Grandview Medical Center holds patient transfer trial run

Fleets of ambulances with police escorts traveled between Trinity Medical Center and the new Grandview Medical Center on Thursday, Sept. 24 as part of a practice move.

The practice run was a sort of dress rehearsal for the move between hospital campuses on Oct. 10. 

The mass move of patients from Trinity Medical Center to the new Grandview Medical Center has taken more than a year of planning and meetings, said Chief Nursing Officer Andy Romine. Thursday’s practice run was one of two tests; the other was a paper run on Sept. 15.

The real move will take place beginning at 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 10, as packages of ambulances will leave Trinity Medical Center and make their way to Grandview.

Romine said the move is not expected to affect traffic because the ambulance departures will be spaced out. The date of the move was also carefully planned around weather - October tends to be a "better weather" month - and Auburn's football schedule - there is no home game on Oct. 10 - in order to minimize the impact on traffic.

“Some people seem to think football is important in this state," Coker said. "Early on in the process, it was a consideration – would there be an increase in traffic because it is an Auburn game day?”

If everything goes well, Romine said he expects the Oct. 10 move to be completed by mid-afternoon. The timeline, however, depends on patient care and if anything unexpected comes up.