By Keysha Drexel
Journal editor
It took five years, but Brookwood Medical Center finally got the green light to go ahead with plans for a freestanding emergency room on the U.S. 280 corridor.
The Alabama Supreme Court on Oct. 11 refused to hear arguments from Trinity Medical Center attorneys against allowing the freestanding ER planned at the intersection of U.S. 280 and Alabama 119.
Brookwood Medical Center spokesman Stephen Preston said the ruling means the hospital is moving ahead with the long-planned project.
“This is something we’ve been working on for almost 10 years in total, and we’re anxious to move forward as soon as possible,” he said.
The emergency room facility will cost about $19 million to build, Preston said, and will provide emergency medical services to adults and children 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The 19,000-square-foot facility will have 12 exam rooms and offer a full range of diagnostic services, Preston said.
“That includes CT scans, MRIs, the whole gamut of diagnostic capabilities,” he said.
About a decade ago, Preston said, Brookwood officials opened a dialogue with residents in communities along the U.S. 280 corridor to talk about the medical needs of the area’s growing population.
“What we heard was a resounding call for emergency services because traffic was, and still is, a major concern if you are trying to get emergency medical attention,” he said.
Brookwood filed for a Certificate of Need and spent the next five years dealing with legal hurdles.
In August, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals unanimously agreed with a lower court’s decision in favor of the freestanding emergency room proposed by Brookwood Medical Center.
Trinity Medical Center opposed Brookwood’s plans, arguing that a Certificate of Need should not have been approved for Brookwood back in 2010 because at that time, the concept of a freestanding emergency room did not exist in the state health plan.
Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court’s decision to deny the request to overturn a lower court’s ruling in favor of Brookwood put the project to build the state’s first freestanding ER back on track.
Since the legal battle began, the state has adopted rules for freestanding emergency room facilities.
The rules adopted in July will help ensure quality patient care and regulate how the freestanding facilities are operated, including one rule that states the property cannot be more than 35 miles away from its main campus and must share the name of its parent hospital.
That rule lets people know that a relationship exists between the freestanding emergency rooms and the parent hospitals, Preston said.
“It’s a much-needed service, and we’re excited about it,” Preston said.
Preston said officials hope the new emergency room will open by the end of next year.