determined by the committee and will be need-driven. I would expect there to be four to six meetings, fairly closely spaced within the next three to four months."
Huntsville Hospital CEO Joe Austin came to Mayor Wells in mid-August with plans to build a 120-bed hospital at its U.S. Highway 72 and Balch Road site where a medical office building is located and where a wellness center is now under construction.
This past spring, Crestwood's CEO and president Brad Jones indicated his intention to bring a 120-bed full-service hospital to Madison. Before Crestwood is able to move forward with its plans, the State Health Plan must be amended to allow an additional 120 beds in Madison County.
Huntsville Hospital advanced the timeline for its proposed hospital following Crestwood's announcement and plans to move 120 beds out of its Huntsville campus to Madison. Huntsville Hospital must seek approval from the state's Certificate of Need Review Board to use the beds in Madison.
Doctors' Hospital of Madison also announced its want to build a 120-bed full-service hospital in the city.
The mayor said to date, Huntsville Hospital, Crestwood Medical Center and Doctors Hospital have filed letters in intent to the state to build a hospital.